Blood painted the pavement. Holding onto what Kazimir thought would be his last breaths, he screamed into the darkness for someone to save him. Had Hank done the same thing before death claimed him? Would Kazimir's own desperate pleas go unheard in the night?

Samantha slapped him across the face to shut him up, her eyes so merciless, Kazimir was surprised she didn't just stab him again. She yanked the drug store door and pulled him inside. Kazimir almost knocked over a dusty display of old sunglasses.

A foul metallic tang lingered on the tip of his tongue. His shoulder pulsed with pain when Samantha pressed down on it to guide him across the mucky floor. Drops of blood formed a path of poinsettias behind him. Kazimir struggled with the zip tie. If he broke free, he had a chance of escaping with his limbs attached.

Kazimir scanned the area for anything to help free him from his restraints. There was nothing useful, aside from the knife in Samantha's hand. Pigs would fly before he could steal it from her.

Mildew wafted in the air. Threatening graffiti painted the walls, clearly done by amateurs. Stale snacks still lined some of the shelves and drug paraphernalia littered the floor. If Kazimir could get his hands on a dirty needle, he could jab her with it and try to make a run for it.

Samantha pushed him behind the register counter, where he stumbled onto the cold, grimy ground. A piece of candy attracted a swarm of black ants on the shelf behind him. Shivering, Kazimir stepped back toward the wall, trying to figure out how he could escape.

Did she plan to kill him? Who told her that he'd planned to kill her for Emmett and why'd she believe them so easily? Kazimir couldn't figure out Samantha's agenda. She'd lost touch with reality. No sane individual would do something like this. Kazimir was dealing with a lunatic.

After climbing over the counter, Samantha towered over him with the bloody knife in her hand. Kazimir struggled not to hyperventilate. He didn't want to die.

"What do you want from me?" Kazimir rasped. "Why... Why are doing this, Samantha?"

"Don't do that. Don't you dare try to play the victim here," Samantha said. "You're a traitor. You're associating with the man responsible for killing Jordy's brother, for fuck's sake!"

Had Kazimir heard her right? Emmett killed Luca? She had to be lying. Kazimir couldn't trust anything she told him.

"I'm not a traitor. Emmett just showed up out of the blue," Kazimir explained. "He gave me an offer to join their gang, but I refused. I'd never betray you like that."

"You're lying. You addicts are all the same. I thought you were different, but I was wrong." She shook her head. "You're just as fucking stupid as Luca was."

"What does Luca have to do with this?" Kazimir asked.

Samantha's expression softened at the mention of Luca's name, almost as if she let herself get swept up in a reverie. As long as Kazimir kept her talking, she wouldn't stab him to death. Hopefully. She turned her back on him as she spoke of her deceased friend.

"Luca lied, just like you," she said. "Me and Jordy found out about everything. He got so angry when we confronted him. I'd never seen him act that way before. Luca was always such a kind-hearted and loving man. He turned into a whole nother person... The Voiceless Rebels made him into a monster."

Jordy never told Kazimir much about his brother. Maybe it was just too painful for him. Hearing Samantha talk about him made Kazimir realize how much she'd cared about him. They'd been in a relationship long before he moved to town. Kazimir couldn't imagine how painful losing him had to be.

While Samantha reminisced her former lover, Kazimir searched high and low for something that could save him. Cheap cigarettes and old sticky candy filled the shelves around him. He got a light bulb moment when his gaze landed on the metal display hooks for candies.

Taking tenacious steps back, Kazimir raised his bounded wrists up high then brought them down on the metal display hook. The zip-tie snapped right off. He rubbed at his sore wrists.

"What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to escape?"

"Please, I'm sorry. I'll stay away from Emmett, okay? I won't be like Luca." Kazimir backed away as Samantha got closer. "I don't wanna die."

In an attempt to stop the bleeding, Kazimir removed his hoodie and wrapped it tightly around his injured upper arm. Samantha didn't stop him. Kazimir winced as more tears stung his eyes. A dizzy spell hit him, and he staggered back against the clunky register. He'd lost too much blood. Kazimir knew if he didn't seek treatment soon, he'd faint.

Cold chills bristled against his pale arms, checkered in faded track marks. His short-sleeved band t-shirt couldn't keep him warm.

"Only guilty men try to run away." Samantha trapped him in the corner like a wild animal in a cage.

Everything seemed to pivot around him as he faced Samantha. If looks could kill, he would've been dead on the ground in seconds. Kazimir was about as steady as a baby learning how to take his first steps. He'd broken his zip-tie, so all he had to do was escape the devilish woman. That would prove to be difficult, but Kazimir wouldn't give up.

"Poshla ty na khuy, suka!" (Leave me alone, you crazy bitch) Kazimir spoke in his Russian father's language, trying to stand his ground. He remembered how it always frightened bullies back in high school, but he was dealing with someone far more petrifying now. Someone who wanted him dead.

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Samantha furrowed her brows. "What?"

Kazimir put a plan into action when he snatched the empty mini display rack of energy drinks. He launched it at Samantha's head and climbed over the counter, hunkering his small body down as she chased after him like a cheetah hunting it's meal.

"You're making a huge mistake."

A gunshot rang out when he got close to the door. When Kazimir turned back, he saw the pistol in her hand. His heart throbbed amid his chest. What else did she keep in that backpack? A whole set of torturing devices? She fired a random shot at the door in hopes it would force him to surrender.

Glass shattered all around as Kazimir backed away from it, crouching down behind a rack of dusty, cobweb-covered sunglasses. He knew giving up meant he'd die. He had to hide.

