The Colt & The Cobra - THE SPECTER SERIES [book six]

Chapter NINE

Vinny tries a second attempt at a warning, the panic rising in his tone.."No! Don't you fuckin--"

With another few fast strides Colt lifts you in his arms and makes it to the driver side of the pickup, he opens the back and shoves you inside..

The second you are on the floor of the truck, the gunshots begin to rain, spattering the truck and cutting through the steel as if it were nothing but warm butter..

BANG - BANG - BANG - BANG

Across the street you can hear nearby people scream in panic and fright, car tyres screech as pandemonium sets in and others get out as fast as they can..
Gunshots tend to have that effect on people.. Understandably.. You'd run too if you were them..

Glass breaks, shattering to shower over you when the bullets ricochet from the bumper..
The sounds are disorienting and overwhelming, seeing to come from all directions until you are deafened..

Colt cusses loudly, jumping in behind the wheel.. "Cocksuckin' motherfuckers!! FUCK THIS SHIT!"

The engine revs and roars to life and with a sudden jerk you are thrown backwards into the seat as the car lurches forward, peeling off into the thin, early morning traffic towards the main highway..

Good god, you feel terrible.. Sickly and faint.. Your mouth waters with a bitter taste and your throat burns with bile..

What is happening to you?

This episode feela far worse than any you've experienced before, and you're sure the stress of the last few days has exasperated your anxiety, foul mood and nausea to peak levels..

Righting yourself in the backseat, you sit up, rubbing your aching head, you think as hard as you can in an effort to make sense of everything.. But you just can't.. It is senseless.. "Did you just-- I mean-- Am I being fucking kidnapped right now?"

Colt doesn't say anything, he just keeps his eyes on the road, speeding southwards as you clamber clumsily over the passenger seatback to sit beside him in the front, determined to get answers from your apparent abductor.. "Helloooo? I'm talking to yo-- Colt?.. Oh my god!!"

Red.. Everything is red..all over and everywhere.. Once you see it, you can smell it..
Blood.. Metallic, salty and sour.. There is so much blood.. Liquid scarlet paints his chest.. Its all over his shirt, his jeans, his hands, the steering wheel.. "Merda! Cowboy!! You've been shot!!"

"No shit, Sugar.." He draws sarcastically before he slumps forward over the wheel exhausted..

Acting in instinct ans running on adrenaline, you lean across to sit him back up, your shaking, panicked hands searching his body, his torso, his chest for a wound.. Panicking when you can't fimd the source of his bleeding..
Where is it?! What are you supposed to do?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colt Knox

A youth spent hunting game in the deep south.. Four tours overseas in the Corps.. Three years under contract at the CIA and dozens of Specter jobs.. These are just some of things I have accomplished that involve firearms and risk taking.. And I'd done it all without ever being shot..

Hell, I had prided myself on it...

One fucking day as Mikki De'lucca's bodyguard and here I am bleeding out of my shoulder like a stuck pig..
It's a new kind of pain, one that starts sharp, but soon dulls to a pounding throb.. I couldn't tell you which is worse.. The stark stabbing sensation or the deep  internal aching..
Both are equally fucked..

Beside me, Mikki is losing her shit.. Her apple cider eyes are wide with panic and red rimmed from her tears.. Her caramel curls are tangled and her dress had somehow gotten all torn up in the commotion when I grabbed her back at the gas station, exposing a glowing, golden slice of her tanned tummy..

Shit..

I hadn't wanted it to go down that way.. To force her compliance like that had made me sick to my stomach.. But I couldn't lose her.. I haven't achieved my mission directive and there is no fucking way I'm getting let back into the De'lucca estate after the mess with Dax happened under my watch..
And no, I have absolutely no intention of ransoming Mikki back to the Mob..

Actually.. I have no fucking idea what to do with her.. For now, I can only plan for the present circumstances..
The extremely shitty present circumstances..

"Oh, fuck.. Fuck.. Oh mama Maria.. Merda.." Mikki pants in terror as she instinctively reaches across the centre console to help me.. Even in her stress-stricken frame of mind, she tries to do the right thing.. Confusing me all over again..

Is this woman cold-blooded, or is she compassionate? Is she a snake or am I mistaken?

I have no fucking idea..

"Sshhh, s'alright, Sugar, s'alright.." I take her fumbling hand from my chest and bring it to my throbbing shoulder, checking the rear view mirror for a tail, not seeing any signs of Vince and his boys following, much to my relief.. I cant deal with those assholes right now.. "Keep pressure there for me.."

I can feel her violently shaking with shock and when I glance over at her I see that her skin is flushed from heat, patchy and red.. And something else, more than her appearing off colour.. The way she is breathing.. Its stilted, strained and strange..

Is she not breathing properly?
A panic attack maybe?

Fuck.. I've messed up bad here..
Real bad..

"Mikki, Sugar? You with me?"
I try to keep the concern from cracking in my voice..

She nods, pressing into my gunshot wound obediently and making me wince though a breathless hiss.. "Y-yeah.. I'm.. Oh.. Colt, what am I supposed to do?!" Mikki whimpers, big tears rolling down her cheeks..

I keep my tone level, assertive and most of all reassuring as I take the downtown exit ramp off the freeway.. At least she isn't screaming at me in Italian anymore.. She's too terrified..

"Just.. Try and keep the red stuff on the inside, Sugar.. ..You're doing great, Mikki.. Were nearly there.." I offer gently, doing my best to make the situation appear less fucked than it is and avoiding answering any of her questions, because yeah.. I just abducted the Mafia princess..

It seems a little backwards for me to be comforting her given the circumstances, but through the pain of the trauma, I feel calm.. Focused.. I still have the clarity to know where I need to go right now and exactly what to do.. Mikki is less so in control..

I don't know what is going on with her, but I do know she's in some deep shit.. Maybe, just maybe, if I can help her out of said shit, she might decide to trust me and tell me what she knows..

Or maybe she'll hate me for betraying her, lying to her and using her.. The exact thing I took this job to do, which has somehow already become the last thing I actually want..

Mikki De'lucca has been screwed over by just about everybody in her life.. Well the ones that are still living at least.. No wonder the woman is a mess.. She's all alone..

What Mikki De'lucca really needs somebody she can trust..

And then there's me..

I come along and behave no better than any other asshole who has stepped all over her to better their position..