Dark Vengeance by Kristi Belcamino (libby ebook reader .txt) 📗

surrounded the Sultan. I began to run toward him, as well, but by the time I got to the dock, they were all in a small motorboat speeding toward the larger boat anchored some ways away.

I stood on the dock for a few seconds and watched them board the boat. Its large engine hummed to life at the same time the helicopter reached us.

A large beam of light shone down from the copter, illuminating the deck of the boat, but was immediately met by gunfire. Massive rocket launchers. The copter swooped and dived and dipped and then rose to avoid the fire.

Behind me, in the parking lot, I heard the sound of a vehicle start up. I whirled. It was X taking off in the black sedan. One of the tires I’d shot out was making it hard, but it would still drive.

I stood there, torn between trying to find a boat to chase the Sultan and finding a car to hotwire and chase X.

Ultimately, it was X I had the better chance of capturing at that moment.

As much as I wanted to go after the Sultan, my hands were tied. I had to hope the military copter would take him out.

Racing toward the parking lot, I lucked out.

A man carrying a bucket of fish was cowering by one of the old trucks. I immediately spotted his keys in his hand. He was fixated by the boat and helicopter chase on the water before us.

“I need your truck,” I said, grabbing his keys. Twenty seconds later, I was squealing out of the parking lot.

I was counting on the sedan limping along with only three tires, and my bet paid off. Based on the pieces of shredded black rubber I kept seeing on the road in front of me, X must’ve been driving on the rim alone. By the time I reached Main Street, I wasn’t surprised by what I saw. The sedan was smashed into the side of a building. It looked like the crash had just happened. I pulled up and jumped out of the truck with my gun and raced over to the driver’s side to see if X was there.

As soon as I registered that the driver’s seat was empty, the car burst into flames.

I turned and ran for my life. Two seconds after I ducked behind the fisherman’s truck, the sedan exploded in a big ball of fire.

I crept out from behind the truck.

People began to fill the street. Anyone who lived in town was now out in the middle of the street, staring at the remains of X’s vehicle. I began to walk toward them, holding the gun, head swiveling in each direction. Where was he? Where had he run to after the crash?

Then I spotted him. He was running full bore at me from the side. I knew as soon as I registered him that it was too late. He was holding a gun out in front of him and was about to shoot me. The only thing I could do was drop to the ground. I could practically feel the bullets slicing through the air above my head.

I didn’t think he had it in him.

The assault rifle fell from my hands as I executed a roll—toward X instead of away from him. Then he was on me, but I had already rolled to a stand and managed to drive the blade of my hand down on his wrist, making him drop the pistol. It clattered to the ground, skittering a few feet away.

His eyes wild, he grabbed for my hair and yanked my head down. I was so surprised by this that he was able to throw me off balance, and I fell to the ground, hitting my head hard. It stunned me long enough for him to gain the upper hand.

He clambered on top of me, straddling my chest with his legs, his hands held tight around my throat, cutting off my airway. Fighting for air, I drew my legs up and around him, looping my ankles around his neck, and pulling him down as I rocked up. I was above him now, reversing our positions. He was done for. I struck him in the throat, and he gasped for breath. His hands flailed trying to grab hold of me, but he was losing the fight. The pistol was by my knee. I reached for it and was gripping it in my hand, ready to point it at X when there was a rumbling sound behind me.

I heard what sounded like a collective gasp behind me. I ran for my life as there was a second explosion. I tripped and went flying, skidding across the ground until I came to a stop. My hearing was gone, replaced by an awful ringing sound. My face was bleeding from where I’d apparently used it as a slip and slide across the road. As soon as I could focus again, I lifted my head, only to see X struggling to sit up beside me.

He had a knife. He reached over and lunged for me. I rolled, and the knife grazed the side of my face. I could feel the cold steel against my cheek, but it missed slicing into my skin.

I was still on my back, my hand reaching for some type of weapon when X’s figure hovered above me, coming in for the second strike. That’s when my fingers found what I was looking for. I raised the gun from above my head and fired.

“That’s for Matteo,” I said, too late.

Something warm and dark covered my eyes and coated my face for a second before X’s body collapsed on me.

Crying and gasping for air, I rolled out from under him, swiping at the blood and brain matter on my face.

I sat up and within seconds I was surrounded by people.

One man gently pulled me up so I was standing. Two women led me over to a chair. Someone else began to dab at my