The Outlaw's Obsession(12)

She moved away from the window when another bullet landed in the side of the building. There was no time for thinking. She just needed to act. Taking off as fast as she could toward the front door and still keeping her composure was a hard feat given the chaos that surrounded her. The front door was already ajar from the prospects hauling ass outside. She peeked through the crack, and pulled it open only enough to slip through. She didn’t wait, couldn’t afford to. Sonya sprinted toward the truck, ducked when she heard the rain of gunfire, but didn’t slow her pace. Everyone was so engrossed in their violence that they either didn’t see her blatantly running on the other side of their fight, or they did but couldn’t do anything about it. Either way luck was on her side. She ducked again at the sound of a gun going off far too closely, but when a bullet slammed into the ground right by her feet, she screeched and spun around. The rapey-eyed prospect stared at her, his gun hanging from his hand, but his eyes trained solely on her. She lifted the gun and aimed it at him, and cursed herself for the fact she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. Adrenalin pumped through her veins, and she told herself that was the cause of her unsteady hand, and not the fucker moving closer to her. He chuckled as he eyed the gun she held.

“You don’t have it in you to shoot someone. Me on the other hand.” He shrugged and lifted the gun so it was aimed right at her, too. “I’ve killed more people than I can count, and each and every time it feels as good as getting off.” He grinned, his yellowing teeth flashing. “Now, go inside. The Prez will hear about this, of course, but I’m sure you coming on your own will be a hell of a lot better than what will happen to you if I have to drag your fat ass back in.”

She shook her head and tightened her hand on the butt of the gun.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m leaving this fucking wasteland, even if that means dying in the process.”

His grin widened, and she knew that he would have no problem in killing her. Everyone around her was snarling, roaring out, and shooting their guns. But Sonya wasn’t about to go out like this, not just standing here in front of this fucker.

He charged forward and slammed her against the truck. The gun fell from her hand at the same time the air left her. They struggled, him trying to restrain her, and Sonya going crazy in the process of trying to get out of his grasp. She brought her knee up and connected right between his legs. The prospect let out a roar of pain and outrage and loosened his hold on her. But just as she scrambled for the gun he tackled her to the ground. Dust puffed up around them, but she felt the butt of the gun in her reach, grabbed it, and was able to turn around in his arms. He landed a punch to her side, and Sonya let out a cry of pain. Pushing away the tears that sprang up, she didn’t think, just brought the gun up and pulled the trigger.

Her eyes widened as the gun kicked back slightly. But then there was the sound of another gun going off, and then searing pain landed right in her shoulder. Maybe she was in shock, or maybe it was everything else that was happening around her, but she couldn’t feel anything aside from the rapid beat of her heart.

Bubba grinned, his teeth covered in blood, and she knew she had to shoot him again. And that’s just what she did. But she was working on instinct now, because if she didn’t stop him he was going to hurt her. On the second shot he fell back and sawed his legs as he scooted away from her. Sonya stood, still holding the gun, and kept it pointed right at him.

“You stupid fucking bitch. I didn’t think you had it in you.” Blood gurgled up and spilled from his mouth and down his chin. He grinned again, and she pulled the trigger for the third time. When the bullet tore through his chest he slumped back, going completely motionless. A large pool of blood started to spread out underneath him, just adding to the violence and bloodshed that surrounded her.

She dropped the gun, the weight of it too heavy for her to hold, and stared at the dead body right in front of her. Sonya had never taken a life. But this guy had been bad, had done bad things, and had planned on hurting her. She had done the right thing, right? The blood continued to pool out from under him, and nausea slammed into her with so much force she stumbled back and pressed against the side of the truck.

Sound seemed to vanish, and it was like everything faded away as she continued to stare at that lifeless form. She should move, run, follow-through with her plan to escape, but it was like she was frozen to the spot. Oh God. This is what she had been reduced to, what the violence that had been her life for far too long had done to her. She was just like these males, these animals and killers. A wave of dizziness assaulted her, but then everything came back like a kick to the gut. The sound, the smell of blood and animals, and the feeling that she was now being watched. But the gunfire stopped, and all she could hear now was the heavy breathing of someone close. Sonya lifted her head from the man at her feet, and looked at a completely nude, tall and massively muscular guy standing a foot from her. She could see a small part of a dark tattoo that covered his chest through the blood that was splashed over his flesh like some kind of grisly painting. But Sonya’s eyes were blurry, and the details of it eluded her. His chest rose and fell as he breathed. He looked away from her and at the dead man on the ground.