Ignite You

by Diana A. Hicks

  “That’s because you don’t know what I can do for you.” Mickey smiled.

  “I have a good idea.”

  “Does she always talk this much?” He turned to Dom.

  “Yes,” I answered for Dom. “Get on with it.”

  Mickey chuckled. “Get her a gun.”

  Without a glance to his boss or a glint of fear in his eyes to be giving a mad woman a loaded gun, one of Mickey’s black suit-clad guards ambled toward me and handed me his weapon. As if I had men offering me guns all the time, I took it and did my usual checks on it. Yeah, the gun was loaded.

  I wrapped my fingers around the handle, pointing it at the concrete floor. Clicks echoed around the warehouse. Run. My entire body screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t move. When I met Mickey’s gaze, all guns were aimed at my head. “I got it. Don’t shoot the boss.”

  “Smart and pretty.” Mickey pointed his chin at Dom. This entire display was for Dom’s benefit. Every move Mickey made was to get a rise out of him, but Dom was used to these mind games. His face remained impassive. If I didn’t know how much he loved me, I’d think Dom was bored.

  My hand trembled, and I squeezed the metal between my fingers tighter. Dom’s words flooded my mind. ‘And you’ve decided? Is that what you’re telling me? Emilia, killing a person will, in time, kill you.’

  There had been a time when I wanted to kill a person in the worst way possible. I convinced myself that it was survival, that he deserved it, and that I was entitled to it.

  The night Dom showed me his scars, he told me about how Mickey had made him kill his friend. That night, he lobbied for Levi’s life. Not to save him but to save me. And that was what Mickey was banking on tonight. That Dom would do as he asked to save me.

  “Enough. The suspense is killing me as they say.” Mickey chortled at his own bad joke. “Bring him.”

  Again, one of his guards sprang into action. He didn’t ask who or how? I didn’t ask either because I knew exactly whom I had to kill today. Some favor. The guard strode the length of the gym on the opposite end and returned with Levi.

  My stomach churned, hard as stone. The man who shot my dad and left Mom and me for dead over ten years ago stood in front of me. Regardless of his reasons, he was still the man who killed Dad. He’d lost weight since the last time I saw him. The cuts on his wrists from the wide cable ties binding them together weren’t bleeding, but they were still fresh.

  “Hello, cousin,” he said in a hoarse voice. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

  The adrenaline rushed through me as images of Dad’s bloody body flashed before me. I swallowed and replaced them with a new scene. Levi paying for what he did to my family. Dom’s warm hand settled on my lower back. His tall frame towered over me, shielding me from Mickey.

  “Give me the gun, Emilia,” he whispered in my ear.

  I shook my head. This was my problem. My fight. I didn’t need Dom to save me. I didn’t want him to.

  “My son needs a gun.” Mickey stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Dom, hands up to his lips as if he were praying.

  As it happened every time Mickey spoke, his orders were followed blindly. In the corner of my eye, a weapon materialized in front of Dom. Without hesitation, Dom gripped the handle and aimed the gun at Levi’s head. Then I saw a new scene in my head. Izzy crying over her dad’s empty grave. The way I’d done countless times in the past ten years. Levi wasn’t perfect, and in his own messed up way he had tried to help Mom and me.

  “It isn’t up to us to decide.” I stepped in and faced Dom as Levi’s hot breath brushed the back of my neck.

  Dom lowered his gun but didn’t loosen his grip. “I know, but this won’t end for you until Levi is gone.”

  “Are you sure? Killing Levi won’t end this thing with him.” I pointed a finger at Mickey. He raised both his eyebrows. What did he think? That I would let Dom do this for me? “If you do this, it will start something new for you. And he knows it. That’s why Levi is here. That’s why Vic let me go.” I met Vic’s gaze in the back. The minute he’d walked in behind Levi, I realized he’d let me escape the cabin back in Sedona. I was here because he wanted me here.

  Dom glanced over his shoulder and cursed when he spotted Vic’s furrowed face among the other guards. “You let her go knowing she’d come straight here?”

  “I’m tired of running, Dom,” Vic said deadpan.

