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David stormed inside, the others falling in line as I took up the rear. We entered a small kitchen and started fanning out throughout the house, which was obviously just a temporary shelter since it was nearly bare and dusty. I went to the right with Bowen and Erick, climbing up the stairs only to see two enemies pointing their guns at us from the railing on the second floor.
“Down!” I shouted as they shot. I ducked my head, a bullet piercing the wall behind me.
Bowen straightened up and shot at one of the men, making him topple over the railing and hit the bottom floor with a sickening thud.
I lifted my gun and shot the other guy in the leg, making him buckle and hit the ground with a pained shot. While Erick finished him off for me, I started kicking down doors on the upper floor, searching for wherever Dimitrik was hiding. I could hear David and the others searching and clearing out the bottom floor.
He was here somewhere! He was so agonizingly close that it felt like my blood was boiling. My senses were razor sharp, taking in every little thump and shadow around me. All I wanted was to end this mission here and now and help some innocent people feel safe again.
But that meant killing the bad guy first.
When I reached the door on the right at the end of the hallway, I kicked it open, only for a bullet to pierce the top of my shoulder. I stumbled back and hit the wall behind me, pain ringing through my arm and my head as it struck the wall.
“Emmett!” Erick shouted, fear ringing in his voice.
Bowen shoved me aside before I could get shot again by the three enemies camping out in the room.
I managed to catch a glimpse of Dimitrik crouched in a corner inside of the room.
“Dimitrik is in there!” I yelled before grimacing in pain. Blood spilled from my shoulder, staining my shirt as I planted my palm over the wound. Sweat glistened on my forehead as I watched Bowen and Erick try to take a few shots into the room without getting hit themselves.
I sucked in a deep breath as my head throbbed, my pain and adrenaline clashing. Shots struck the wall out in the hallway, making dust and wood fly everywhere. My lungs stung and ached from the debris.
Bowen landed a shot on one of the enemies.
“Down! Two more!” he shouted.
Erick tried to take another shot, but the doorframe splintered, making him recoil with a grimace as wood dug into his cheek.
“Fuck! He went out of the window!” Erick growled before storming into the room and shooting one of the men who didn’t climb down the trellis attached to the side of the house. “He’s running for the damn woods! We lost him!”
I dropped my head back against the wall with a curse, grinding my teeth. This was supposed to be a win. We were supposed to catch this bastard and end the war so that the rebels could live in peace. How did we fuck up so fast?
Bowen leaned down and threw my good arm over his shoulder, helping me up to my feet.
“Easy,” he told me as I grimaced in pain.
“That son of a bitch,” I gritted out, wishing I could return the favor to the bastard who shot me.
“Unfortunately, he’s not stupid. He’s determined to live,” Bowen grunted as he guided me down the hallway.
Erick left the bullet-ridden room and hurried over to my side, keeping an eye out for Bowen and me as we headed down the stairs to the bottom floor.
David and his group rushed over to the foyer, looking up at us.
“What the hell happened?” he asked, blood splatters and smudges covering their faces and fatigues. They endured a hell of a fight down here too, and I could see bodies down the hallway behind them and a few by the front door.
“Dimitrik went out the second-floor window and ran for the woods. Emmett got shot in the shoulder,” Bowen reported.
“I saw the son of a bitch cowered in a corner! I should’ve had him,” I bit out as I shook my head in disappointment.
David glanced around before motioning for us to follow him.
“His forces are down. Let’s get out of here in case he calls in more to wipe us out,” he said. “We’ll get him next time.”
Hopefully, we’d get another chance.
I increased my pace as we all left the house and met up with the distraction group, who were disappointed by the results but glad that no one on our team was killed in battle. We all lived to fight another day, and we had to do ten times better next time.
I had to do ten times better next time! How many times was I going to disappoint myself within the span of twenty-four hours? I could only take so much before all that was left was to shut down, and that point was approaching fast.
