Pressure | m.h

C H A P T E R 5 - Dead man

M A T T Y

"Not for long," the guy I knew as Daniel smirked, a split second before I heard someone shout my name as a quick flash of movement shot out beside me.

I turned just in time to catch Lily knock over a guy almost double her size, someone who must have crept over without me noticing which caused a jolt of surprise to freeze me momentarily. I watched with a sickening realisation that he held a knife in his hand and had slashed it across Lily's stomach before I could even blink, all but throwing her aside as he moved toward me – his original target.

The second I heard Lily's gasp of surprise and cry of pain as her body hit the ground, my limbs came back to me and I shot the guy between the eyes before he so much as took a step forward, my vision tinting red as I realised he had hurt her – had slipped past my guard when I was too busy thinking about the best way of making sure Lily's identity stayed unknown, rather than protecting her.

Without even thinking about it I turned around and shot down the last three men before sending a bullet into Daniel's left knee cap before he could so much as lift and aim his gun at me.

I was standing over his body and kicking away his gun the second he hit the ground with a startled yell. "Tell your boss," I said calmly, stomping on his hand that went to reach for another a gun and ignoring the satisfaction that ran through me as I heard his fingers crunch beneath my boot, accompanied by his scream, "That I will bring his money back to him when the time is right and if he sends in more men to come after to me, I will hunt him down myself."

Daniel writhes beneath me but his demeanour doesn't falter, his gritted teeth and burning eyes full of hatred staring back up at me, "I don't think threatening the guy who already wants you dead will sit well with him," he hissed as I pressed the tip of my boot against his throat until he was wheezing for air, trying and failing to get me off him.

"I don't give a sh-t about what you think, you cretin," I uttered lowly pressing down on his throat even more as I stared down at him impassively, "but I meant what I said: if I see any more of your men, I'll slaughter them all and then come after your boss – you can quote me on that."

Daniel coughed out a laugh despite his purpling face, fingers digging into my leg in hopes to get me off, "That girl of yours," he rasped with a sadistic smile tilting his lips, "She'll be dead thanks to you."

I pointed my gun between his eyes and almost smiled at the fear that crossed his face, "speak of her again and I won't think twice about cutting out your tongue and leaving you for dead."

"I'm already dead because of you," he spat before he shuddered and coughed as I finally eased my foot of his throat. Before he could reach out to grab for another gun with his other hand, thinking he had a chance, I stomped on his wrist so hard the crack of his bone giving way met my ears which I finally smiled at after he threw himself back down with a pain-filled scream.

I turned around and headed back to where George and Lily were, George sitting up against the car losing consciousness but Lily lying in a tumbled mess on the ground, limp hand on the ground by her stomach where she must have tried to stop the blood flow, eyes closed and lips parted slightly. I ignored the shouts and threats that Daniel threw my way before deciding to go back and use the SUV considering it was a lot less shot down and ruined than the car George and I had stolen.

"You're a dead man, Matthew. You hear me? You're a dead f-cking man!" Daniel still screamed, half groaning and half crying as I walked passed him and into the SUV.

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for someone who cares," I retorted, starting up the car and driving it around to the back of the other car before getting out and deciding to go to Georgey first. I helped him up and slung his good arm around my shoulder.