  “You son of a bitch, I trusted you.”

  “And I earned that trust. I warned you to leave her be.” Vic pointed at me.

  “How do you think I knew Emilia was the key,” Mickey asked. “It was never hard to keep tabs on you, know your every move. There were things only Vic could know. Like the feelings you’ve had for her since the day you met.”

  “Vic.” The whites of Dom’s eyes turned red with unshed tears.

  “I’m here to make sure this thing with Mickey ends tonight. I promised your mom I’d look after you. This is me keeping that promise.”

  My knees weakened. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I’d tried to help Dom and made it all worse. I couldn’t lose him to this world he didn’t want. I shuffled back and collided with Levi’s body. In a blur of arms, faces swirling out of focus, and a rumble of triggers clicking around us, Levi put me in a headlock, yanked the gun out of my hand and aimed it at Dom.

  “Don’t shoot them.” The menace in Dom’s tone made a couple guards lower their guns. “Levi, there’s another way out of this. Let her go.” Dom stalked forward, his arms raised in front of him.

  “Tell them to lower their guns.” Levi’s erratic breathing crept through my hair and sent a terrifying chill down my spine. His grip tightened around my throat and white spots exploded in front of me. My feet dragged across the floor as he backed away toward the side entrance.

  “Mickey, call off your men.”

  I slow blinked at the faces in front of me to gain focus. Ashen-faced, Dom prowled after Levi, hands still raised as we inched closer to the exit. Vic had his gun aimed somewhere over my head. The rest of the men didn’t care if I got shot in the process or not.

  “Stand down.” Mickey glared at Vic.

  Levi taking over the situation hadn’t been part of Mickey’s plan. Had it been part of Vic’s plan? Regardless of how Levi managed to break free, Mickey was no longer in control. He pursed his lips and all the wrinkles on his face bulged. His gaze darted across the room while he calculated his next step.

  He could shoot both Levi and me and be done with this stupid game, but Dom had been clear. If anything happened to me, he would make sure everything Mickey had worked for all his life would turn to ashes. Everything Mickey placed value on hinged on his crew.

  What was left for us? Would Levi take off and spend the rest of his life hiding from Mickey’s crew? Or would he run back to the cartel to ask for help? For that, he’d need to tell them the truth—that Mom and I were still alive. I’d known Levi long enough to know that he would choose himself over my family any day of the week.

  After ten years, if he went back to the cartel to explain he never finished the task he was given, would they have any kind of leniency with him? Or would they send someone else to take care of the loose ends? Even if they didn’t kill him or his family, Levi would have to know that the life of privilege he once enjoyed because of his high standing would come to an end.

  “What are you doing, Levi? Think of Jess and the kids.” I was reaching. What could I possibly offer him to make him release me?

  “You want me to kill him for you? Would you forgive me then? Would that make us even?” Levi whispered in my ear.

  “No, I don’t.” My voice quavered as the realization of what this was for Levi washed over me. He was still trying to come out on top. I searched for the right words to make him stand down. “That’s a suicide mission. They’ll kill us both…I already forgave you.”

  A gray sky met us outside the warehouse. Levi tugged at me to make me fall in step with him. Dom put out his han
d when he crossed the threshold to keep pace with Levi and me, while Mickey’s crew spilled out of the building and followed close behind him—ready to make a move.

  My mouth went dry while I played different scenarios in my head. If I fought Levi, he would no doubt start shooting. Dom would have to step in and kill Levi, which was exactly what Mickey wanted. And what if Levi ended up killing Dom? Mickey would never let us out of here alive.

  “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” He glared at Mickey, who looked like he was ready to do some shooting of his own.

  “No, you don’t but I needed to let all that anger go.” I didn’t recognize the shrill tone in my own voice. Levi was out of his mind.

  “There’s a car you can take. Emilia’s driver can take you back to the airport. You can fly anywhere you want. We won’t follow you.” Dom stood so still, I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Levi relaxed his hold on me and glanced at Dom. “Get in the damn car, Levi, and never come back.”

  Levi pressed his lips to my temple. “What do you think are the chances Jess will name our boy after me?”

