Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me. For the love of god, please do not fucking shoot me.

She muttered the mantra again and again as pebbles and dirt embedded themselves into her skin while she crawled to Maddox. The sharp rocks scratched her skin and made her bleed, but she felt nothing. The adrenaline and fear had taken over her system.

The calm of the night was shattered as members of My Brother's Keeper shouted orders at one another. While some yelled out in pain, others let out screams of fury as if they had been waiting all their lives for blood. Footsteps surrounded her as people bustled to take cover or to find a better view to destroy their enemies.

Karmin couldn't see anything from the thick smoke that now hung in the air. Her eyes stung as she peered through the grey barrier to find a hint of Maddox, but those green eyes were nowhere to be found.

"Maddox!" she called out as she pulled herself away from the center of the fight to hide behind the concrete blocks that held up the bridge. She pinned herself flat against the cold asphalt as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

She could hear her heart beating so quickly, it almost felt as if it would shatter her ribs to escape. Her auditory senses were overrun with unpleasant sounds. The type of sounds that would keep her up at night. The type she imagined that would come out of her when she thought about her father dying.

Angry. Hopeless. Suffering.

Karmin glanced over her shoulder to see Ares's men fighting the people in black. Although Cesar's team was outnumbered, they made up with skills. They were like ninjas with how they fought so delicately. But one thing My Brother's Keeper and Cesar's men had in common was how vicious they were. Both sides fought brutally, but she could tell that his group from his secret organization was holding back.

They didn't shoot to kill. They shot at shoulders, knees, and feet. Away from all the vital organs and arteries.

Her eyes searched through the fighting, and a few fires that had started from Ares's men throwing liquor bottles set aflame to take down the opposition. But there was no sign of Maddox. She wanted to get out there, to find him. But she was well aware that she would most likely get shot.

If only I had a gun. But then again, I have no fucking clue how to use one so accidentally shooting myself in the face was not the way to go.

Karmin turned back around, sighing frustratedly, only to find herself staring into a barrel of a gun. She yelped, jolting back into the pillar as she stared at the man in black, metal-plated combat boots and a tattoo of a fist inked on his neck. He was quite handsome with his brown skin tone and a scruffy beard.

"Hey dude, I'm with Cesar," she exclaimed, her eyes never leaving the gun that was still very much in her face.

"You're Karmin?" he asked roughly.

She nodded her head frantically. "Uh-huh, that's me," she swallowed. "You can stop pointing the gun at me now. I'm a much better conversationalist when there's not a deadly weapon shoved in my face."

The man raised an unamused brow and removed the gun. "Why are you hiding?"

"Oh, let me see," she wondered dramatically, and shouted, "Oh right. I'm not trying to get shot!"

"No, I mean you should be gone already," he said, his voice calm and apathetic, a stark contrast to the hellish environment.

"I'll leave as soon as I find –"

A shout cut her off as someone called for her, and she didn't even have to look to know who it was. She could recognize his voice anywhere.

"Where the hell were you?" Maddox demanded as he ran to her side, covered in dirt and cuts.

"Where was I? Where the fuck were you? You can't just disappear in the middle of a shootout," she yelled, smacking him in the head.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you care to explain the rules of a shootout, since you obviously know so much about them?" sassed Maddox as he rubbed the back of his head annoyedly.

Karmin opened her mouth to speak when she noticed that the man, who was holding a gun at her mere seconds ago talking to a familiar face. She almost didn't recognize him in the black cargo pants and bulletproof vest, but his intricate tattoos gave it away.

"You could've shown up a little earlier. You know before Ares tried to chop off Maddox's hand," Karmin retorted as she caught his attention.

"You're good to go, Kane. I'll see you out there," Cesar said, dismissing the man, who promptly left like the good soldier he was. He then turned towards Karmin and Maddox lazily. "I wasn't going to let it happen," he drawled reassuringly. "I care too much."

"Yeah, right," grumbled Maddox as he glared at him. "You care about asking my Mom out."

