“Dad! Mom!” I called out. I heard a noise in my dad’s home office and assumed they were in there, so I went around the large sectional and froze. Shock hit me, and I began to tremble violently.
My parents were slumped over on the couch. My dad still had his arms around my mom, and their eyes stared vacantly. Blood was everywhere.
I began to hyperventilate, then I fumbled for my phone to call 911. A crashing sound in the office had me dropping the phone as my heart raced.
Two men came out of the office with a box stuffed full of files and my dad’s laptop. Their eyes were hard and cold as they stared at me. They seemed familiar, but I had no clue who they were. One had greased-back black hair. The other had shaggy red hair and a scraggly beard.
Then another man sauntered through the door like he had no cares in the world. That man, I recognized immediately. Luis Trujillo was the head of one of the biggest cartel families in the world. The man was known for his ruthlessness. It shocked me to see him in my home. Who were we to him?
The first man leered before the second raised his hand.
The sound seemed to register after the ripping burn in my chest stole my ability to breathe. Boneless, I crumpled to the floor. Unable to bring air in, blackness crept in from the edges of my vision.
Feet stopped in front of me, but I couldn’t raise my gaze.
“I can’t believe you shot her, you stupid fucking idiot,” one said.
“She saw us!” the other argued.
“We’re done here. Let’s go,” Luis said as he stepped over me like I was trash at his feet.
Cold trickled up my limbs, and darkness closed in further. “We could’ve made a lot off her! What a waste.”
Another blast hit me, and the abyss swallowed me.