Five of Hearts

Chapter 32

My body immediately reacted, automatically and without warning. I felt tingles all the way down my arms and legs before my hand reached for the gun strapped to the inside of my thigh. The tiny black derringer only had two rounds. Two shots. That's all I had.

As soon as my fingers gripped the gun, I dropped into a crouch and what I hoped was out of his line of fire. Hudson did the same as one shot rang out and barely missed him, covering me with his large body, but that didn't stop me. I leaned out from behind him and aimed, breathed, fired.

Shot number one: caught his shoulder.

Hudson let off a shot from the glock he had hidden in the back of his pants. It missed as the guy jerked and backed away from us, holding his wounded shoulder in one hand and frantically letting off desperate shots with his other. I could hear his groans and labored breaths despite the distance and the loud cracks of gunfire.

"Get in the car!" Hudson yelled, but it was pointless. I had already stood up and aimed my gun at the thug, determined to get in my second and last shot. I wanted to finish him.

As a bullet whizzed erratically past my head, I calmly released a breath and pulled the trigger.

Shot number two: caught his heart.

With a heavy thud, his large body hit the asphalt of the parking lot and remained still. Hudson approached the body, his gun drawn, to inspect and make sure he was finished. A moment later, he slid his gun back into his pants and walked briskly back to me.

"Get in the car, we're leaving," Hudson ordered before grabbing my arm and helping me roughly into the car. When he shut my door, he whipped out his phone and made a call. I couldn't make out what he was saying until he hopped into the driver's seat to start the car and race out of the parking lot.

"Civello family. They must have spotted us in the club. We both knew something felt wrong."

I tried so hard to hear what was being said over the other end of the phone, but the hum of the car drowned them out.

"I'm taking her home now."

"No, he's dead. She got him."

"Yeah."

"We left him. I didn't know if there were more and I wanted to get her out of there."

"Sure," Hudson looked over at me and handed me the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" I surprised myself when I finally spoke. My body didn't shake, nor my voice. I sounded calm, collected, and completely in charge. I just killed someone.

"Are you okay?" Atticus spoke through the speaker, worry in his voice.

"I'm fine," I answered. I just killed someone.

"Are you sure? I know that was probably a lot-"

"Atticus I'm fine, I promise. What are you going to do with the body?" The one I killed.

"We're leaving now. Cash is going to take care of it. Two shots, huh? That's impressive Hats," he genuinely sounded impressed. I couldn't hold back the small smile that slid onto my lips. "I guess that little gun was helpful after all."

"I do what I can." Like killing people.

"You'll be home soon. Go upstairs, take a shower, and relax. I'll be there soon. The first time is always the hardest," he said softly through the phone. I heard the unmistakable harshness in his voice. The regret and shame that lingered in his words.

"Will do, boss," I responded calmly as Hudson pulled into the garage. I hung up the phone, handed it to him, and walked up to my room, starting the shower immediately.