~ Massimo ~
I didn't think, I just reacted, my thumb moving with a mechanical precision to swiftly unsafety my Beretta as I spun toward the hand that had dared to touch me.
The moment my eyes landed on that pale, blood-streaked hand, the world seemed to halt. My finger froze against the trigger, the barrel millimeters away from a target I would have regretted hitting for the rest of my life.
A wave of relief hit me so hard it was almost physical, and I let out a long, shuddering exhale.
I knew those hands just as I knew my own. I knew the twin scars that ran like jagged lightning across the back of his right palm.
"Andrej," I breathed.
I quickly dropped flat onto the damp pavement, ignoring the grit and the oil that stained my suit as I peered under the belly of the SUV.
There he was, tucked into the narrow, dark crawl space between the chassis and the concrete, lying flat on his stomach with his cheek pressed against the grit as he desperately avoided the flying bullets.
