A Debt To Pay

36

My heart pounded violently in my ears as I rose back to my full height. Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I turned slowly and my gaze landed on the man that had threatened my sister's life. He stood tall in front of Logan; his gun raised.

Before he could even blink, Logan and the two men behind him pulled out their own weapons. They stared at each other for a moment and then a swarm of men emerged from either side of us, quickly surrounding Logan, all armed with weapons. "Mia," he called and I flinched, turning to face him for the first time. "Get behind me," he ordered.

My heart shattered.

Behind him, the man started to laugh and I felt tears well in my eyes. "How sweet," he mocked, a smirk crossing his lips. He shifted his gaze to me and raised an eyebrow. "Good girl," he said, "your sister will be safe. Go and wait over there." He nodded in the direction of is car and I nodded, my tears dripping from my chin as I took a shaky step.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Logans eyes widen, pain shining in them before they darkened into anger and his expression fell blank. He removed any trace of emotion from his face and turned back to the man who held a gun to his head, his shoulders squared, ready to fight.

The guilt ate away at me as I walked away, my head hanging. My legs trembled beneath my weight and, when I was finally out of earshot of the others, I dove behind a tree and collapsed against it, desperate to catch my breath. I repeated over and over again that everything was going to be okay, willing myself to believe it.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent off a quick text. I'd managed to get Gavin's number earlier in the week without raising any suspicions, needing to be able to contact him to alert Logan's men that he was in danger. Once I'd sent the SOS message, I stuffed my phone away and unzipped my boots, pulling out the gun I'd stashed there that I'd stolen from Logan's office. I peered around the tree behind me, watching Logan and his men lower their weapons.

I felt a stabbing feeling in my chest. With them defenceless, I was left as the only one with a weapon.

I bit my lip to hold in my scream when a gunshot went off, followed by another, and the two men that accompanied Logan and I dropped to the ground, dead. I struggled to catch my breath, watching as the barrel of the gun repositioned on Logan. I couldn't hesitate.

I aimed the gun and pulled the trigger, the sound deafening in my ears. My whole body was forced backwards and I fell to the ground. I watched the man drop to the ground, his gun flying from his hand and blood spurting from his stomach. Every man turned towards me, their guns repositioning and I threw myself behind a gravestone, crying when a rain of bullets pummelled against the stone.

I did my best to hold myself together and turned to peer over the top of the stone, shooting one of the men that charged towards me. I missed a couple of times before finally hitting his leg and sending him to the floor. My finger shook against the trigger as I pulled it again, eventually managing to knock another man to the ground. I managed to distract them all long enough to allow Logan time to grab his own gun and he began to fight back, bringing many of the men down even without the use of the weapon.

I was in awe for a moment, watching his strength and power as he brought men to their knees. Blood pooled across the graveyard and the sight and smell made me feel sick. My hands shook but I managed to hit another one of the men that charged towards me. Another two started to shoot towards me and I shot once again, choking on the air in my lungs when nothing happened.

I was out of bullets.

Meanwhile, bullets flew through the air, penetrating the stone that I had ducked behind. My tears flowed faster when the men stormed across the cemetery. I hid behind the gravestone, my head spinning as I struggled to draw in breath. They were going to kill us both. We were completely outnumbered and I was untrained and now unarmed.

My father had never bothered to train my sister and I. He never wanted us to have any involvement in the mafia and he and my mom had decided we would have normal lives. And that meant never shooting a gun or killing someone with my bare hands. I'd been happy with that decision – until now.

My life flashed before my eyes when I was grabbed by the throat and lifted off the ground. I grasped the hand that was curled around me, desperately trying to peel it away as it bruised my skin. I gasped; my legs being lifted off the ground. "You'll pay for your betrayal," the man growled, raising his gun to my head, "and once I put a bullet in your skull, your sister will be next."

I scowled, swinging my leg up to kick him in the balls. He dropped me to the ground and I landed with a thud. The man stood above me, wailing in pain before he sneered down at me. "You bitch," he snarled, pressing the gun into my forehead.

I closed my eyes, waiting for death, and screamed when I heard the shot. However, I felt nothing and when I peered my eyes open, the man was bleeding out in front of me. I gasped, scrambling backwards before Gavin came into view, crouching in front of me. Behind him, more of Logans men joined the fight, defeating the opposition easily and I sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?" Gavin asked me, reaching his hand out to help me up.

I nodded, although I was far from okay, and allowed him to help me to my feet. I watched the last of the men get gunned down before a smirk crossed Logan's face. He turned to his men. "Bring any of them that are still alive to the cells," he ordered, kicking the leader and eliciting a grunt from him. This only made his grin widen.

The men started dragging bodies away. "Get the clean-up team in, I want this mess gone."

And with that, he turned to me, his eyes darker than I'd ever seen them. As he stormed towards me, I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I'd never felt so small. When he reached me, he ripped the gun I'd stolen out of my hands. "In the car, now!" He ordered.