  “What?” I met Dom’s gaze. If he heard Levi’s question, he didn’t show it. He shook his head once. A silent plea to get me not to play the hero. He wanted Levi to go on his own but did that ever work? Levi would go through great lengths to ensure his survival. Wasn’t that why he came to our house that night and shot my entire family even when it hadn’t been his initial plan? When everything went to hell for him, he chose himself and the life he wanted with Jess. His best shot was to leave here with me and use me as insurance.

  “Answer me.”

  “Good. I’d say good.” I hated that I was right. Jess and I hadn’t talked about baby names. But she was the type to want to name her boy after the baby’s father. Even if Levi didn’t deserve the honor.

  “Promise you’ll take care of my family.”

  “Get in the car, Levi.”

  “Promise me.” He tightened his arm around my neck.

  “I promise. They’re my family too. I would do anything to protect them.” Tears spilled down my cheeks.

  “I believe you.” He chuckled. The laugh of a man gone mad. “I’m sorry. For everything. I really am.” He exhaled slowly. “Tell my kids I love them.”

  “Levi—”

  His arm moved from my neck to my stomach so fast he knocked the wind out of me. The second blow came when he shoved me across the hood of the black sedan with one hand while he fired shots directly in front of him. Mickey’s crew responded in kind before I hit the asphalt. I tried to find my footing, but a pair of hands gripped my shoulders and dragged me to the other side away from the rain of bullets pelting down on Levi.

  The smoke and the shouts got muffled as my mind tried to sort out what’d happened. Was this about Jess and the kids? He must’ve done the math when Mickey pitted Dom and me against each other to see who would kill Levi first. He must’ve known he wasn’t leaving this place alive. I rubbed my throbbing temple and curled against the back tire, my cheek pressed against the sooty rim. Levi was no longer my problem or my monster under the bed.

  After what felt like hours, the gunfire stopped. The stench of burnt metal stuck to the back of my throat, and the smoke stung my eyes. Dom. I wanted to get up and find him, but my legs wouldn’t move.

  “Is he?”

  Tyler sat on his haunches next to me with a gun in his hands. He didn’t shoot back at Mickey’s crew, just stood his ground next to me while he scouted the area in the way only someone with experience would do.

  “I don’t know many flight attendants or personal drivers who can handle a hostage situation.”

  “I think it’s obvious I’m neither of those things.” He raised both eyebrows. “I apologize for not being forthcoming. My brother asked me to keep a low profile. He was right to assume you and Dom would need backup.”

  I should’ve known Dom’s friend wouldn’t let me fly cross-country on my own. “No wonder he was so understanding when I told him I didn’t want him or Valentina to come with me.” My voice sounded so far away, muffled by the ringing in my ears. My mind held on to the few details that made sense.

  “Hey. Stay with me.” He gripped my shoulders and turned my face to get me to look at him. “Can you tell me your name?”

  I nodded.

  “Hey. Do you know where you are?”

  “What does it matter where I am? Where’s Dom?”

  “I’ll take that as a yes.” Tyler craned his neck to see over the trunk of the car. He pressed his knuckles to his nose and shook his head. “Ms. Prado. Don’t look.”

  He surveyed my face and then the rest of me. “I think you have a concussion. You hit the asphalt pretty hard. Come on. We have to go before someone remembers you’re still here.”

  “No, we can’t go. I feel fine. We need to find Dom. Please.” Every inch of my body hurt.

  “I didn’t want to say it, but your head is bleeding. I promise after you get help, I’ll come back and find Dom for you.”

  I blinked several times, but the white blotches covering everything around me made it hard to focus. Arms lifted me into the back seat of the rental car. The cool black leather felt wet and sticky against the side of my face. His lips moved, but the words were a jumble of echoes I couldn’t make out. I closed my eyes to make the shrill ring in my head stop. All I wanted to do was sleep.

  30

  Traitors Never Win

  Dom

  What the fuck? I aimed my gun at Levi when he shoved Emilia out of the way and fired at Mickey. Vic used his own pistol to ram me in the shoulder. The unexpected blow brought me to my knees, and I dropped my gun.

