Jordan kept going on and on - couldn't stop talking about this one girl he saw at the store yesterday.
She smiled, then laughed - how she'd push her hair back while focused on code. My brother? Twenty-two years old but reacting like it's his first time noticing girls.
"You even listening, Lina?"
I guess - kind of. Part of me focused on him, while the rest kept flashing back to that cop's business card from before. Need to have a chat. Before long. Seriously, what the hell was that about?
"Yeah, I'm listening."
"Liar." He grinned, all dimples. Got our mama's smile. "You got that look. The one where you're doing math in your head."
"I don't have a look."
"You definitely got a look." He laughed, messing with his phone. Probably texting the girl right now. "Anyway, I'm saying I might ask her out for real. Like dinner, not just library study sessions."
"Do it then."
"Just like that?"
Jordan's twenty-two, man. Quit running it into the ground every time." I looked his way, caught that twitchy vibe he gets when he's into somebody. Reminded me he's barely more than a little brother - someone I should've been shielding from crap like this
The dark SUV appeared suddenly from an unexpected direction.
I'm serious - it just popped up from nowhere. We were cruising along when suddenly this huge shape slammed behind us, bright lights blasting inside the vehicle.
Terrence - my driver - muttered something angry. "Hey, we're hit - "
"I see it. Lose them."
He floored it. Yet the SUV kept right behind.
Then it hit me. You feel that awful twist inside - like trouble's right around the corner.
"Jordan—" I started.
Their windows dropped. Then I spotted the weapons - more than one. Each aimed right at us.
After that, things moved quick - yet dragged, sorta weird, right? Feels like seconds stretch out of nowhere.
"Get down!" I lunged at Jordan, knocking him flat - then the windows blew out. Shards flying. Noise like nothing before - BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM - no thoughts, can't catch air, only wrapping myself over him as rounds ripped through the room.
Terrance let out a noise - real messy, like something tearing. I glanced up, only to see him standing there, drenched in red. Blood everywhere across his front. It soaked through.
The car twisted. Maybe it was us turning instead. Everything felt blurry now.
I slid a hand beneath the seat - the weapon sat right where I'd left it - yanked it free, rose fast, started firing. No sight alignment. Wasn't possible. Just shoved the barrel toward what I guessed was the SUV's location, hammered the shot lever again, then again, till noise crushed my eardrums so hard I swore my skull might crack.
Jordan yelled out loud. Meanwhile, I shouted too. The whole world seemed to cry at once.
We slammed into something. Could've been a curb. The entire vehicle jerked upward - like, completely airborne - for a second, then came down smashing. My skull cracked against something solid, vision went pure bright, next thing I'm spinning or skidding can't tell which, just noise everywhere, screeching metal, windows shattering, and suddenly - it stopped
Nothing.
Everything stopped.
My ears were buzzing like crazy - sharp, constant noise. It felt like a scream stuck in my head. Blood had a metallic flavor on my tongue.
Jordan?" I heard myself say it - flat, far-off. "Hey… answer me - "
"I'm here..." So quiet. "Lina, I'm here..."
I blinked fast. I squinted, trying to focus. Was this a shop? Did we ram right into one? Dummies lay scattered, cracked, twisted up. Fumes drifted out of nowhere. Then Jordan -
Oh god. Jordan.
The dashboard lay right on his thighs - pressed hard into them. Blood seeped through his jeans, turning the fabric deeper red, moving quick, way too fast.
No... no, stop - I reached for him, yet the airbag blocked my path while my fingers fumbled like they didn't belong to me. "Stay awake, alright? Stay with me, love, I'm here, I've got you - "
It aches - " His voice cracked. Actual sobbing. "Lina, this pain's sharp -
I grabbed his hand. Squeezed so hard. "I know. I know it hurts. But you're gonna be okay. You hear me? You're gonna be fine."
Total lie. I couldn't tell whether he'd make it. Blood everywhere.
