CHAPTER NINE: Introducing Derik

A man quickly highlighted from the car, held up a gun and scurried to where they’d gathered.

“Hey!” he shouted, firing off three rounds to warn them off.

Gunshots echoed throughout the dark street, and they scampered, leaving Kevin to lie in pain on the earthen floor. And aiming in their direction, the man fired. The guy on black stumbled to the floor while attempting to flee; the bullet had badly injured his leg. He shrieked, holding the injured knee to stop the bleeding.

In a desperate attempt to flee, he crawled on his knees—wilting, trying to get away. The armed man quickly caught up with him and grabbed his hair, held him up and kicked him hard on his knee. Shady uttered a loud, horrible cry, his knee bleeding.

The armed man grabbed his hair and forced him to gaze up at him. “What’s your name?”

“Screw you!” the thug sputtered.

A punch landed squarely on his broken nose, arousing the pains. The thug piped up, spitting out blood.