Love Roulette

40

He smiles. "Sure did, baby."

"Where the fuck is your hearing aid?" Gunner whisper yells, touching my ear which feels a little sore from the impact of my head hitting the wall.

"It shattered." I glance at Gabriella who is shaking with fright, her eyes wide and worried.

"Ella, it's okay." Gunner tries to comfort her, but she shrieks away and my heart breaks. She's been brainwashed, she has no idea that the man in front of her is her brother. She looks at me for help.

I crawl toward her, nearly missing a bullet to the head.

"You're going to be safe, Gabriella. We are good people, you can trust us." I speak and sign at the same time. No idea why I am signing, maybe to make her believe me more.

"T-Trust." She signs back and I gasp. She knows sign language.

"You know?" I sign and she nods her head. "Safe." She casts wary looks on Mason and Gunner. Gunner looks distraught at the fact his own sister doesn't recognise him.

"Yes. They are going to get you out of here. Somewhere safe."

"We." Gunner, grabs a hold of my face, staring down at me with pained eyes. "Whatever you're planning on doing, drop it the fuck down." He snarls and I just stare at him

"Gunner—"

"No. We get out of here and then we figure out how to take him down."

It's a vicious cycle, as long as he's alive he'll continue trafficking young girls.

"There is a fire exit," Mason nods to a fire exit that is about eight-hundred metres away from us.

"Our brains will get blown to pieces before we can even stand up and run a metre." I roll my eyes at his suggestion. "We need to get Gabriella out safely, she's too weak to run that far."

"I'll carry her," Gunner speaks in determination.

The gunfire has stopped, but I know they are waiting for us to move so they can start up again, we can't sit here forever. They all know that.

My eyes gaze up at the ceiling and I try my hardest to think whether what I'm about to do is a good idea.

Probably not.

"On my mark, you run," I whisper and Gunner and Mason look between each other with furrowed brows.

I swallow hard and stand up on shaky legs.

Multiple guns cock and I groan to see Damien still alive and standing. He holds his hand up to prevent them from opening fire.

His top is off, and his shirt is wrapped tight around the bullet wound. By his feet lays Alonso... dead. That's one less fuck to deal with.

"Delilah, get your fucking ass back down here!" Mason grits, ready to stand up himself and I do not doubt if he does, he'll be on the floor dead just like Alonso is right now.

"You'd be wise to not do anything more stupid, Delilah. The people you love are not getting out of here alive," he shouts, pointing at his wound. "And that's a promise, mi amor."

"How about I make you a promise, Damien? I'm going to tear you down to the fucking ground, feed you to the fucking sharks and watch you die a slow painful death. A minute for every young girl you've sold and killed. For the torture, you've put me through, how scared you've made me feel for the past two years. How about that promise?" His face morphs into amusement, and that tells me he doesn't believe me.

That's fine.

He will soon.

The grip on my gun tightens and before anyone can bat an eyelid, I aim it at the ceiling and shoot.

Everything after that happens in slow motion.

The glass ceiling shatters, and the walls around us rumble so loudly, it begins to collapse. Gunner grabs a hold of Gabriella's fragile frame, lifting her over his shoulder. Mason grabs a hold of my hand and we run. Bullets still fly. Shards of glass rain on us, blood decorates the walls, and shouts and painful cries fill my ear. I have to let go of Mason to shoot our way out of here and navigate through the big shards dropping like massive icicles.

The fire escape is so close, yet it feels like it's a mile away.

However, one particular gunshot makes me feel like the hearing in my left ear has returned.

I watch Gunner make it through the door first with his sister. Mason slips through, turning his head with a panicked look on his face. His eyes widen at the distance that has been created between us, it finally hits me that my steps have faltered. I'm clutching my stomach which is pouring with blood.

"God, no, no, no." I push myself to get to the exit, Mason is ready to slip through and make it back to me, but the wall collapses, rubble blocking what once was a door. A big shard of glass drops right in front of me, burying into the marble floor that has cracked and shattered.

A breathless gasp passes my mouth. I spin around, looking for another escape.

Rain water pelts down, sparks fly, and glass continues to shatter.

"Jesus, fucking Christ." I pull myself against the wall, taking in deep, steady breaths.

Most of the ceiling has already fallen. What once was a Casino, is more like a war zone.

A chill runs through my body and I clench my eyes shut.

The place feels eerily quiet, and not just because I can only hear out of my right ear. Many dead bodies lay on the ground and I take the opportunity to collect a few weapons, wincing.

I catch a shimmer of a gold watch on the floor. Not just anyone's watch. Damien's.

"I'll give it to you, Mi Amor that was a very brave thing to do." His voice echoes through the room and I press my back against a cornered wall.

"Shit, shit, shit. Fuck, fuck, my fucking life."

"Delilah."

"Fuck!" I moan.

"I'm going to kill you, I've decided."

I stare at the ground with a bored face, trying to listen for his footsteps, over the sparks of electricity due to the damaged wiring of the building and the pouring rain from outside.

It barely rains here, trust it to rain today.

"And then you know what I'm going to do? I'll kill your men, Gabriella and continue doing what I do best. Trafficking stupid little girls like yourself, Delilah. You can't stop me if you're dead." He bellows and my skin crawls in disgust.

The energy is leaving my body at a fast pace now. If I don't kill him soon, I'll die myself.

"I'll make sure to send your head in the post to your parents." I snarl at his words, straightening my back. "Where are you, Delilah?"

My eyes slowly close and my nostrils flare.

"Has anyone told you how psycho I get, Damien?" I call out.

"No."

"Well, you're about to find out."