“Wait, what?” I whip my head back around and cut my eyes at Tasha and she shrinks into the couch even more as I hop off the table and march over to her. “Are you fucking insane, Natasha? Benzo?”
“See! I knew you’d react like this! I can’t help who I love, Rue.”
“I thought you were done with him,” Lucky remarks, making me scoff in response.
“Yeah, so did I. I guess we should have known,” I bite out harshly, but I know only Hollis can hear me. I love Natasha and I know she deserves someone way better than Benzo. He has always been so nasty to her and finding out she’s been sneaking around with him again makes me so fucking sad for her.
She can’t see her importance and she is worth so much more than getting slammed up against the wall whenever he’s in a bad mood. She’s got much more value and doesn’t deserve having a gun put to her temple because she speaks in the wrong tone. I love her, but she doesn’t love herself enough to stay away from him.
We all sit here, staring at each other with the loud music blaring until the first shot rings out. The second and third shots sound a lot closer and I turn around quickly while ducking behind the couch as loud, shrill screams can be heard all over the club. I look to my left and Lucky sits wide eyed next to me with her hands over her mouth and I quickly looked to my right, in search of Natasha.
She isn’t there and in a last minute decision I stand up into a crouched position, looking around for my friend. She didn’t jump behind the couch like Lucky and I did, and I see why as soon as I spot her laying on the couch. She’s been shot and blood is everywhere, pooled all around her and her face is scrunched up, and even though the gunshots are still ringing out through the club, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter at all.
“Tasha!” I jump over the couch and my reaction makes Lucky rise to her feet too.
With tears in my eyes I brush her hair out of her face and hold her cheek with the side of my hand. I can see her chest rising and falling slowly, so I know she’s alive, but it doesn’t look good. She’s covered in blood and her eyes are glassy and big. I can't tell where she is bleeding from but I’m looking anyway.
A sinister laugh comes from behind me when the gunfire ceases and through teary eyes I look up at Tasha’s shooter.
Benzo.
“I told my bitch to stay away from the fellas tonight,” he sneers, still holding a bulky black gun in his hand. The gun means nothing to me as I rise to my feet, squaring up to the saddest excuse for a man I’ve ever met.
“You fucking son of a bitch!” I scream at him, lunging for his gun. I have every intention of stealing his gun and shooting him right between his eyes. One of the only two people I have in my life could be dying right now and I am out for blood. It only takes him a second to realize what I’m doing before he tries to swat me away with his free hand. I dodge him.
“I never liked you much, maybe you can be buried right next to that whore,” he laughs, jerking his head in Tasha’s direction. I can hear Lucky comforting Tasha, and sirens blaring from the streets, but I can only focus on killing Benzo.
With newfound strength, I lunge again hitting low on his side, knocking the gun from his drunken hand. I dive for it. When I feel his weight crash on top of me I scramble to get the gun and as I grip my hand onto the handle he yanks my hair back making me scream out in pain.
I hold on tightly to the gun as he yanks me by my long hair. My back hits the sharp edge of the table I’d been dancing on and I cry out again as he nails me in the side of my face with the inside of his fist. My head flies to the side but I do my best to hang on to my bearings. I am determined to kill him.
I can hear new screams erupting, and words being said, but nothing is making much sense to me and my ears are ringing so loudly. As he grips my neck, my vision becomes blurry but I hold tightly to the gun and swing it up and over my head, hitting what I hope is Benzo’s face with the top of the gun.
I hear him grunt out in pain before he releases me with a shove. He curses me loudly as he holds onto his face and I scramble away from him, still on the floor. There is no time for me to recover before he’s back on me, trying to get the gun belonging to him back in his possession. “Bitch, give me my gun.”
“Get the fuck away from us, or I’m going to shoot you right between your fucking eyes,” I growl out loudly, getting to my feet and holding the gun out in front of me, my hands only trembling a little.
A nasty grin grows across his face, he revels in the fact he’s staring death directly in the face and he isn't scared. He’s eager to be shot and his maniacal laugh makes me want to throw up.
“You won’t kill me, naughty girl,” he spits out, venom dripping from his words. He starts to take a step toward me, and I pull my finger tighter to the trigger, ready to blast him away.
“I wouldn’t bet your life on your assumption,” I snarl, still trying to catch my breath but my breathing is erratic and unsteady as I wait for him to move. “Stay away from us!”
“I said, you aren't going to kill me,” he yells, a new wave of anger spreading across his face as he speaks. “Do you know who I am?”
“A bitch ass mother fucker who just shot a woman you were supposed to be in love with,” I tell him.
“A bitch ass what? I’m going to fuck you—” was all he got out as he lunges towards be just before a bullet pierces through the side of his head.
I jump back so hard I drop the gun and quickly cover my mouth as I watch him slump to the floor in front of me. There is so much blood and my heart is pounding so damn hard I can barely hear how loud the sirens are. Especially with my ears still ringing.
A pair of warm hands find my face and force me look up into eyes searching mine for any detection of life. “Ruby,” he shouts, snapping me into the present. “We have to leave. The cops are coming.”
I nod my head and look back at Lucky. She’s covered in Tasha's blood and when Hollis notices where I’m looking, he runs over to where Tasha is laying and quickly scoops her up. Lucky jumps from the couch and follows him over to me.
“Follow me and we will make it out in time. Stay close,” he orders, before taking off across the empty VIP section and heading for the back of the club with Natasha in his arms securely. Lucky and I run behind him and all I can do is hope with all I have Natasha will be okay.
Chapter Four
HOLLIS—PRESENT
“She’s going to die, she’s going to die, fuck, fuck, fuck,” the loud Hispanic girl keeps screaming from the backseat.
I am about two fucking seconds from yanking her out of my car if she doesn’t shut up.
“Shut the fuck up,” I grind out when she starts sobbing loudly. “She’s not going to fucking die unless you don’t shut your loud ass yelling up and I crash.”
Ruby glances at me, and when I glance over to her I expect her to look surprised or even fearful, but her eyes are empty. She isn’t scared. She’s pissed.
“She’s bleeding all over,” the girl continues, much quieter than before. I don’t respond as I speed up the road towards Preston’s compound.
“Why aren't we going to the hospital?” Ruby asks calmly, wiping some of the drying blood from her hands onto her dress absentmindedly while looking at me.