Chapter 11: Getting Burned

Jimmy fell to the ground as the bullet went into his right shoulder, and Manny was on her knees next to him in an instant.

"Oh god, Jimmy...I'm sorry, this is all my fault."

"Manny, I'm fine." Jimmy said. "Really."

Suddenly, Manny felt something small, cold, and hard at the back of her head. The hairs on her neck stood up as it clicked in her mind what it was. She slowly rose to her feet, gun still at her head.

"Maria, huh? I should've known all this time. The reason why my funds and sales were slipping, not because of this clown here." He kicked Jimmy in the stomach, laughing when Jimmy groaned in pain. "But because of you, Manny Santos." He grabbed Manny by her hair and pushed her. "It's a shame, you really were dynamite in bed, baby."

"Fuck you." Manny spat.

"Oooh. I'm frightened, really." He looked down at Jimmy. "I think I'll kill the bitch first, Brooks. I wouldn't want you to miss that." He cocked the gun again and pointed it straight at Manny.

It was all so surreal, Manny thought as her life flashed before her eyes. She never thought she'd be staring down the barrel of a gun with her boyfriend laying bleeding on the ground. All because she wanted to make some extra cash.

"Say goodnight, bitch." Dean said. Manny squeezed her eyes shut.

She heard the gunfire, but she didn't feel it. She finally cracked her eyes open just in time to watch Dean fall to the ground. Behind him stood Craig, holding a shiny silver Glock.

"Goodnight, bitch." He said. He stuffed his handgun in the back of his pants, and hurried over to Jimmy. "Jesus, are you alright?"

"What the hell does it look like? I just got shot in the arm!" Jimmy yelled.

"We gotta get the hell outta here, guys." Manny said, worried, looking around. "You just killed a guy!"

"I was trying to save your ass, Santos." Craig grunted.

Suddenly, a car pulled to a halt in front of them, the headlights blinding Manny, Craig, and Jimmy. Manny squinted to see who it was, when a girl poked her head out of the driver's side window.

"Need a lift?"

"Paige! Thank god you're here!" Manny said. "Jimmy's hurt, we gotta get him to a hospital."

"We gotta get you guys the hell out of here, more like it." Spinner was with her, and quickly got out of the car to help Jimmy.

With Jimmy safely in the backseat, Spinner hopped in front, and Craig and Manny got in the back with Jimmy.

"Okay, so, what's the closest hospital?" Paige turned around to look at Craig, when an ear-piercing shatter erupted through the car. Paige and Manny screamed, petrified.

Everyone turned around to look to where the sound had occurred. The back window had been shot out, and behind them was a car barreling towards them.

"Shit! That's Dean's boys! Drive, Paige!!!" Manny yelled.

Paige hit the gas hard and put the car in first, speeding through the back alleys of Toronto. The car that had fired the shot was hot on their trail, and more shots rang out.

"Shit, they're still on our ass." Craig said, looking back.

"What the hell did you guys do???" Spinner asked.

"Craig kinda killed Dean Marin." Manny said.

"Kind of???" Paige asked, struggling to take a turn way too fast. "How are we supposed to get Jimmy to the hospital if we're being tailed by gangsters???"

"Look, I wasn't really thinking about that, okay?" Craig asked.

"Well maybe you should have!" Paige shot back.

"Both of you shut up and let me think!" Manny said. "I got us into this whole mess, now I've gotta get us out of it!"

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Paige asked. "I can't keep driving like this forever!"

Manny looked at her four friends, Craig reloading his handgun, Spinner checking the rear view mirror to see if they were still being followed, Paige driving like a maniac, and Jimmy holding his arm in pain, his eyes squeezed shut. She sighed.

This was all her fault. If she had never agreed to sell for Benny in the first place, if she hadn't gotten so greedy, if she hadn't pulled Jimmy and Craig into this, none of it would have happened. She knew what she had to do.

"I got it, you guys." Manny said softly. Craig jerked his head up and looked at her.

"What?"

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Manny replied.

"Manny, what the hell are you gonna do?" Spinner asked.

"I'm gonna take care of it. They want me, they'll get me."

"Manny, are you crazy?!? They'll kill you!" Jimmy yelled.

"And it'll be over!" Manny yelled. "I have to!"

"No! Hell no!" Jimmy grabbed her arm. "I can't let you do this!"

Manny smiled at him sadly. "It'll be okay, Jimmy." She leaned down and kissed him softly. "I love you." She whispered in his ear.

"Manny, what are you doing???" Paige asked as Manny opened the door.

"Keep going, Paige. Don't turn around." She said. She took a deep breath and jumped out of the car. She hit the pavement hard, and tumbled a few feet.

"Manny!!!"

She couldn't move. Her head was ringing and her entire body ached. She saw the headlights of the other car pull up, and then stop. The doors opened, and three guys got out.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" one of them asked, holding a nine millimeter similar to Craig's. He cocked it, and held it against Manny's temple.

Manny took a deep breath. This was it.

Suddenly, a car came barreling toward them, knocking over the three guys and running over Manny's arm. She screamed in pain, still unable to move. The car came to a stop, and Craig jumped out, aiding to Manny's rescue. He picked her up and carried her to the car, running.

"You're fucking crazy, you know that?" he muttered as he put her in the car.

"Craig, move it, let's go!!!" Paige yelled from the front seat.

Craig jumped in the back and Paige hit in reverse, backing out of the alley.

"I can't believe you did something so stupid, Manny!" Jimmy yelled. "If Paige hadn't turned around, you'd be dead right now!"

"Well, on the bright side, we're not being followed anymore." Manny said weakly.

"And on the dim side, you've got a broken arm and god knows what else." Craig replied. "Now we have to take two people to the hospital. But it doesn't matter, because it's over now."

Manny looked at Craig like he'd just said something in Sanskrit.

"You honestly think it's over?" Manny asked. She laughed bitterly. "Manning, it's just beginning."

THE END

(or is it?)

[Author's Note: I appreciate all the great comments you guys have given me throughout the story. There will be a sequel, oh yes, there will be a sequel!!!]