Oops

Chapter 9

                                                                                    Maya

                When everything got shot to hell, I was sleeping. Simple as that; one minute I was asleep, wisps of a dream I can’t remember curling around my brain like smoke, and the next there was shooting and shouting and somebody was grabbing my arm, yanking me up. Instincts drove away the haze as I woke and, wrapping my hands around the wrist that held my forearm, yanked the person up and over my shoulder as they landed hard on the wooden floor.

                I looked up, alert. Nani was holding her own, yelling and kicking two grown men’s ass, while Rocky threw a quick right hook at one of his guys. He was my priority, but first, there were three men advancing on me, the fourth starting to rise from his position on the ground. I watched them carefully and they approached the same way, wary now that their buddy had gotten his ass handed to him while I was still half asleep.

                One of them jabbed towards me and I spun, a lot more alert now, grabbing his arm. Just as I was about to do the previous move on him I noticed the wicked long tattoo on his arm: a sleek jet black feather, incredibly detailed, running from his shoulder almost down to his elbow. I let go of him, kicking him in the knee cap. He went down, and the two still standing took one look at him and then back at me.

                “Blackbirds,” I spat, shifting into ready position. “Do you even know who you’re dealing with?”

                In answer, one of them men reached into his pocket and brought out a pocket knife. I snorted, unimpressed.

                Ten seconds later all four men were on the ground, groaning in pain. I ignored them and ran over to help Rocky, who got ganged up on. Two men held his arms while a third man was reaching towards his face with a cloth. My heart dropped as I ran across the room. Rocky wouldn’t like that at all.

                Unfortunately for the men they were too focused on knocking out the rock star to notice me flying through the air until I was smashing into the man with the rag, bowling him over. The impact jarred me but not nearly enough to keep me down. I jumped up immediately and slammed my elbow into one of the men holding Rocky. He let go and Rocky used his other arm to slam his fist into the jaw of the second man.

                “Go,” I told Rocky, out of breath. “Get the van and go, now.”

                “I’m not leaving you,” he said fiercely.

                “You’re cute,” I said, pushing him towards the door. “It’s you they want. They won’t hurt us; we’re their boss’ daughters. Now go!”

                Rocky stared at me for a second, anguish in his face. “I’m coming back,” he promised. “I won’t run. So return the favor, and don’t die.” And then he turned on his heel and ran out the door.

                I stomped on the fingers of one of the men as he tried to get up and went to help Nani. She was shrieking in pain as one of the men grabbed her hair and yanked it back. I ran up behind him and slammed my hand into his side under his exposed arm, eliciting a yelp from him as he let go of Nani’s hair. Nani whirled and smashed the heel of her palm up into his nose. Blood spurted from the now-broken nose and he swore loudly, grabbing at her.

                Someone came up behind me and wrapped my arms in a crushing bear hug. I gasped, spots flashing in front of my eyes and then jerked my head back, smashing the back of my head into his chin. His hold loosened and I slipped out of his grasp, turning and kicking in the spot most guys don’t like being kicked in. He doubled over, crumpling to the floor.