Cruz tensed up beside me, and I automatically looked in the rearview mirror, although my gut told me not to. I could feel the barrel of Amara's gun pointing at the back of my head. Through the glass and metal, my body knew it was targeted. I took a deep breath, expecting it to be my last.

“Get out of the car, Ms. Genovese." Amara's voice was snakelike and slimy as he passed by the rearview mirror to my side of the car. I fumbled on my door for a car lock button but found none. Cruz reached over me, and just as he was about to slap a tiny silver piece of metal sticking out of the door itself, the door flew open, and Amara grabbed me by my hair. He dragged me out of the car and pushed me to the ground. “Why did Marco choose to surround himself with such obstinate women?”

Suddenly, I heard a scuffle and grunting and felt Amara's hand snatched away from me, taking a handful of my hair with him. I turned in time to see Martin tackle Amara and begin punching him in the face. The two men writhed on the ground. "Go!" Martin screamed at me with everything he had.

As I attempted to climb back in the car and Cruz pulled at my clothes to help, a giant man came out of nowhere, picked me up like a ragdoll, and threw me back to the ground. He stood over me, blocking the sun, and I dared not move.

Martin and Amara rolled around on the ground beside me, both men violently attacking each other and neither gaining ground. Cruz ran around the outside of Martin's mom's car and tried to help Martin in the fight. The bodyguard standing beside me picked Cruz up in much the same manner as he had me, and tossed him aside. He then grabbed Martin by his shirt and jerked him off of Amara in one swift motion.

Amara took a moment to gather himself, patting the dirt off of his expensive-looking suit. He picked his gun up off the ground and pointed it back at me, this time in my face. "I tried to do this the easy way, but I do much prefer the hard way." He motioned with the gun for me to stand up and head toward the house.

I looked at over at Martin, who was still firmly grasped in the giant's hands, his feet kicking blindly a couple inches off the ground. He shook his head no and mouthed the words, "Don't go."

I had no choice. I looked down at the ground and began walking as slowly as possible, hoping one of us would make a move or come up with a plan before I made it to the porch. Something inside me told me that the porch was the event horizon for my death. If I crossed the line, there was no coming back.

Amara had been talking as he walked a couple feet behind me, the gun still pointed in my direction. I must have blocked him out because I caught what he was saying midsentence, "… putting up a much bigger fight than your mother. I don't know why you women think that you can disgrace my family like this and not have repercussions. Your father and I had worked out our differences and everything would have been just fine, but no. Your mother had to get her panties in a wad and decide she was too good for the life."

"I will get you for what you did to my mother," I snarled under my breath.

"I warned you in D.C. I told you I had men everywhere. I knew if I could get to you in Martin’s condo, you’d run here with your tail between your legs.” He laughed. “Besides, what do you think you're gonna do? Your big, strong boyfriend going to beat me up?" Amara grabbed my hair and turned my head to see his goon pummeling Martin with his massive fists. Cruz charged at the man, but before he could make it across the yard, Amara raised his gun and shot him.

Cruz fell just inches away from where Martin now lay crumbled on the ground, panting.

"That should teach both of you." Amara spun me around and marched me toward the front door. I shuffled my feet, stalling as much as possible, until Amara shoved me with the butt of the gun.

I had almost reached the steps when I heard Martin scream out. There were no words, just a distinctively male sound that I will never forget. Seconds later, I heard another painful sound come out of Amara as he lay on the ground with Martin on top of him again.

Everything else that happened next happened all at once and in flashes. My mind could only make sense of a second or two at a time. The giant charged at Martin with his gun pointed directly at Martin's head. There was a flash and a loud explosive noise, and the sound of someone falling to the ground. Amara jumped up and raised his gun at me, and I cussed myself for not taking cover in the confusion. All I could see was the barrel of the gun and the tiny black hole in the center of the barrel from where I knew my death would come.

I watched Amara's finger tighten on the trigger, and just as I braced myself for the life-ending pain and hugged my stomach, a blur crossed my path, and I heard the explosion of the gun. Martin flew across my body, taking the bullet, and raising his gun at Amara's head as he fell to the ground. Another shot rang out, and everything went black.