He pushed me back and I let him. He doubled his pace and hurriedly gathered the money in the bags. He looked possessed, never stopping to catch his breath. He had the hunger, and mine was slowly fading.

“I don’t think I can do this again,” I muttered, more to myself than him.

“Tough shit,” he retorted without breaking his stride, nearing the end of the money pile. “We got a plan, Heath. I’m not backing out because it’s getting hard on you.”

“I can’t keep lying to Allie.”

He exhaled in irritation. “Among other things, you’re doing this for Allie. Just remember that.”

I always remembered that, and it still didn’t make it any easier.

I was itching to get out of here. We’d never been so isolated before. The other houses had been suburban and tidy. This one stank with neglect. As crazy as it was, I’d gotten used to the security of knowing there were other people around. I supposed this was getting to me more because it reminded me of Ricardo. We weren’t that far from where I’d beaten his head in.

Stop wigging out, I told myself. You’re doing this for a reason. Stick to the goddamn plan.

“Alright,” huffed Marko, turning to me. “All done. Now you have to help me drag this –”

The sound of a gunshot interrupted him, and for a split second I saw the look of shock on his face before he fell back, his body slamming into the collapsed wall. I didn’t have time to react when I felt something hard against the back of my head.

“Turn the fuck around!” demanded a voice.

My entire body tensed as I stared fixedly at Marko’s barely moving form on the ground. Was he dead? Shit, he wasn’t moving. He was dead –

“I said turn around!”

Not wanting my head blown to smithereens, I turned around. Marko was shot without warning, and I couldn’t risk the same cold gesture by not doing as I was told. The guy was a slim, weed of a thing. He was smaller than me in every way, with dilated eyes and an ashen face.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he marvelled, raking his eyes over my face – my fucking exposed face! He took a step back, that gun still pointed at me. “You’re that fighter I always bet on, aren’t you? You… You’re Heath Lawson.”

I cringed at hearing my name. This just went from bad to worse.

“It was you?” he went on, eyes nearly poking out of his face. “You… you’ve been fucking with the Syndicate this entire time? Ripping us off and makin’ us turn against each other and everyone we work with? We’ve been tearing apart the town looking for you!”

I didn’t say a word. What could be said? This was a nightmare come true. Everything I’d just worked for was for nothing. I felt deflated instead of afraid. And I was incredibly fucking ANGRY at another gun pointed at my face. Why couldn’t I escape this scenario? I promised myself I’d never be in this position again, and yet here I was with a coked out little shit who was ecstatic at the idea of putting a bullet in my head.

“You know what Boss is going to do to you? You’re going to have your spleen taken out of you! You fucked with the wrong people!” He was chuffed, digging into his pocket while he shook from excitement. He took out his phone and started dialling a number. “I can’t believe I found you! I can’t believe I did it!”

I eyed the gun as he continued to point it at me. The coked out bastard was good at keeping his finger on the trigger while his eyes went from me to his phone and back to me again. I couldn’t risk taking it off of him, but then I couldn’t risk him talking to whoever he was calling either. Once my name escaped his lips, I would be ruined.

“You do that and you’re a dead man,” I simply stated, keeping my voice cool. I couldn’t let him know I was panicked.

He paused for a beat and scoffed. “You’re the dead man here, Lawson.”

“Then I have nothing to lose. Which means I’m going to rip that gun from your hand and kill you with it if you don’t put that phone down.”

He’d finished dialling the number, but his finger hovered over the call button. My words had an effect on him, and he sniffed and rubbed his nose, thinking it through.

“You want some money?” I carried on, taking the logical way out of this. “I’ll give you some money and you’ll never have to work for Boss again. How’s that? You can be a wealthy man and leave this place and nobody will ever know what you did. No more doing his bidding, making fuck all money while doing dangerous shit like this.”

Now I had his attention. The gun was still pointed to my head, but he was wavering a little. It was an attractive offer. He knew it. I knew it. It was only a matter of time before he agreed.

“I just shot your friend,” he then said, glancing over my shoulder. “How the hell do I know you won’t kill me for it after I put my gun down?”

“I’m not a killer,” I told him solemnly. “I wouldn’t hurt you. I’m trying to make a deal with you, alright? You put that gun down and help me out with my friend, and I guarantee you’ll walk out of here with a few hundred thousand dollars. You’ve got my word. I’m not going to hurt you.”

He was tempted. I could see it in his eyes. There didn’t need to be more blood. I was so sick of blood! This could be sorted out amicably.

“Think about it,” I went on. “No more being bossed around. No more guys taking advantage of your addiction. You’ll be your own boss.”

I was completely right. He was just another drug addict being used. By doing Boss’s dirty work, he was being paid in drugs. If he had half a mind, he’d jump on this. He was about to. God, he was opening his mouth and getting ready to.

“Oh,” Marko’s sudden grunts erupted from behind me.

Whatever allure the man had been under dissipated at the sound of Marko. Rattled, his eyes bulged and the gun swung in Marko’s direction.

“You’re lying,” he spat out, and that was when I knew he was going to pull the trigger again at Marko.

The gun fired off, but it was pointed to the ceiling after I’d crashed into him. The guy was puny and weak, and after a knee to his gut, his grip on the gun weakened. I forced it out of his hand and punched him hard across the face. He howled in pain and clawed at my cheeks as I shoved him back and sent another fist to his face, stronger than before. He collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious by the force of the hit.