In Too Deep

Forty One

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They traveled through blocks before Vicious stopped the car. The insides of Nova turned. Another wave of sickness and fear hit her, but she tried to breathe through her nose and mouth. There were more than five cars around, and Vicious' men jumped out from a white van. They were all armed.

As soon as Vicious opened her door, he pulled her out from it and took her arm. He held her back when his men started to approach him, guns in hand.

"Is it secured?" he asked, drifting his head toward the incompleted building in front of them. The street wasn't only quiet, but it was abandoned. There were no other buildings in the area beside the incompleted building and another construction beside it.

"It's almost contained, boss," one of the men replied. "But we got Screw. Mario has him. He is not hurt." Nova didn't realize she had let out a sigh of relief, which Vicious glanced at her for through the corner of his eyes.

"Where are they now?" He turned to the building, staring at it.

"Top floor. Some men are hiding. It's hard to say we've cleared them all. Mario and Screw are still inside."

"Okay, and the man?"

The men shared a look but didn't say anything on that. Nova's heart punched through her chest. Did they kill Keenan? Could they have killed him and were struggling to reveal that? If there was anything she didn't underestimate was Mario's anger or his need for revenge.

"Vicious..." she tugged his arm, desperate to get inside the building so she could confirm whether Keenan was alive or not. Her eyes were already shedding tears.

He didn't say anything, just accepted the gun handed to him before he tugged her along, ordering three of his men to follow them into the building. The entire time he dragged her inside, Nova's heart kept rising to her fear. Her legs wobbled when they started walking upstairs. Her heart jumped at every shot fired. Two of Vicious' men left their positions to scour the rest of the floors for anyone left alive. Only one remained, tagging along behind.

As they reached the last step, Nova looked up at him after she felt his hand tightening around her arm before he let her go.

"Do you hope he's going to make it out alive?" He stepped closer, his gaze boring down into hers. His eyes were heated, smoldering with a promise. "Appropriate justice would be served to both of you." His hand held her elbow, pressing her against him. He was rock solid, every inch of him tense. "I almost feel bad, but then I remember you're the bitch who brought this on yourself. Don't assume just because Screw is unhurt that I would forgive you for what you did. There is no mercy in my gang."

Nova swallowed a lump.

"We're here because of you," he continued, "I'm warning you now. Any attempt of running or doing something stupid, you will get hurt. It's not just Mario and my men you would have to deal with. You'd also have to take me down." She could feel his breath on her, warming her. A few inches separated their lips, but then he stepped back.

The blood and dead bodies left behind them told Nova that this was all real. She was fucked. She and Keenan were both fucked. There were no chances of escaping. It was impossible to, not when Keenan's men were dead, not when the building was infiltrated by Vicious' men. It was over. There was no calculative move. There were no cards left on the table. No piece to move.

Vicious pulled her again. They walked for a short few seconds until they started hearing voices. Arguments. They were so far high up that it made her sick.

They followed the voices.

"Hey, boss."

Nova wasn't the only one who had a shortness of breath. Vicious halted when Screw stood in front of them with the largest grin. There wasn't any scratch on his face or body. He still looked the same, as if he hadn't been the one held hostage for weeks. She was glad Keenan had kept to his word and didn't hurt her friend. Her friend? Did she even dare to call him that?