Eleven.

Ace brings the Jeep to a complete standstill when the traffic lights turn red. The roads surrounding us are clear, which is unusual for 11 a.m. on a Thursday morning.

"Something is wrong," Ace says, pulling up the handbrake as he opens his glove box and pulls out a gun.

'My thoughts precisely,' I think to myself, and my entire body is suddenly overwhelmed by fear

The palms of my hands become sweaty and damp, the deafening sound of my heart pounds loudly in my ears, and my jittery eyes incessantly scan the streets.

Seconds later, five black sedans enter my field of vision, approaching us from the front of the Jeep. Their cars' tyres screeching to a halt, the doors fly open, and guys dressed entirely in black begin to file out, one by one.

"Shit! It's the bloodthirsty Irishmen." Ace curses as he cocks his gun and reaches over to my side of the car, popping open the dash's hidden compartment.

I watch with wide eyes as sixteen men charge towards us, their faces contorted with wrath as they raise their weapons at the Jeep.

"Aghaidh a thabhairt duit pussy!"

(Face us you pussy!) One of the men bellows out as he fires a warning shot in the air.

"Ace!" With my gaze fixed on the Irishmen, I yell and hit him on the shoulder.

"Get down!"  He yells, covering my head with his hands.

Bullets begin piercing the jeep, the thunderous sound of firing weapons crackles through the air, and I scream, anxiously cramming my growing frame beneath the dashboard of the vehicle as shattered glass showers us.

"It's going to be okay," Ace says above the cacophony of gunfire. "The doors have been reinforced with bulletproof steel plates, so as long as you keep your head down, you won't be shot," He assures me, popping his head up and analyzing our current situation.

He removes the magazine from the gun he is holding, inspects it, and ensures that it is fully loaded with bullets before re-inserting it.

"Here, remember what I taught you." He says, thrusting the weapon towards me.

'What, No!" I shake my head frantically.

"Mila," he grounds out. "Do you want to die?"

As tears of horror sting my eyes, I shake my head and cover my face with my hands.

"Mila, please take it for the sake of our prince; otherwise, we will all perish right here, right now, and I don't know about you, but I refuse to go out in this fashion." He looks at me with pleading eyes, thrusting the gun towards me once again.

"Okay," I nod my head and seize the gun from him, removing the safety and squeezing the hammer down. "I'm with you every step of the way," I vow, placing a hand over my stomach and sensing the movements of my son for what may be the final time.

"You and I forever, tesoro." He declares, gazing right into my eyes, "When I say 'now' cover me." He urges, and I nod with compliance.

(Treasure)

When the shooting stops, he pops his head up and immediately a wave of bullets start hitting the car once again.

"Four of them are slowly approaching us while the others are hanging back. I'm going to exit the car and start shooting at the ones hanging back while you take out the four approaching us."

"Okay," I reply, watching his hand reach for the handle.

"NOW!!"

I close my eyes and inhale deeply, recalling what he had told me during our shooting sessions.

'Reach for your centre, never panic, and always remember to exhale when shooting.'

I slowly raise my head, peering over the dashboard of the car and evaluate my status. I decide to take out the two on the end with shotguns and then eliminate the two in the middle with handguns.

I inhale, reaching my place of tranquillity, shutting out everything that surrounds me, focusing on my targets and I raise my weapon.

I press my finger against the trigger, releasing my breath and shoot the man on the right, his limp body falls to the ground. I cock the gun again, taking a deep breath, remembering my father's smile and press the trigger, watching the man on the left fall to the ground.

Tears slide down my face when I picture the only man I have ever truly loved in my life, a lump forms in my throat with the prospect of him rolling in his grave if he knew the heinous acts I have committed since his death.

I cock the gun, the image of my son wriggling about on the screen during the ultrasound crosses my mind, I pull the trigger and watch as the third man falls to the ground.

There is one man left, he is advancing towards us quickly as he relentlessly fires his weapon on a suicide mission to take me out.

"Not today, bitch!" I hiss, cocking the gun one final time and I aim it at the crazy Irishman.

I release my breath with my finger on the trigger and....

"Fuck, you're a natural, cara mia!"

(My beloved)

I faintly hear Ace call out to me, throwing me off and when I pull the trigger I miss.

"Shit!" I call out, ducking back under the dashboard.

"Die, you sons of a bitches!!" I roll my eyes, listening to Ace shoot his mouth off more than his weapon.

'Find your centre, Mila..' I think to myself, and automatically a dark figure with a velvety voice and toe-curling accent enters my mind.

"Give them a taste of your wrath, kedi yavrusu.' (Kitten) He whispers in my ear seductively.

Heat slowly engulfs my body, a tingling sensation caresses my clit and I suddenly find myself turned on.

I peer over the dashboard once again, my finger rests on the trigger and I exhale slowly, blocking everything out that surrounds me. I pull my finger back, firing it and I sigh with relief when the final guy drops to the ground.

I release the magazine, popping the hidden compartment in the dashboard and refill it with bullets before clicking it back into place. Survival mode has kicked in, it's either kill or be killed and I personally prefer the former.

I slide out the door, carefully making my way towards the front of the jeep, and when I turn to my right, Ace is shooting as if he belongs in a scenario from a movie when the hoodrats just keep squeezing the trigger, hoping the bullet will make its way to their desired target and strike them.

'Fucking idiot is going to get us killed!' My inner Goddess titters.

"Ace," I call out to him, "Ace.." I groan, realising he is too caught up in his little world.

"Fucking, Idiot!" As I try to devise a strategy, I let my gaze scan our surroundings.

I take off my denim jacket and kick off my heels, ripping the lower half of my skirt up to my thighs. I then carefully crawl backwards to conceal myself with the parked cars along the road as I make my way up towards the rest of the Irishmen, using their car doors to shield themselves from Ace's bullets as I gradually take them out one by one from behind.