A Brush with Death

Esmeralda’s POV

“What the hell just happened?!” one of the men barked, rushing to the fallen body of his comrade. A neat, precise hole was drilled into the man’s forehead, but no gunshot had echoed. The silence of the night made it all the more chilling.

The three remaining men froze, exchanging panicked glances as paranoia crept in. Then, suddenly, one of them pulled a gun and aimed it at the others.

“Who did this?!” he roared, sweat beading his forehead.

“Pedro, have you lost your mind? We were all behind him!” one of them snapped, voice laced with fear.

“The bullet came from the front,” another added, his gaze flicking nervously around the dark street. “The only other person here… is her.”

All eyes turned to me, suspicion thickening the air. The barrel of Pedro’s gun swung in my direction.

“I didn’t do anything!” I protested, my voice hoarse yet steady. My body trembled, but I stood my ground. “I swear, I’m alone. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Liar,” one spat. “You’re working for Lucas, aren’t you? He sent you to spy on us.”

Lucas? I had no idea who that was, but these men were too deep in their panic to listen. Their minds were clouded with fear, and now they’d found a scapegoat.

“We should kill her now. Avenge Cobra,” Pedro hissed.

“Yes, dump her body on Lucas’s turf as a warning,” another added darkly.

I could feel death breathing down my neck, but before they could act, Pedro’s body jerked violently, then crumpled to the ground. Blood pooled beneath him. Another clean shot. Another silent kill.

That was it. The two remaining thugs didn’t wait for explanations. They bolted in opposite directions, leaving me standing in a swirl of dread and disbelief.

I didn’t hesitate. I ran.

My legs burned, my breath came in shallow gasps, but fear propelled me forward. I didn’t know who was hunting us, but staying still wasn’t an option. Not when my life was hanging by a thread.

Antonio’s betrayal burned in my mind like a raw wound, fuelling my will to survive. I wasn’t going to let death take me not like this, not when revenge was still a promise I’d made to myself.

I ran for what felt like forever, until my body screamed in exhaustion. Then I slammed into a dead end.

“No, no, no...” I muttered, eyes darting for a way out, but the towering walls offered no escape.

I retraced my steps, sprinting blindly into the night. Then, through the suffocating darkness, a faint silver glow caught my eye. Moonlight.

I chased it, desperate for any light in the abyss, until I burst into a clearing.

That’s when I saw him.

A man, lying prone on the ground, a long sniper rifle nestled against his side. My heart dropped. He wasn’t just anyone—he was the one. The silent executioner who had picked off the thugs.

I took an instinctive step back, but my foot scraped against a loose stone. The sound was small barely a whisper but he heard.

His head turned, his gaze locking onto mine with unnerving precision. Even under the pale moonlight.

Then he smiled. It wasn’t kind. It was the smile of a hunter who’d cornered his prey.

“I was wondering when you'd show yourself,” he murmured, rising to his feet with unsettling grace. “You made it easier than I expected.”

“Who are you? What do you want?” I managed to ask, though my voice betrayed the tremor of fear inside me.

He dusted himself off, eyes never leaving mine. “You’ve made powerful enemies, sweetheart. I’m here to clean up their mess.”

His words sent a jolt of terror through me. “They sent you... to kill me?”

“If you cooperate, I’ll make it quick. Painless, even.”

That was all I needed to hear. I turned on my heel and ran with everything I had left. I didn’t care that my legs were shaking or that my lungs burned. I just knew that if he caught me, I was dead.

I stumbled through the darkness, every step a frantic prayer for escape. Then I saw the glow of headlights in the distance an open road. Civilization. Maybe help.

I pushed harder, bursting onto the main street just as the pedestrian light turned red. But I was too late. Too fast.

Tires screeched. Horns blared. A wall of blinding lights swallowed me whole.

The impact was brutal, sending me airborne before gravity dragged me back down. My body crashed onto the asphalt with bone-jarring force. Pain exploded in every limb, my skull felt like it was splitting, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Somewhere in the blur of agony, I heard a car door slam shut..

Through hazy eyes, I saw a shadowy figure standing over me. A man. His face was obscured, but his presence was unmistakable.

I wanted to speak, to beg, to fight but my body betrayed me. Darkness clawed at my mind, pulling me under.

The last thing I saw was the man crouching beside me, his hand reaching for my cheek, his voice distant and muffled.

“Stay with me.”