“Really, I need to go. But I’ll come back, I promise,” he says, standing back up and quickly walking out the door into the storm.
10
ADAS
The drive to the warehouse is brutal and treacherous. I could swear I’ve spent more time hydroplaning than actually driving, and at one point, I nearly slid into another car at a stoplight. Why the fuck anyone else is out in this storm, I don’t know. But I can’t run into any interference.
When I arrive at the warehouse, the rain is pouring down so hard and fast that I can barely see three inches in front of my face. If I hadn’t spent so much time here already, I’d have no idea what direction to walk in.
I hear Erik’s voice in the distance, so I follow it as closely as I can.
“Adas! We need to get a tarp over the wall on the west side of the building!” he shouts as soon as he sees me.
“What do you mean? Why?” I shout back, shocked that either of us can hear each other over the rain.
“The wall was torn off by the wind. It’s fucking insane. You need to come see it!” he shouts back, leading me over to what used to be the west wall of the building.
“Jesus fuck, that looks horrible,” I say, more to myself than to Erik.
We both continue toward the wreckage, growing more cautious as we approach splintered boards with nails sticking out. “Yeah, Gregory’s bringing a tarp over while Misha and I have been moving product out of the building.”
Immediately, we start hauling pound after pound of cocaine out of the warehouse, rushing as the water level rises around the packages.
“Fuck! Why didn’t I think this was something that could happen? How the fuck does a storm tear up a warehouse like that?” I shout angrily to myself.
Of course, storms tear up buildings. They do it all the time. But my rational brain has gone offline, and I’m being driven by nothing more than adrenaline and aggravation.
Just as we’re about to start on another pallet of product, I hear a vehicle pull up to the building. I assume it’s Gregory with his tarp, so I’m not suspicious until I look outside and realize I don’t see any headlights.
Before I have time to respond or even think, I hear gunshots fired, windows exploding into dust as the bullets fly through them.
“Fuck! Get down!” I shout.
I kneel down behind a stack of boxes in the corner, which could either be the best or worst vantage point for me, depending on where the other men are.
It’s already too dark for us to be working effectively, and it’s definitely too dark to know where the bullets are coming from. I’m completely disoriented by the rain, lightning, and gunfire that it takes me a moment to focus.
Keeping a gun on me has always been a priority, and I’m thankful to myself for thinking ahead and bringing one even though I didn’t think I would really need it.
The gunfire stops for a moment, likely as an attempt to reload, and I fly up from the floor, pointing my gun out of the warehouse and firing blindly in the hopes that I’ll hit the right person.
Everything around me is a flurry of noise and chaos. I have no idea who is shooting at us or how they knew we would be here right at this very moment.
Could someone be watching us that closely?
Is my cellphone bugged?
I don’t have time to deliberate right now. I need to focus on getting out of here alive.
Instead of standing up straight, I turn slightly around the corner of the boxes I’m behind, firing blindly again.
This is how you almost killed River.
Who else will you almost kill?
Even in the midst of all of this insanity, the only thing I can think about clearly is River. I promised her that I’d come home tonight, and I intend to keep that promise above all else.
If I return to her alive, I’ll show her how much I love her every day for the rest of my life. No more being guarded, no more withholding affection from her. She needs to know how I feel, and I’ll show her however she wants me to. I’d give her the world in a heartbeat.