Sold To The Boss: A Narcos Romance

Chapter 17

**Reader warning: there is fictionalization of gunfire and active shooting in this chapter**

Rafael kept Isabella trapped behind his back as they tried to make sense of what was going on around them. Clearly an ambush had been staged and some enemy cartel had been able to get past his strong enemy lines. Rafael knew that this type of breach smelled of sabotage, but getting to the bottom of this mess would have to wait. Right now, it was all about survival and he didn't know who he could trust. Several armed guards stormed through the hacienda's hallways, yelling out so quickly and loudly in Spanish that Isabella had a hard time understanding what they were saying. Someone escorted them out through the back of the hacienda, a waiting car about a field's length away as Isabella saw one of Rafael's men shoot rapid fire at a man running toward the house, his body stopping in mid air and dropping to the ground. She clutched Rafael's arm in fear, her other hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Here," one of Rafael's men thrust a gun into Isabella's hands and clicked off the safety. Isabella shook her head 'no' but the gun still sat in her hand. "We need to make a break for it, they descended upon us too quickly. Best bet is getting out to the car–"

"I won't leave my men!"

"Jefe! We're nothing if you're dead. Remember that." Before Rafael could dispute further, gun shots sounded out so close that Isabella felt the sound radiate throughout her entire body. Before she could even scream, dirt was being kicked up around her from bullet fire, the adrenaline rush for survival kicking in as she started to run from the direction of the raining bullets, her hand gripping tightly around the gun as she sprinted forward.

The shots sounded like they were coming from every direction. Isabella was completely disoriented as she came up behind a shed with the waiting car still in sight, the gun hanging loosely at her side. She'd lost focus for a moment and now she felt like a sitting duck, not sure if she was more afraid to die or to keep trying to survive. Just as she began to wander away from the security of the shed, she felt her back slam up against the hard rigid metal surface as Rafael's wall of a chest pressed painfully into her breasts. He bit out a string of Spanish curses, more relentless than the stream of bullets. With his body covering hers, he lifted his right arm and shot first to the side and then twice behind him. Isabella could feel the reverberation from his gun melding with his heartbeat and the adrenaline coursing through her own body. A massive explosion erupted and she tucked herself impossibly closer to him, a cloud of gray smoke and particulate matter covering the air, the top of her head tucked securely under his chin. The gun shots finally stopped and Rafael dropped his right arm, his gun hanging limply.

"Fuck, carina," he breathed harshly into her ear. "I need to train you more." He pulled away from her a few inches so he could see her face and ran his shaking thumb across her cheek. She winced in pain at his touch. "Shit, you were hit with shrapnel." Isabella realized there was a metal shard in her left cheek. She felt weak and nauseous, reaching out to grab onto Rafael's hips for support.

"Oh my god," Isabella pulled her hand away from his hip, staring down at her wet fingers "you're bleeding." She glanced down to his lower back, his shirt soaked red through and through.

"Yeah I got hit, I think in my leg too." She saw his face pale, beads of sweat breaking out across his strong brow. He leaned against her and the corrugated metal shed for support, his hands slipping.

"Help! Shit, help! Rafael is shot, he's been shot!" Isabella yelled out shrilly with her last vestige of strength as several of Rafael's men rounded the corner and took his heavy, limp body in their arms.

"Shit boss, you're hit bad, how are you even standing? Lunes, call the Doc!" One of his men shifted Rafael's weight into his side and started to move him toward the now bullet ridden SUV.

"Carina, in my car. Make sure she's in my fucking car." Rafael's voice was hoarse and hard to discern but Martín appeared, pointing between Isabella and the car with his gun, begrudgingly following his boss' orders. She could see his eyes glint with hate and mistrust but after all that she'd just been through, she couldn't care. She didn't have the emotional energy to care. She wanted off of her feet and out of this place. She wouldn't let herself look at the bodies littered throughout the dusty field. For whatever it was worth, Rafael had been shot and there was a chance he might die. There would be no hope for her left in this life, or in her own, if he did.