"Out."

The grip around my arm tightened and I gritted my teeth in pain.

The guy behind the counter froze, his jaw half open with chewed tobacco in his mouth. He held his hands up defensively. "You want cash? I got cash?"

He reached for the register, but tattoo guy fired a warning shot at the man. Cigarette packs flew off the shelves as my ears rang because of how close the gunshot was. Before I could comprehend what was happening, tattoo guy moved his arm so he had me in a chokehold.

He tilted the gun towards the back. "Get out and leave. If you call the cops, I'll make sure you're dead. Got it?"

The guy behind the counter made eye contact with me, his eyes briefly flashing to the register and back up at me. He held his hands up as he maneuvered his way behind the counter and towards the back exit, tattoo guy keeping his gun on him the entire time.

Once the man was out, tattoo guy shoved me into the counter. Sharp pain radiated through my side, causing me to double over. Next, he grabbed hair near my scalp and pulled me up to standing. My eyes pricked in pain as I try to slap at him, but his hand moved so it circled my upper arm.

"Come on, Nina. It's okay to cry," he taunted, his voice cold. Not an ounce of compassion was to be found as his eyes pierced into mine, like he wanted something, a reaction of some sort.

I refused, putting on a front. "Why do you get to know my name and I don't get to know yours?" I asked, playing along with his game.

"Dante," is all he said as his body became rigid.

As he leaned closer to me, I shoved the heel of my hand into his nose. His head fell back as his hand released its grip around my arm. On the floor with my knees, I tried to crawl away but he kicked my hands out from underneath me.

My face collided with the ground and finally I let out a scream of pain, a familiar taste of metal filling my mouth.

He grabbed my arm again and yanked me backwards onto my butt, dragging me away from the double doors leading into the convenience store. "Just in case we have any unexpected guests. Don't want them to see us first."

I tried to grab at his hands, kick my feet, but nothing worked.

Dante slammed my back into the doors of the reach in refrigerator. He bent down and placed his gun against my temple. The cold metal dragged along my face and to my jaw, his eyes tracing the trail of the gun.

I gulped as my my breathing started to become erratic, a slight whimper escaping my lips. Panic mode was setting in and this wasn't looking good for me.

Dante leaned back, giving me some space. His demeanor seemed to change in that instant as he watched me closely. I was struggling and he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "I didn't want to kill your dad."

My heart stopped and I froze. "What?" He whispered the words so quietly I thought I hadn't heard him. I let my eyes wander over his face, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not.

His gaze turned distant, as if he was remembering a different time. Something in him seemed to snap as he slightly shook his head before refocusing his eyes back on me."My mission at first was to bring you both in. But then the car flipped after it hit the pothole."

His words hung in silence for several seconds.

"And my dad died," I finished for him. A couple of tears made their way down my cheeks as I fought to keep them in. There was no way I was going to give this guy the satisfaction of crying, even if I already had shed a few tears. "You knew him, didn't you?"

This time he gulped nervously, clenching his jaw in the process. "Yes, I did. He trained me."

I felt the color drain from my face as I peered up at him. "Then why did you kill him?" I whispered.

"Like I said, he wasn't supposed to die. Neither your dad or I knew that pothole was there and that's what caused him to flip. By the time I made it to the car, he was dead. But you would know that since you were alive for all of it." He sighed heavily, his breath ruffling a few loose strands of my hair.

"You could've checked if I was dead," I muttered.

He leaned forward as his eyes tracked over my face again. We were almost nose to nose. "Maybe a part of me hoped you survived."

My breath hitched in my throat at those words. Maybe there was a way out of this for me. I just had to play for it.

"But your ignorant Uncle kept you in town," he spoke in a disgusted tone, "only changing your last name. It was only a matter of time before people realized you were alive."

"How'd you find out?" I asked, trying to get him to talk as I came up with a plan.

He mashed his lips before placing his hand on my knee. I pressed my back up against the refrigerator door as much as I could. Dante noticed and narrowed his eyes, removing his hand.

"Word of mouth." I knew that was his way of telling me they've had people watching Thomas and me. "Plus, I saw you with my own eyes when you came home early that night."

My mouth fell open at the realization. He was one of the people who'd been in my house the night Cole gave me a ride home. "That was you?"

He blinked once, rolling his eyes as he stood up. "Yeah it was. You beat the crap out of Angel, so I had to take care of you myself."

I'm guessing Angel was the person who attacked me first. "That's an ironic name for someone trying to murder someone else," I spat.

A small laugh escaped before he bit his bottom lip. "I wasn't trying to kill you then either. Just trying to take you in."

Didn't seem like that when he was choking me, but I don't dare say that out loud. "So what's changed?" I asked, my eyes locking onto the gun in his hand hanging by his side.

"Apparently you know too much."

