Chapter 44

Maria, all dark eyes and dark hair and soft Spanish accent, smiling at me over breakfast. Another vision of her with a shotgun in her hands, standing beside her brother. Maria laughing. Maria singing. Maria dancing around my kitchen in nothing but her bra and panties, trying to drag me into it...
I'd fallen for her fast and hard. And in the process, I’d become soft.
Another memory flashed through my mind. This one of Maria straddling me, her naked body slick with sweat, full breasts bouncing, and her head thrown back in pleasure as she rode me on the couch inside the warehouse. Again, I heard a pop and saw her head fly forward, her eyes wide with surprise for a single heartbeat before they became dull and sightless as the blood trickled down her face from the single hole between them. I knew the moment her life force faded away. Felt it leave her, no matter how hard I tried to hang on.