Cesar smirked. "I mean, that's definitely a plus."

Maddox groaned disgustedly. "Leave my Mom alone. She's not fucking interested."

He rolled his eyes in response. "We can talk about me dating your Mom later. You two need to leave now. The cops are less than thirty seconds away," Cesar explained as he checked his watch.

"But what about Ares? You need to catch him," Karmin said firmly.

"My people are looking for him. I promise we'll get him, but right now, you have to go. Circle back to your car, go home and lock the doors. When we get him, I'll call you," he said seriously as he pulled out his gun from his waistband and gripped it tightly. "Now go."

Karmin nodded, and Maddox grabbed her hand, pulling her in the opposite direction of the fight She quickly glanced back to see Cesar sauntering into the battle with a delightful smile on his face.

They didn't speak for a few minutes as the screams and gunshots began to fade slightly. She could hear the faint sound of sirens rushing in, a sign that this nightmare was almost over. But a part of her knew this wasn't going to be the last time she heard the pained shouts and thuds of bodies falling onto the ground. They would be visiting her in her dreams.

"We'll crash at my place until this settles. Did you tell your parents you're at Viola's?" asked Maddox as they began to circle back to his car over the train tracks.

"Yeah," she said softly. Her mind was crawling with second thoughts and a rush of emotions. She didn't feel at ease yet. Not with Ares lurking in the streets of New York.

He nudged her with his elbow gently, getting her attention. "Everything's going to be okay. The hard part of the plan is over. We both made it out in one piece," Maddox assured. "Although, I was really close to losing my hand."

Karmin chuckled lightly, shaking her head at how she was laughing at the situation when she was screaming and crying not too long ago. "What is it with gangs and cutting off extremities?"

"Maybe they have a hand fetish?" he offered jokingly.

Her laughter deepened as she examined his hand. "I mean, you do have nice hands," she said thoughtfully. "Would you let me paint your nails?"

Maddox didn't look surprised by her request whatsoever. "Only if you start wearing pants in the cold. I don't want my future-doctor girlfriend to be dying of a cold every two seconds," he remarked airily as his car came into view.

"Deal," Karmin agreed happily. Her mood was already beginning to turn over, and Maddox calling her his girlfriend definitely had something to do with it. But was I going to go through with my side of the deal? Probably not. "We can have matching nails and everything! How do you feel about pink?"

His face contorted into one of regret. "Um... love it," Maddox faltered.

Karmin smiled deeply as she swung open the door to the car and settled inside. "You're going to love it. We can have a slumber party and invite Rhys and Viola. Would Rhys be down to paint nails?"

"He's down for anything. You could braid his hair, and he would love it," he retorted with a smile as he started the engine.

"Oh, a slumber party. That sounds fun. Are we invited?" wondered a familiar voice.

Instantly, her face paled as she froze in her seat. The smile was washed away, replaced with a grimace of fear. They should've been more careful. Their job wasn't done yet. There was still one man left to go.

"It depends," she said shakily. "How do you feel about not killing us?"

The sound of the safety of a gun turning off was loud and deafening. "Slim to none," mused another voice, and it was this man who made the bile rise to her throat and produce a deep feeling that they weren't going to survive tonight.

"The last time I checked, it's kind of hard to host slumber parties dead," Maddox scowled, his hands tightening around the steering wheel to the point his knuckles turned white.

"That's unfortunate," he sang as he leaned forward from the backseat. His hands were on either side of the seats, and Karmin could see his ruby ring twinkling by her shoulder. "Now, drive."

***

Author's Note:

Hey hey!

I almost forgot to update today lol since I forgot it was Monday. I was writing my essay when it just came to me out of nowhere haha. All the days just seem to be blending.

Anyway, I hope this chapter was interesting and kept your attention! Let me know your thoughts! I also added 1 or 2 chapters, so The Daphne Effect is going to be slightly longer than planned!

Until next time – m.k.t