Vera

The air smelled of gunpowder and sweat, thick enough to choke me. Every wall of the estate trembled under the roar of automatic weapons. My body shook as I clutched Vanessa to my chest, crouching low behind an overturned oak table. My ears rang, each gunshot echoing like thunder inside my skull.

“Stay down, tesoro,” I whispered into her hair, though my voice cracked with terror. My heart battered against my ribs so hard I thought it might burst.

Vanessa whimpered but nodded, her little ...