The low and monotoned ding dong sounded before I could ask what he meant, signifying that someone has walked into the convenience store. Dante placed his hand over my mouth while he held the gun up, ready to shoot whoever walked in.

He nodded for me to stand up and I did just that, still trying to figure some way out of this. Dante kept my body trapped in front of his as we made our way towards the back of the small store. From where we stood, I had a good view of the backside of the counter where the cashier once was.

But that's when my eyes zeroed in on what the cashier had motioned to earlier. A gun was underneath the register on a shelf, ready to be grabbed.

Slowly, we made our way to the back door and that's when it dawned on me what Dante was trying to do. He was going to make a break for the exit in the back.

"Mom! We are about an hour away. I will call you when we're there." Shelly's voice carried through the bathroom door.

A shiver ran through my body as Dante placed the gun against my temple. "You weren't alone coming in here?" he whispered against my ear. His words were blameful, like I was at fault for something, but his tone was just the opposite.

So him trying to murder me was unplanned. It just happened to be coincidental, both of us being in here at the exact same time.

Was it though?

I ignored the voice in my head, answering Dante. "You never asked," I muttered under my breath.

Dante pressed the gun harder into my temple, but he removes it as he lets out a sigh. "Move now." He shoved me in the direction of the exit door in the back.

"Dante."

A familiar voice stopped us in our tracks.

Relief washed through my body, but it doesn't last long as Dante grabs my arm. He yanked me in front of him, once again placing the gun against my temple. "I'll do it, Joseph, don't test me."

I pleaded silently with my eyes, trying to get Joseph to look at me. How he knew Dante was a mystery, but it wasn't important at the moment. "Leave her out of this." Joseph kept his gaze solely focused on Dante.

I squirmed in Dante's grasp but his grip only tightened as he moved his arm to around my neck, keeping me trapped against him. "You don't think I'll do it? I killed your father, didn't I?"

The world around me paused at that very instant, Joseph's eyes finally connecting with mine. Guilt was written all over his face as his jaw opened and shut, no words coming out of his mouth. "You're my brother?" I gasped out.

"Nina-"

"You didn't know?" Dante breathed against me ear, so only I could hear him. His arm loosened around my neck as his composure seemed to change again.

"I was going to tell you," Joseph stared, running a hand over his dark hair that matched mine.

My knees buckled, but Dante held me up as my breathing came in short, ragged breaths. "How long have you known?"

"I wan-"

"How long?" I yelled. A wave of tears rushed down my cheeks, finally giving into the emotion I'd been trying to fight off.

"A couple of months before our dad died." He stared at me blankly, his jaw clenched.

"You've known for that long?" Everything about Joseph started to make sense. The way him and Thomas have gotten along. The way he always got uncomfortable when I talked about my dad. And then the letter pops into my head. He knew it was from my dad without even asking for my dad's name that night.

It all started to click into place like a perfect puzzle.

Just then, sirens wailed in the distance. Cashier guy must've called the police, ignoring Dante's warning about killing him.

Joseph lunged for Dante, taking advantage of the moment. I was tossed to the side right before Joseph collied with Dante. A shot fired up and particles from the ceiling fell, creating a white haze in the air.

I scrambled to the register and grabbed the gun. As I turned, Joseph was punched in the jaw, falling to the ground. Dante made a break for it, running towards the exit.

"Go after him!" Joseph yelled.

I did just that and followed Dante out the back. As I pushed open the door, it opened to an endless grass field. The first step I took resulted in me landing face first into the dirt.

Dante was in my peripheral and he was leaning down to pick me up after knocking me down. I used my legs, tangling them in his and pulling them towards me in one swift movement.

He fell, giving me time to reach for my gun that had fallen from my grasp seconds ago. I shifted onto my back just as he stood up, holding the gun at him. The sirens were getting closer and I knew I had to make a choice.

Deep down I knew I couldn't do it though.

Dante saw the look in my eye and knew I couldn't do it either. He took off and I lowered my gun as I watched him run out into the field. There was no way I was going after him in that. Besides, it was completely dark outside now.

Red and blue flashed through the tinted windows as I walked back in.

The bathroom door opened and Shelly walked out. "Mom, I'm fine, I promise. We're in a gas station, lots of people talking. Love you, bye." She looked up as she ended the call, her face morphing into horror as she sees my face and the gun in my hand. "What the heck happened?"

How she didn't hear any of the earlier commotion is beyond me.

Police rushed in, holding up their guns. "Guns down, now!"

I placed the gun on the floor, holding up my other hand in surrender. Joseph and Shelly copied me as they held their hands up too.

"Nina." Joseph tried.

"I don't want to talk to you," I said as cops rushed towards us.

A/N: Bomb drop! And double update today, hope you enjoy! Please vote as well. :)

Also, for those of you who do read this, do you think I should change the cover? Thinking about changing it and thinking of making a 'cast.' Would love to hear your thoughts!