His Twisted Queen

Chapter 6

Alaina.

...........

The sky has turned dark. A fresh, musky scent permeated the air. It smells like it might rain anytime soon.

A chilly breeze n*****s through my leather jacket.

Exposed on the roof of the abandoned warehouse, I align myself in the perfect position. I rest my hand freshly on the rifle and grip it perfectly. My finger loosely on the trigger while seeking for a feel for the weapon.

Been awhile since I've had this destructive toy in my hands.

I squint my eyes a little, keeping my gaze entirely focused on Cyrus and Zack in the company of Tom Pope and Tao.

Thankfully, the two decided to take a clear stance away from the empty containers, their backs facing me and Pope visible to my sight. Asshole.

Patiently, I watch the scene play out, waiting for that moment when Pope realises the boys did him the honor of disposing the sacred ashes of his wife.

My heart goes out to Tao, he must be so scared.

Abruptly, four individuals joined the party and pulled out guns. Oh s**t.

From my distance range, I can almost sense the tension among them, Pope swinging his gun in the air as he speaks, while his lackeys made a show of pointing their guns at my friends.

I play my part, releasing the red dot onto Pope's chest, effortlessly running it over his chest and finally bringing it to his forehead. Pope freezes up, but still doesn't tell his men to stand down.

At once, Pope releases a punch into Zack's gut. Tao's scream echoing into the quiet night as Zack buckles to his knees.

Guess, I should probably give a warning shot to make the old f**k listen. I trail the dot to the first guy on Pope's right, releasing the shot. The bullet lunges right into the guy's shoulder.

As I wanted, Pope started getting agigated, raising the loop of his gun to the roofs and spin around in circles, trying to find me. Do I shoot again or wait for Zack and Cyrus to do something?

My stomach tie in knots when Tao started running in the direction, Zack parked the van. Zack must've told him to do so without considering the odds.

The odds that Pope just directed his gun right on Tao.

No thought breached my mind as I take the shot before Pope can. He stumbles, his hand darting to his abdomen. I know how to take the perfect kill shot but killing him isnt part of the plan.

As soon as Pope hit the ground, Zack and Cyrus started running...following Tao however Pope's lackeys start shooting at them. Oof, this isn't how things were supposed to play out.

My finger effortlessly start pulling triggers, discharging harrowing bullets.

Only when the movements stilled did I cease fire.

I release the breath I didn't even know how was holding up. In the distance, I see Pope crawling to a free danger zone, but his four men remain grounded...movingless.

Alaina, you i***t. What the hell happened to no kill shots?!

In the nearby, I hear the wailing of the van's honk. I rise, hanging the sling of the rifle over my shoulder and I run down the stairs beckoning me down the roof.

As soon as my feet hit the ground, Zack pulled up, dust rising to the air as the wheels of the van slip over the ground. Cyrus swing the backdoor open and offer me a hand, I take it and he pull me in.

"Go, Go, Go!" I yell as I land flush on my knees in the van.

Dust remain behind as Zack ride off.

I hang my head, slowly reaching for calmness. Oh Gosh, I haven't been engulfed in such high-octane adrenaline in a very long time.

"A-Alaina?" Tao's voice perk my ears. I raise my head and my heart bleed when I see the bright tears on his cheeks.

"H-Hey, hey." I crawl to him and pull him into my arms. "It's all okay, you are safe now." I soothe him. It feels so good to have his warm body close that I plainly realise I haven't hugged anyone in a very long time.

My eyes find Zack's in the rear view mirror. He smiles, but the panic is still visible on his face. The night didn't go as planned.

After safely escorting Tao to his mother, Zack and Cyrus insisted on giving me a ride and now we sitting in total silence in my apartment...each with a cup of hot chocolate but I think something stronger would have been better.

Killing someone isn't supposed to be easy and no matter how many times, you do it, it still leaves you feeling horrible, regretful and like a...killer.

"Alaina, do you think Pope will come after us cause that motherfucker will survive?" Cyrus breaks the silence.

"I-I do. Pope isn't the kind to go down without a fight. All you guys, we can do is watch our backs."

He exhales, running his hand over his face. "Bro, this isn't how I pictured s**t to play out."

"Yeah, me too," Zack mumbled.

And I know I should be pissing my pants but I can't help but smile instead. To do something reckless with the team again is a different kind of euphoria.

"Sunshine, I'm sorry for getting you mixed up in all this. It wasn't part of the--"

"Plan? I know." I interject. "You wanted my help and I made my choice. We are in this together."

Zack slips his hand over the table and give my hand a gentle squeeze. They did the stealing and I did the killing, guess Pope will come for me first.

It's the first time, I'm witnessing Zack and Cyrus be so out of their usual orbs. This thing definitely hit them hard especially since they involved me.

"Guys," I lean forward.

"Yeah?" They look at me with expectation.

"When will I get my cut?" I fretted, deadly serious.

They look at each other but then crack up, laughing. I smile, pleased that broke the massive tension.

Later on when Zack and Cyrus left, I remained seated at the table. My eyes burning on the phone.

Tonight has made me realise that being part of a team isn't all that bad and I might as well give uncle Dom a chance.

And just like the whole exchange, things might not work out for the best but at least I would've granted myself the chance to have someone...something for a while.