Free Reunion by Meli Raine Page A

in my chest, the beat becoming erratic. It speeds up and slows down without any pattern. Maybe I’ll drop dead of a heart attack. Perhaps my heart will just give out, too taxed by the stress.
    That would be so nice.

Chapter Six teen
    T he man drops the saw and gives El Brujo an enraged look.
    “What the fuck is on that saw?” the new guy snarls. His arms are grey. Weird.
    Then I realize he is covered with tattoos. So many tattoos.
    “It is of no matter,” El Brujo says, waving his hand. “Just get me what I need. Find the missing one and grab her.”
    Her is clearly me.
    In that exact instant, Galt rummages around the box I put in front of Allie.
    Rough hands clamp down on my elbows. I go limp, but Frenchie’s stronger.
    “Oh, this is gonna be fun,” he hisses in my ear. His breath smells like rotten tonsils and sour beer.
    He licks my earlobe.
    “Bet you taste good everywhere. Can’t wait until you get to taste me ,” he adds.
    I start retching again, my body freezing. I begin to kick and flail, twist and growl, doing anything to distract Galt. This isn’t about escaping Frenchie. That’s impossible. I know that. All I have control over right now, in this moment, is getting Chase and Mark’s dad away from finding Allie. Galt is here. He wants to kill Chase. He’ll use Allie to accomplish that.  
    W here in the hell is Mark?
    Frenchie tightens his grip on me and then hold my elbow in a vice that—
    POP!
    I’ve heard the term “blinding pain” before, but never felt it. This is it. My entire shoulder goes down a half foot, then over. It’s like Frenchie has taken my torso and turned it into j i gsaw puzzle pieces. My body becomes a white-hot sack of pure pain.
    Spots fill my vision and I can’t move. I try to shuffle one foot and I slump against him. His chest hair is in my open mouth.
    He tastes like poison.
    “I wanted both your arms for what I’m gonna do with you, Girlie Girl, but I guess you made that impossible. Then again,” he says, his nasty breath filling my face, “you ain’t gonna need no arms soon.”
    He drops me to the ground. I fall like a beaded necklace being poured into a jewelry box.  
    Something spears my chest. I feel like I’m sucking in air through a straw with a pinhole in it.
    This is what it feels like when you’re dying.
    And then his hands start undoing the button on my pants.
    Oh, God. Please let me die first.
    “The fuck, Frenchie?” Galt bellows. The swollen side of my face is pressed into a splatter spot of blood on the concrete floor. I’m not sure if it’s my blood or someone else’s.
    Galt’s boot flashes before my eyes. He drop kicks Frenchie’s arm, sending the man flying backwards off me. He slams into the base of the spiral staircase and howls with indignation.  
    “What the fuck you doin’ , Galt?” Frenchie shrieks. He’s on his ass and twists wildly to get on his feet.
    “You wanna dip your wick in the merchandise, do it where I don’t got to see your diseased ass,” Galt mutters, giving the new man a look. They both shake their heads in tandem. Disgust is a universal language.  
    I close my eyes and focus on trying to breath e through the tiny pinhole left in my throat. My best guess is that Frenchie dislocated my shoulder. Maybe my elbow, too. I can’t move anything except for my legs. The rest of me is a swollen pile of damage.  
    “What is over there?” El Brujo says in a guarded, tight voice. I can’t open my eyes, so I don’t know where there is, but if he means Allie, then I’ve failed.  
    F ailed.
    Failure equals death right now.
    “Over where?” Frenchie snaps. His voice is so close. Galt’s kick saved me from whatever immediate plans Frenchie has for me. Plus, I diverted attention away from Allie. Maybe, just maybe...
    “Nothing,” Galt replies. So maybe he didn’t see her? I’m sure he did. And if he did, Allie would shoot him. Right? Right?  
    B ut Chase’s text said not to shoot him. Why?
    “Hmph,” El