Page 59 of It Destroys Me

I took my time as I headed upstairs, knowing too much weight on a single plank could make it scream like the scratch of a record. The walls were covered in black wallpaper with white lilies, and a glass chandelier hung from the ceiling over the stairs. It was an elegant place, a property worth millions.

Just when my head crested the next floor, something was tossed down the stairs.

I hesitated. “Bomb.” I sprinted up the stairs just before it went off, releasing a cloud of gas that leaked toward the kitchen and crept to the floor I had just reached. It all happened fast, seeing his dark outline in the parlor, a rifle in his hands and a gas mask on his face. He aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger.

I sprinted across the room then rolled until I was covered by the wall of the next room. Bullets sprayed the walls and the house. Even though I was used to the sound, the gunshots were still harsh on the ears.

He stopped shooting when I was out of sight.

I got up and kept moving, heading down the hallway and rounding the corner before he could shoot me in the back.

I knew I could kick out a window and climb around to sneak behind Bolton, but my plan was thwarted when I saw the woman down the hallway, wearing a gas mask just like Bolton. In her hand was another smoke grenade, and she taunted me with it before she rolled it toward me.

If I ran back, I’d be pumped full of lead. If I ran forward, I would die in the poison gas.

That left me one choice.

The bomb exploded in the hallway, and smoke immediately filled the space.

I took a deep breath before I stuffed my gun into the back of my jeans. Then I ran for it, ran for the last place she’d been before she disappeared in the haze. It was dark and the smoke was thick, but when I hit something that moved, I knew I’d found her.

My heart pumped harder in my chest from the lack of oxygen and the exertion in my muscles, so I knew time was limited before my lungs forced me to breathe. I found her on the floor as she tried to crawl away from me, her scream muffled by her mask. She kicked me when I tried to grab her ankles.

Then bullets sprayed from behind me.

Bolton pulled that trigger without giving a damn that his side piece could be there.

I tossed her in an open doorway that must lead to a spare bedroom.

She fought me with all she had, showing a surprising amount of strength for someone so petite. But she knew she was fighting for her life. She threw her fists at my face then grabbed her knife and tried to slice it across my throat.

I would normally punch her in the face to knock her out, but if I cracked the mask, I was done for. I slammed my fist down into her stomach so hard she gave a scream mixed with a painful gasp.

But I didn’t care.

I yanked the mask off her face and left her there.

Left her there to inhale the poison gas and die a painful death.

I grabbed a chair and threw it against the window. The glass shattered, and the chair went flying. I cut both of my hands as I grabbed on to the ledge and hoisted myself up to breathe the clean air. I shook out the mask to make sure there was no gas inside before I put it on. I slipped it over my head before I took my first breath.

Nothing burned—so I was safe.

I dropped back to my feet and grabbed my pistol from my back pocket. I was trapped in the room, but unless Bolton had ammunition on him, he would run out of bullets for his rifle soon. He probably had a handgun too, but that wouldn’t be enough to stop me, not unless he’d already hit me in the first place.

“Is that it?” Bolton said from the hallway. “This is the infamous Skull King? No wonder your brother died a pussy.”

I crept to the door and glanced at Carson’s dead body. Her skin was already pale and yellow, and froth had dripped from her mouth. Her eyes were open wide and fixed on the ceiling. This was a woman who’d claimed she loved Bolton, and he did her dirty just the way he did to his wife.

It was tempting to reply, but I knew he wanted to know exactly where I was.

I was a sitting duck in this bedroom and had to get out.

The smoke was still heavy in the hallway, making visibility nonexistent. I hoped my guys had run for it and had been spared the painful death Bolton just gave his girlfriend. When I poked my head down the hallway, I couldn’t see anything. If I couldn’t see anything, then neither could he.

I moved into the hallway and ran for it, and the second he heard my footsteps, he opened fire.

I made it to the next room, another sitting room attached to a study. There wasn’t as much smoke in here, so it was easier to see. That meant Bolton would have a greater chance of hitting his target.