Buried Deep ✔️

Chapter Seven [Dangerous Games]

"Just put the fucking money in the bag, bro," I snarled at Damen, the barrel of my gun pressed against the back of the shop owner's head.

His body trembled beneath me, his lips moving as he prayed quietly in Arabic.

"Shut the hell up."

I flashed a look back at Damen, sighing. My patience was dwindling by the minute. The shop owner went silent as Damen fumbled around with the key to the cash register. The iron smell of blood filled the store.

"I'm trying, Spence. Fuck, you're making me nervous," he growled back.

I scanned the large front windows of the deli. "I just don't feel like killing him or getting arrested tonight."

The quiet street outside and the darkness of the night provided cover for an escape, but we didn't have long to collect Cayden's money before the police swarmed us.

"How much am I supposed to be getting, bro?"

I gritted my teeth, letting out a loud breath. "You idiot. You really don't listen. Just throw it all in there." I rubbed my temples with my free hand.

I would much rather have run this job with Holiday, but Cayden had sent him with Eddie and Tick to terrorize the police force. Since James' death, Cayden had an obsession with scaring the 5-0. Attacks on officers, vandalism of police equipment, and posting threatening messages at the department had become new jobs for members of the gang.

Damen stepped around the counter and stopped beside me. "I got it." He slipped the backpack on and glanced at the shop owner, kneeling down in front of him. "Tonight is your lucky night, my friend."

I stepped around the shop owner and stopped in front of him, lowering the barrel of my gun.

"Cayden said to consider this a warning. Next time, you better have his money on time or you'll end up like her," I snarled. My head tilted over to the body of the woman who had threatened to call the laws when we had first entered the shop: The lady whose life I had taken. The bullet had entered her as if she was nothing, just meat and blood, blasting a cavity in her back as blood splattered against the deli wall. Her face, once so full of life, was now left frozen, with her eyes open and her jaw slack. I ground my teeth together as I pulled my eyes away from the scene with a deep breath.

The deli owner bowed his head to us. He couldn't look at her.

"Yes, yes," he murmured.

Sirens pierced the quiet night. Blue lights reflected off the glass building across the street. My breath became ragged as I fumbled with my gun, and heat consumed my body beneath my jacket.

It was time to go. I couldn't get caught here.

My stomach tightened as I stepped away from the shop owner, shoving Damen's shoulder and forcing him to the back of the shop.

After slipping out the back door, the thumping of our feet hitting the ground and the loud blare of sirens filled the alley. With a deep breath, I scaled the chain-link fence and reached down to help Damen over. We hurried down the alley and stayed in the shadows to avoid being seen.

"That was close, bro," I mumbled as we arrived at the fire escape of the Southside apartment.

"Yeah, I know. If it wasn't for you taking out that woman, we would have been caught," he said as his dark eyes glanced up at the apartment door and he slipped the bag off his back.

There was a tug on my heart as I remembered the fear in the lady's voice as she begged for her life. It rang in my ears. I closed my eyes, and my jaw locked.