Sirens - closing in fast. Lights flicker, red and blue, bouncing off shattered glass. Police near, moving quick.
"Stay with me," I kept saying. Over and over. "Stay with me, J. Don't close your eyes."
His hand seemed tiny in my grip. Since when had it shrunk like that?
Some folks showed up. Medics too. When they grabbed me, I snapped - totally flipped out. Began lashing out at whoever got close, yelling nonstop for them to get to him, fix him, move already.
A hand clamped onto my arm - yanked hard. One kept me pinned as the others rushed Jordan.
"Ma'am, you need to let them work—"
"That's my BROTHER!"
I don't recall much from then. Only bits here and there. Jordan shouting out loud. Metal getting torn apart noise. Blood smeared on me - who did it belong to? Me maybe? Him instead? Or even Terrence?
This voice - so quiet - slipped past all the noise instead.
"Let her go."
They let me go, so I nearly dropped. Glanced up then -
Him - the cop I saw at the bash. That guy from the case.
What the hell was he up to around here?
He seemed changed these days. Somehow more genuine, I guess. Not so neat anymore. Tie hanging loose, shirtsleeves pushed up. Yet his eyes stayed on me - hard to say. Almost like he was working through a puzzle.
Mrs. Vega," he said - like we'd met before. Of course he had my name. No surprise there. I'm Officer Marcus Stone, cop from New York's force
I just looked at him - no words came out.
"I need to ask you about what happened."
That actually got me laughing - like, real laughter. It was messed up, sure, yet I just couldn't stop. "Seriously? You're asking me what went down?"
"I know this is hard—"
"You don't know SHIT."
His jaw clenched, yet he stayed calm in tone. "Yeah, you're correct - I don't. So that's the reason I'm questioning."
Beyond his back, folks started removing Jordan piece by piece. His shouts kept coming - no sign of stopping. Alive for now, at least. Not much, but it counted.
Stone stepped closer. Too close. "This wasn't random. Someone tried to execute you tonight. Professional hit. You know who."
It was clear - no need to ask.
I stared at him - actually took him in. Noticed the sharpness hiding in his dark eyes. How he was sizing me up, noting each move I made, shaping his argument on the fly.
He understood - perhaps not all details, yet plenty. What mattered clicked in his mind somehow. Still, gaps remained, sure.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. Voice flat. Dead.
He nearly grinned. "Bet you really do."
We just froze, eyes locked, as madness broke loose nearby - some weird pause in the middle of hell.
"Whoever did this?" he said quietly. "They'll try again. And next time your brother might not be so lucky."
This one struck a nerve. Like something inside me just split wide open.
"So here's what's gonna happen," he continued. "You're gonna give me a statement. Then you're gonna go to the hospital with your brother. And then we're gonna talk. For real this time."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'm gonna assume you're planning something stupid." He held my gaze. "And I can't let that happen."
"You can't stop me."
"Watch me."
The stretcher moved by quickly. As it passed, Jordan stretched his arm out - caught my hand mid-motion. His hold felt barely there.
"Lina..."
"I'm right here, baby. Right behind you."
Stone saw the entire thing go down - how I fell to pieces then pulled it together real quick, like five seconds flat.
"For a cosmetics CEO," he said, voice soft but sharp, "you have the eyes of a killer."
The words just stayed. Not quite blame - more like guilt. A hint of knowing. Then something darker, something I refused to call out.
They put Jordan in the ambulance. So I went along - had to stay close. Just couldn't leave him.
Yet I checked on Detective Stone again. Made sure he noticed what showed in my gaze today. No fright. No surprise.
Pure. Fucking. Rage.
"I don't know who did this," I said clearly. "But when I find out? You better hope you get to them first."
After that, I got inside the ambulance - no glances behind. While stepping in, I kept my eyes forward instead.
Beyond my back, he muttered a few lines to a different officer. Words were unclear - still, it clicked what was up.
The game shifted. Everything else transformed.
Someone would answer for hurting my brother.
In blood.