Mio Re (#3)

Chapter 46: Now Or Never

          Leo brought his car to a halt by an array of trees that hid us partially from the large warehouse which was our target. Many other vehicles were parked around the property that was away from the city or any civilization for that matter, perfect for a showdown. Some men and women ran in, immersing themselves in the loud gunfire fiasco inside with multiple lifeless bodies scattered outside.

          Leo opened the trunk of his car then lifted the board under which guns were hidden. Different varieties of pistols, knives, and little gadgets were compartmentalized. Among them stuck out a big assault rifle that I definitely wasn't going to get.

After giving me two guns and rendering my hands full, Leo decided to strap a utility belt around my waist himself. He jerked on the belt and pulled me closer, his bare, rigid chest in my face. I looked away, trying to control the unusual beats of my heart, but my skin kept heating up due to the proximity and thinking about what almost happened by that yacht.

"Here are some mags for the guns." He stuffed some ammo into the belt along with knives. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?"

Picking up the assault rifles along with extra magazines, he shut the trunk and loaded his weapon. "The wet shorts are a bit uncomfortable. I need to change."

"What? Are you gonna strip a dead guy naked and wear his clothes now?" I scrunched my nostrils playfully. "That's low for even you."

The look of unamuse on his face forced a chuckle out of me before he tangled his hand with mine and warily maneuvered us both toward the property. "We need to get to that car over there."

He pointed at the blue Maserati. "Mike's?"

"It has my clothes."

"Ah, what are besties for!"

Hiding and avoiding any attention from the opposition, we moved alongside cars, ducking and looking out as we went in the night that the light poles lit up. During our ride here, Leo informed me that it was Orel we were hunting. He came to California with Cornelia, and I could already tell that this was his big mistake. There was no way that he was getting out of here even with his army of goons.

The closer we got to the Maserati, we noticed a platoon of men heading our way. "Yours?"

"No," he answered, getting ready to shoot from behind a car when suddenly the men stopped abruptly upon hearing the sound of our feet against the gravelly ground. "Run!"

It didn't take them another second to fire at the car we were hiding behind. With Leo, I sprinted, using the vehicles to shield us from the gunfire. The huffing stench of bullets piercing through the air, leaving the barrels with heat, and the smoke starting to emerge from the cars wafted up my nostrils and made me fear for my life. As we continued darting down barely escaping the bullets, Leo untangled our fingers and put his hand on my butt, making me gasp before he blindly inched it up to my waist after an apology. He suddenly pulled out a bomb I didn't know was there and threw it in their direction.

The men yelped and stopped the gunfire, giving us enough time to get ready. Leo with his assault rifle and me with my handguns, we aimed at the men and began firing until each one was dead. One squirmed on the ground, but he was put out of misery with a bullet in his head from my gun.

"Good job!" he complimented, ejecting his empty magazine and swapping it out for a new one.

Before I could say anything snarky to him for taking almost everyone out himself, I looked past his broad shoulder and witnessed another man darting for us. He was too quick for me to shoot without having Leo get caught in the crossfire. The man kicked the rifle out of Leo's grip and punched him hard which forced his face in my direction. Leo's oceanic eyes darkened like the night as a tiny drop of blood formed and slipped down the side of his mouth that twitched before he elbowed the man in his face and forced him to stumble back.