𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

𝟓𝟔 | 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥

„For fuck's sake, how many men does that Mercado have?" Leo said furiously. „I'm starting to think that the more we kill, the more add up," he thundered. Honest laughter filled the room.

„I wish it was the other way around," Tom said, going silent. „Ria," he said my name carefully.

Inhale. Exhale.

I opened my mouth to say something. Something... I don't know. Whatever. Only not that I failed to the fullest.

„Ria, what the hell are you still doing here?" Leo said to me. He grabbed me by the elbow. At his touch, I tensed and jumped up, like when a hypnotist snaps his fingers to wake you from a trance. Maybe it was the bright blood on his clothes that caught my eye.

„You and Otto should have been out of this damn building long ago," he scolded me with the look of an angry father. In my mind, I was grateful for Leo's violent reaction, which saved me from my own confession.

We all gathered at the end of the stairs and slowly explored the surroundings. The corridor we were on was much larger than the one in front of it. It didn't resemble a typical hotel corridor and it looked abandoned. The carpet under our feet was beige. In some places, it was dirty and somewhere even ragged. We were surrounded by bare bright walls, without paintings or decorations. The luxurious impression of the McCarthy Hotel immediately vanished in front of my eyes.

„As I see, you had problems," Tom said, looking at the result of Otto's work.

„There's no problem, Otto Wilder can't solve," Otto joined the debate, aiming his weapon at a soulless body for the effect.

„Did you give him a gun?!" Leo came at me. The tendons in his neck were completely strained from anger. I immediately took a defensive stance.

„She didn't give it to me, I took it from the guy you shot in the head," Otto explained simply. I didn't understand how he could talk about it with such ease. Maybe this is his way of preventing madness. „He won't need it anyway," he added matter-of-factly.

„He's right," Tom joined Otto's side, preventing Leo from the further protest. „I guess it's better if he's armed, he can defend himself." Otto agreed, noting that he appreciated the support. „Besides," Tom continued, „I think he can handle a gun well. This one got a bullet right between his eyes. How many times have you seen a beginner hit straight?" He said the convincing arguments directly to the table and that's how it was decided. Otto can keep his weapon. However, I hoped that he would not have to use it as soon as possible.

I was wrong.

„Luck of a beginner," Leo snorted. The light above us flashed a few times like it was trying to warn us of something sinister. The air between us also seemed thicker.

„I kind of don't like it," Otto said with slight fright in his voice and on his face. I began to mesmerize the light bulb with my eyes, which immediately stopped shining. And immediately another one went out. And another. „Well, I don't like it at all."

The whole room was almost completely dark. Only small backup lights on the sides remained lit, casting a bloody reflection on us. What do the mobsters have with those red lights? I asked myself an irrelevant question and remembered my father's armory, which also had them.

„Miller, can you explain that to me?" Leo demanded answers.

„It's not time, they turned off the electricity. We need to get to the bars before it's too-"

Late.

Something tickled on my left side. To my surprise, it was a door lock that I hadn't noticed before because it merged with the wall. Other men in black rushed into the spacious hallway, and I instinctively did two things at once. Protectively, I threw myself in front of Otto, gently hiding him behind me with my left hand and reaching for my weapon with my right hand.