Page 75 of Uncharted

“Reno,” I pleaded, the tone exaggerated for the asshole’s benefit, but the words were genuine. “Please, he’s gonna hurt you.”

“Yeah, Reno, listen to your pussy boyfriend and keep your fucking mouth shut before I think of a few other ways it could be used instead,” Ponytail said and ice fell into my stomach as I realized he was not kidding about potentially raping Reno to make a point. Hell, he’d probably do it for the sheer fun of it.

Reno’s eyes flashed at me and the steely look sent a wave of understanding that was followed quickly by a wave of terror. He wasn’t pissed off and losing control; he was pissed off, but he was intentionally antagonizing the guy. Either he was impatiently waiting for me to do something, or he hoped that was our chance and he was trying to give me an opening.

He was asking me to trust him and was trusting me.

“I’d offer to give you the chance,” Reno ground out to Ponytail. “But there’s a reason there’s a choking warning for small parts.”

The glee on Ponytail’s face disappeared faster than a snowball in a bonfire. He lashed out, and my chest squeezed when the butt of the shotgun slammed into the side of Reno’s face with a crunch so thick my stomach twisted. Blood splattered from his mouth as Reno collapsed onto his side, turning to look up at Ponytail, who was standing over him, shotgun clenched in his hand.

“Bust a few more of your teeth out and I’ll bet I can get some real good fucking use out of you,” Ponytail snarled, too distracted to realize I was rising from the ground. “Hell, you’re still awake? Tough little bitch, aren’t you?”

“Please,” Reno laughed, his teeth stained red as he spat out blood, and it was like being hit with pure rage when I saw something white come with it. “My mother used to hit me harder than you. I might be the one with a boyfriend, but your wrist is the limpest from the feel of that hit.”

Ponytail was incensed. Either Reno had been desperate, or he had realized we had been left with the most vulnerable of the two men because damned if he didn’t have the man locked onto him and nothing else. So locked on, he never realized I was on my feet, so furious and ready to destroy Reno that he didn’t hear me step up behind him as he raised the shotgun to bash Reno in the face again, probably with enough strength to cave his handsome face in.

He never got the chance.

My arm wrapped around his neck and squeezed. “Forgot somethin’.”

He seized up in my grip in shock, arms shooting out for a moment and giving me the chance to wrap my hand over my cast-covered arm and tense. The shotgun came up, but it disappeared from his grip, and I knew Reno had leaped up to grab it, snatching it from his hand and falling back to the ground with a grunt. That was distant awareness, important, but the problem was already taken care of; there was still one more.

Ponytail’s hands clawed at my arm, trying to get some space between me and his windpipe. His problem? I was strong, very strong, even with only one arm. And I knew exactly what I was doing.

My right arm tensed, I braced against my cast, shoving my good arm up and yanked with all my strength. Reno’s gasp of surprise was a sharp contrast to the wet crack as Ponytail’s head snapped to the side. His hands dropped immediately, his body going limp, and I released him, holding on long enough to direct his body away from Reno and letting it drop onto the ground.

“Reno,” I said softly, dropping to crouch next to him as he picked himself up and looked me over before his eyes drifted to the body. “Don’t.”

“I’ve…never seen someone die before,” he said softly. “God, just like that?”

“Just like that,” I said gently. “I know you’re a little freaked, but I need ya to⁠—”

“Freaked? Maybe but not as much as you think,” he said, and I raised a brow when he spat a bloody wad onto Ponytail’s body. “I’ll be freaked out later. And you’d better be there for it.”

“Of course,” I said, smiling. “That…didn’t bother you?”

“What? You wrecking his shit? No,” he said with a snort. “I knew you’d taken a life before, more than one. I knew you knew how to kill people and weren’t against doing it. Better you than me; I would’ve hesitated.”

I looked at him with no small amount of wonder. “Don’t be so sure. You’d be surprised what ya can do when you’ve got the right motivation.”

“Really hoping I don’t need it,” he said, holding his face. “Fucker.”

“We’ll talk about using yourself as a target later,” I said, standing up and reaching a hand out to help him to his feet. “For now, we need to get the fuck out of here before⁠—”

Reno’s eyes went wide. “Jake!”

I grunted as Reno barreled into me just as I heard the sharp crack of a gun. My back hit the ground, and I grunted, my arm wrapped around him as I forced myself to roll, taking him with me. I heard him cry out in pain. I didn’t know if I’d hit his face somewhere along the way, but the important part was getting out of the line of sight of the shooter.

“Fuck,” Reno gasped. “That…didn’t feel great.”

I looked down at him, and my heart leaped into my throat as I saw the red stain on his stomach spread outward in an ugly circle. “Reno! Ya fuckin’ idiot!”

“Sorry,” he grunted. “Wasn’t thinking, just saw him…there’s two of them, he’s got your gun.”

My mind raced frantically. With not one, but two people on our ass, there wasn’t much time for me to do anything but yank my shirt off and press it against his wound and put his hand over it. “Keep your hand there, ya hear me? Don’t ya fuckin’ move that fuckin’ hand, got me?”

“Your accent’s thick again,” he said with a light laugh. “Fuck, that hurts.”