But Romeo suddenly disappeared from view, and I didn’t think he’d stepped aside. His men started to glance over their shoulders, then raised their weapons up at someone. Someone was shooting at them from the rooftop of the building right next to the spot where they were standing.

They opened fire, and a couple of them fell down too. The men behind me were now running toward me—or toward the rest of the Desaltis—and I realized this was my opportunity. I stepped on the gas pedal again and headed straight toward them, ducking my head, as I was sure they’d shoot at me. I closed my eyes for a moment as the windshield burst, and a loud thud sounded as my car hit something.

The cold air hit my face, but I had to ignore it. When I opened my eyes, which were a little teary from the wind, I’d already passed the Desaltis, and most of them were lying on the ground. I must have hit or run over one or two of them. I looked toward the building where James had been, but I couldn’t see him. Some of the Desaltis were still alive, so I sped away from there and rounded the corner, hoping they wouldn’t be quick enough to follow me.

If I wasn’t wrong, their boss was dead, and that should at least confuse them a bit or slow them down. The only problem was that I didn’t know how to get to James. I searched for my phone, but I wasn’t sure where it was. It must have fallen somewhere. Shit.

I headed into one of the alleys that I thought might lead to the other side of the building where James had been. If the Desaltis’ men showed up, I’d be in trouble, but I still had my gun. Someone ran out of one of the buildings, and as I came closer, I realized it was James.

“Hey!” I yelled, and he almost pointed his gun at me, but then he raced toward me and got in the car.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, his eyes filled with worry. “I thought you... I saw them coming, but instead of going to the parking lot, they stopped only briefly and went away. I wasn’t sure if...”

“It’s okay. You did it.” I flashed him a smile. “We need to get a new car or get somewhere safe.” I wasn’t about to stop just yet. The police sirens were already piercing the air, so I drove through the darkest alleys I could find, and once we were sure no one was after us, we got out of the car.

“We can get to one of my stash houses from here,” I said when I got a better look at the buildings around me. “We’ll be safe there. I think.”