After the Acid Attack, I Went on a Rampage

"Barney!" Allison Tucker called out in alarm, seeing my broken form.

Anger rose in her like a tidal wave. She crossed the room in four strides, tore off her shawl, and wrapped it around my bare shoulders.

She crushed me against her chest; her heartbeat thundered in my ear. "You all right, Barney? Don't be afraid. I've got you."

A sour ache hit the tip of my nose, and hot tears rolled down my face. She reached up and brushed them away with fingers that trembled a little.

Then she turned to glare at Milo. "You're dead for hurting my brother!"

As if he had heard the dumbest joke, Milo threw back his head and burst into laughter. When he stopped, his eyes were snake-slits.

"Big words," he scoffed. "Let's see if you can bluff like this later."

Turning to the guards, he barked, "Get her! Teach her a lesson she'll never forget!"

The goons behind him lunged forward, meeting the escorts brought by Allison. They knocked a few of Milo's men flat, but more poured out until our side staggered.

I clutched Allison's sleeve. "Didn't you bring more people?"

She frowned, patting my hand. "Don't worry. Dad's bringing the main force. These people will pay for messing with you."

Milo's smirk faltered as his men hit the floor one by one. He glanced at me, then pulled out his phone and began to dial a number. "Just you wait! I'm calling over Susan to deal with you!"

Once the line was through, he put the phone on speaker, whining, "Honey, a woman named Allison Tucker is trying to kill me for hurting her brother. Come save me!"

An anxious voice came from the other end. "Allison? Which one? Where are you? Stay put. I'm on my way!"

Seven years together, and I could pick Susan's voice out of a crowd. Even through the speaker, I heard the tremor threaded in every syllable.

I smiled with something that felt almost like dread, expecting her arrival and reactions later.

Milo ended the call with a jackal's cackle. "Ha! My wife is coming to bury you both. Says she doesn't know any Allison. Guess I'll just finish you off and compensate a little. Problem solved."

He spun to his men. "$1 million to whoever brings me their heads!"

Greed lit every goon's face. One snatched a knife off the table and lunged forward.

"Barney, close your eyes," Allison said, whirling to shield me with her body.

Before I could react, a warm hand slammed across my face, covering my eyes. A muffled cry echoed, and the smell of blood pervaded the air.

The omen that had been gnawing at me flared into terror. I clawed at her hand, desperate. "Allison, what's wrong?"

When she finally let go, I saw the jagged tear across her forearm, the blood mapping out little rivers down her skin. Someone kicked us hard, and we hit the floor with a thud that jangled bones.

She coughed up something dark and wet. I screamed, raw and desperate, "Allison!"

My chest ached from the force, as if someone pressed a hot iron against it. I'd come away without a scratch, but her white dress was soaked in blood.

Rage climbed up like a living thing in my gut. I saw the blurred edges of the world through tears and fury.

I snatched the tailor's shears from the nearby workstation, rushed up to Milo, and drove them into his abdomen.