  “What the hell, Vic?” Why in the world was he helping Levi? The son of a bitch had taken Emilia as hostage.

  “Get down.” He pulled me away from Levi’s line of sight. “Let those two finish this once and for all.”

  “What about Emilia?” I glanced up, but she was gone.

  A few more shots rang out and then silence fell around us like a dark blanket. My heart slammed against my chest as my head snapped up toward Levi. I rolled on my side and cradled my shoulder when it throbbed in protest.

  Twenty feet away, Levi lay in a pool of his own blood. Death by fire squad. What a horrible way to go. Why did he do it? With Emilia as a hostage, he could’ve gone anywhere. Or was that just it? Did he realize he’d taken a wrong turn when he partnered with Mickey, and he had nowhere to go? I scrambled to my feet and darted toward Emilia’s black sedan.

  Please be okay. Please be okay.

  In the back seat of the driver’s side, I found Tyler trying to wake Emilia up. “She hit her head hard.” He climbed out of the car when he saw me. “I would’ve taken her to the hospital, but the front tire got hit pretty bad.

  “Thanks. I got her.” I nodded.

  Her warm breath brushed my forehead when I pressed my ear to her chest. She was alive. I couldn’t begin to imagine what all of this did to her. Cupping her cheeks, I turned her head to one side and then the other. She had a nasty cut on her temple, but the rest of her was whole. I held her tight until she moaned against my neck.

  “I can’t breathe with you on top of me,” she mumbled against my neck.

  “Fuck, Emilia. I’ve never been this scared in my life.” I let my legs spill out of the car and helped her to sit up. “Are you okay? Do you remember where you are?”

  “Why do people keep asking me that? I’m fine.” She touched her palm to her bleeding temple and winced.

  “I’ll drive you to the hospital.” I ran my fingers over the bruises on her arm.

  “I don’t need a hospital. I’m fine.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks. “This was like déjà vu. Like the night Dad was shot.” Squeezing her eyes shut, she dropped her face in her hands. “Did I pass out?”

  “I think so. I’m so sorry you had to go through this again.”

  “You can’t put this one on you.” She glanced up at me.

  Vic’s words swirled in
my head. I turned to him. He stood there, eyebrows furrowed into a deep V. “You son of a bitch. You set this up?”

  “I saw an opportunity and I took it. Mickey screwed Levi over. If Levi didn’t die here tonight, the cartel would’ve gotten to him as soon as he landed in Phoenix. He was a dead man walking. At least this way, his death counted for something.”

  “You put Emilia’s life in danger. You used her.” I’d always appreciated Vic’s calm demeanor, but right now I wanted nothing more than to punch the calm out of him. My insides twisted at the thought that this could’ve ended so differently for Emilia.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Prado, there was no other way.”

  “You cut the cable ties binding Levi’s wrists, didn’t you?” she asked, squinting at him, trying to make all the events that happened fit into a perfect box in her head. I sure as hell wanted to understand what exactly had gone down.

  Vic nodded. “Traitors never win. I made sure he understood that.”

  Tears stained Emilia’s face as she laced her fingers through mine. “Izzy will be crushed. How am I going to tell her?”

  “We’ll figure it out.” I kissed the top of her head. What else could I say? How did I justify any of this? Mickey had gone too far with his insane thirst for control and his wicked mind games. Not even Vic could make excuses for his actions.

  “I told you he’d push you to the limit.” Vic grimaced. “He wasn’t right anymore. You know? He lost his way a while a back.”

  I glared at Vic. He wasn’t wrong about Mickey. Emilia let her feet fall to the ground and pushed herself out of the car. What was she thinking? Did she finally understand the kind of world I lived in? That being with me could never be a good thing?

  “Is Mickey…?

  I shook my head because I didn’t know if he was gone or just wounded. The walls of my stomach felt like stone. Levi only had one shot to kill Mickey. If he didn’t get the job done, Mickey would come after Vic. Would he damn it all to hell and also come after Emilia? I made it clear to him that she was off limits, but it was as Vic had said, Mickey wasn’t right anymore.