Taking flight toward the chip aisle, Kazimir skidded down to the filthy floor. Shielding his head with his arms, he scooted as far back against the shelf as he could. Bags of chips rained down on him with each radical shot she fired. He clamped a hand over his mouth, trying not to scream when he knew how close her bullets were.

Kazimir fumbled for the phone in his pocket. He cursed his nerves when it took two attempts to get his passcode correct due to his trembling hands. He debated on calling the police. It would take too long for the cops to get routed to the rundown area. Kazimir would be dead by then. The police wouldn't care to help a worthless addict like him either. So he called the only person he knew could help him.

Ensuring his volume was turned down as low as possible, Kazimir pressed the phone against his ear. The soft ringing still made him agitated. He held his breath until Emmett's voice came through the line.

"Kaz, is that you? Where the fuck are you?" Emmett asked. "Is that gunshots I hear in the background?"

"Old drug store," Kazimir murmured.

"Speak up. I can't hear you."

Kazimir repeated his location again, giving the exact address as he raised his voice a little more.

"I need help. Please, hurry."

"I'm on my way."

Kazimir hung up and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Momentary relief washed over him. He had someone who could help.

"I think I see you, Kazimir. You can't hide forever."

His heart almost gave out upon those words as he looked around for a weapon. Only rows of potato chips and soda pop surrounded him. None of those were the ideal fighting tool, but he had to be artful if he wanted to survive.

Snatching a cola from the shelf across from him, Kazimir shook it up until bubbles fizzed. While it wasn't the greatest defense weapon, he knew he could make it work. He needed to get his hands on one of the glass beer bottles on the back wall. He'd have to take the chance of being shot at to reach it.

Kazimir held onto hope his plan wouldn't backfire on him.

When her purple hair came into view, Kazimir positioned himself back to the shelves so he could hide until the last moment. He barely heard her footsteps from the pounding of his heart in his head, but as soon as she stepped in front of him, he flicked the tab and pulled.

Soda flew through the air into her face, and he slid past her as she rubbed the sticky mess out of her eyes, cursing from the sting. Kazimir stayed low as she regained enough of her faculties to shoot off more rounds at the open racks. Food exploded around him as he navigated the store for an exit or somewhere better to hide.

When he reached the non-functioning fridge, he swung the door open. A plump rat popped out from behind some of the bottles and scampered across his feet. Kazimir didn't even need the air to invoke shivers.

The soda couldn't fend Samantha off, but the beer bottle had the potential to inflict more damage. The gunshots were visible in the rickety shelves. They were so close to where Kazimir had been crouched down. Any one of them could have easily punctured his flesh. He was lucky to hunker down low enough to avoid them.

Kazimir was so close to knocking on death's door. He felt like he would faint.

Remaining hunkered down, he listened for Samantha's footsteps. Purple drew his gaze, but he snapped his head further back when she turned his way. She was still drenched in soda, and she stood still long enough for him to rise from his perch and sneak up behind her. It was an insane idea, but he knew he would never make it out alive by relying on his hiding skills.

She hadn't detected his presence yet, but it was only a matter of time before she did. Without analyzing another second of his crazy plan, Kazimir walloped her in the back of the head with the beer bottle. Glass shattered upon impact as Kazimir staggered back, dropping the broken half on the ground. It knocked her out cold, which gave him enough time to scamper out back.

Endless sealed boxes covered the storage section he hurried out to. He was curious about the contents they contained, but didn't have time to satiate his desire for knowledge. He avoided captivity so far. He had to get out while he still had the chance.

When Kazimir maneuvered around the cardboard boxes scattered out across the floor, he accidentally got wrung up on the metal edge of a shelf. After a few rough tugs, he was able to break himself free. Boxes stowed above came tumbling down.

He staggered back as white powder enveloped the air like shaken snowglobe. When the dusting reached his senses, he recognized the substance. It was cocaine. An endless supply of it.

Even though his life was on the line, he stuffed as much of it in his pockets as he could. It was such a stupid move, but Kazimir couldn't help himself. He wished he had his backpack with him. Just imagining how much he could have stolen made him salivate. Kazimir would just have to make do with what he snatched.

With one final cast around the room, he took flight out the door. The light of day faded away and crickets chirped in the distance. Goosebumps rose on Kazimir's arms as he got away from the old drug store. He made his way toward the road, hoping he'd find someone who could help him.

Kazimir couldn't even fathom how much money's worth of cocaine had been stashed in that rundown store. It was probably thousands. Their drug trade could put the rebels out of business.

The converted streets were like coiling snakes. He wasn't as familiar with the neighborhood, so he walked blindly down the sidewalk. Despite how his shoulder throbbed, he pushed himself forward.

He kept looking back, expecting Samantha to regain consciousness and be right behind him. Where the hell was Emmett when he needed him? Kazimir's breaths became shallow as he reached out for a stop sign, grasping the pole to steady himself. Pain gnawed at his limbs.

The coke wasn't dulling the pain like he wanted. Maybe he needed more. Maybe he needed to lie down on the cold sidewalk for a moment and close his tired eyes...

Giving up meant dying. If he closed his eyes now, he might never wake up again. Kazimir knew how severe his injury was, but he had to keep going. If he could find a public place, he could seek help from them. He crossed the street, grasping his injured shoulder tightly.

A pair of headlights stopped him dead in his tracks. He raised a hand to his forehead, trying to shield his burning eyes. The truck came to a stop and the blond gangster climbed out, armed with a shotgun.

"Who do I need to kill?"