I had to give it to the guy. Even I believed him, and I knew it wasn’t real. I heard rustling and a curse before a walkie-talkie cut in.
“Fire in the front. All available units detour to the front. In pursuit of a white van.”
It was quiet for a second before I heard the telltale sound of a gun being loaded as the chamber was pulled.
“Maybe you can try that again,” the deep voice said, and I could only assume he was the one pointing the gun at us.
“Nah,” the other guard said before I heard what sounded like a scuffle. The bag was whipped off my head, and Beau pulled me as we ran.
Shots fired behind us, but I moved as fast as possible, which wasn’t really fast in my condition.
“Sorry about this,” Beau said before he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. My body sagged into his, and I didn’t argue. It was much easier to be carried at this rate, even if I did feel a little bit like a damsel. Oh well, I was getting rescued. I’d take what I could get.
The commotion in front of us had me lifting my head, and I tried to peer around Beau to see what was happening. The other guard was firing behind us, running every so often to stop and fire off some more rounds. Looking ahead, I saw a familiar face, and I felt my body relax more.
I didn’t want to admit I was a little miffed to have a stranger and Beau rescue me when I had three mafia daddies who were much more suited for that role. I’d never been so happy to see Sax as right then. He was one scary mofo, and as he charged in, guns blazing, it felt like everything would be okay now. The Cavalry had arrived, and we were safe.
A second later, everything erupted into chaos around us as guards came from every direction. We were only a few feet from the door, and I watched as Sax passed us, nodding to Beau. He kept running, making it through the door as guns fired off behind us. I felt Beau falter for a second, but he didn’t stop moving, tossing me into the van's open doors. I crashed into some equipment, rolling to a stop at the feet of a girl with purple hair I’d seen briefly at the manor.
She peered down at me, a broad smile on her face. “Yay, you’re not dead.” She scrunched up her nose. “But you reek, kid.” She pulled a ball out, moving around me as she balanced on the van's edge.
“Come on,” she shouted. At her words, I saw the other two men come barreling out. As Sax went to jump into the van, a guy with a big gun lifted it and shot at him. I squeezed my eyes, not wanting to watch him get hit, fear crawling up my throat.
“Fuck!” I heard him shout, the sound making me feel better. When I opened them, I found him dragging the mysterious guard into the back of the van, his hands pressing down on a bullet wound. I guess the man had jumped in front of him. I blinked, never having seen so much blood before.
“Jude!” he yelled as the purple-haired girl yelled, “Drive.”
I looked up, watching as she tossed the ball she’d been holding as the van took off. Sax grabbed my hands, pressing them down on some cloth, telling me to keep them there. He started ripping things as the woman held on, so she didn’t fall out the door as Nicco drove like a bat out of Hell.
We were only a few feet away when a boom erupted behind us, the heat licking us as the flames erupted around the open doorway we’d just come through.
“Pixel, you have a serious problem with blowing things up,” Sax said, but I heard some admiration in his voice. “Now that you’ve alerted all of Delgado’s men to our whereabouts, how about you help me keep this man from dying? Is first-aid part of the Siren training, or are you the one who is inept in this area?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
She huffed, pulling the door shut and locking it, and I felt better as we swerved out onto the open road, no one appearing to follow us.
“Of course, I know first-aid.” She sat down, pulled out a kit from under the desk, and started to help Sax with the bleeding man in front of me.
I looked down, finding him watching me. “Um, thanks for saving me.”
He nodded, and I didn’t know if that was natural or just that he was in too much pain for words.
“You’ll be fine,” Pixel said, pulling out something that looked like forceps.
“You sure that you should be doing it in the back of the van? Don’t you need to be somewhere sterile?” I asked.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this, totally.” She nodded, and I looked over to Sax, assessing her. I didn’t think he bought it either.
“Maybe—” he started, but before he could get anything else out, she’d bent over the bleeding man and shoved the instrument into him. He cried out, jumping, and I stared in shock as she moved around, looking for something.
“If this was Operation, we’d be dead,” I whispered, the lack of finesse obvious as the man finally passed out from the pain. Pixel ignored me, rolling her eyes as she stuck out her tongue in concentration.
“Almost,” she whispered and then yanked, pulling a bullet out. I stared in disbelief.
“Okay, I take it back.”
“Thank you.” She turned to Sax, a look of triumph on her face. “Told you I was trained.”
Sax blinked, nodding. “Good, because he wasn’t the only one shot.” Just then, I realized he was leaning against the van, his face pale as blood pooled around his leg.