CHAPTER 24: THE COST OF BLOOD

Xitllali 

I pulled the trigger and the gun kicked back so hard that a sharp pain shot up both my arms.

BANG.

The gunshot broke through the morning air. A bright flash lit up the wet ferns, and the smell of gunpowder filled my nose.

My ears started ringing, drowning out the rain and shouting around me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even blink. I just stared through the wet leaves at the muddy ditch below.

The sniper didn't even have time to pull the trigger.

The bullet hit him in the side, throwing him backward into the wet grass. His gun slipped from his hand and landed in the muddy puddle beside him. He didn't move again, he's dead.

My hands were shaking so badly that I dropped my own gun. It fell into the mud with a dull thud.

I had just shot a man. I had killed someone.

My stomach twisted painfully. I covered my mouth with my dirty hands, trying to hold back a sob. I was a florist. I spent my days trimming roses and tying ribbons. Now my hands smelled like gunpowder.

Down by the road, Guillermo turned around at the sound of the shot.

He raised his weapon, his eyes quickly searching for the threat. Then he saw the sniper lying still in the ditch, only a few feet behind him. His eyes moved to the man's gun in the mud, and he seemed to realize how close he had come to being shot.

Then he slowly looked up the steep slope.

Even through the thick, cold mist, his dark hazel eyes found mine.

The gunfire near the trucks had finally stopped. Valdo and Mateo were shouting orders as they secured the road, but I couldn't hear them over the ringing in my ears.

All I could hear was my own uneven breathing.

Guillermo didn't look at his men. He didn't check the bodies near the trucks. He just started walking up the muddy hill toward me.

He was breathing hard, his chest was rising and falling quickly. The dark red stain on his shoulder had spread down his shirt, mixing with the rain. His face was pale, his jaw tight, but his eyes never left mine.

I tried to stand, but my knees were too weak. I stayed in the freezing mud, wrapping my arms around myself as the adrenaline wore off and left me shaking from the cold.

When Guillermo reached the trees, he dropped to his knees in front of me.

"Xitllali!" he gasped, his voice was full of panic.

He pushed his gun into his holster and immediately grabbed my shoulders. He was breathing so hard that he could barely catch his breath.

"Are you hit?" he demanded. His hands moved over my arms and jacket, searching for blood. "Look at me! Are you hurt?!"

"I... I had to," I choked out, tears running down my freezing cheeks. "I'm okay, I'm…."

"I told you to stay inside!" he shouted.

The fear in his voice made me flinch. The calm, controlled cartel boss was gone. He wasn't El Crotalo right now. He was just a man terrified that I had been hurt.

"What is wrong with you?!" he yelled, his fingers tightening around my jacket. "You walked into a firefight! You could have been killed!"

"He was right behind you!" I sobbed, my voice shaking in the cold wind. "He was hiding in the grass! I couldn't let him kill you!"

He froze.

His chest rose and fell heavily as my words finally reached him. He stopped yelling. He looked at the dead man in the ditch, then slowly looked back at the gun lying in the mud beside my shaking hands.

The anger in his dark eyes changed. The panic faded, and it was replaced by something deeper.

He reached out with his hand and held my face. His palm was warm against my freezing skin. His thumb wiped away a tear, leaving a streak of mud on my cheek.

"You pulled the trigger for me," he whispered, his voice shaking as he gently pressed his forehead against mine.

"I couldn't lose you out here," I cried, finally breaking down.

He let out a shaky breath and pulled me tightly against his chest. I didn't care about the mud or the rain. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face against his neck. He held me with his arm, trying to shield me from the cold.

For a moment, there was only the sound of rain hitting the leaves and his heart beating against my chest.

Then I felt something warm and wet soaking through my jacket.

It wasn't the rain.

I pulled back and looked down at my hands around his waist. My fingers were covered in fresh, dark blood. Blood was pouring from his left shoulder, much faster than before.

"Guillermo?" I asked, panic rising in my voice.

He looked at me, but his dark eyes were no longer focused. The sharpness in them was fading.

"You're safe," he mumbled, his words already becoming slurred.

"Guillermo, look at me! You're bleeding too much!" I shouted, grabbing his face. His skin suddenly felt cold.

He tried to give me a small, reassuring smile, but he didn't have the strength. His eyes rolled back, his body went limp, and he collapsed forward, his full weight falling into the freezing mud beside me.