Page 78 of Ache
We bust through the door and are met by cop cars, flashing lights, and a dozen automatic weapons. My heart nearly gives out from the surprise.
“Put your weapon on the ground and back away from the hostage,” someone yells, but the four of us are deer in headlights.
Gunner snakes his arm around my neck and chokes me, pressing the barrel of his gun to my temple.
“I’ll kill her, I swear.” He walks down the sidewalk with my mother and his goon safely behind him.
“Gunner, let the girl go. There’s no way out,” the same deep, rumbly voice continues to address him.
Gunner laughs. The sound is as evil as a demon. “There’s always a way out.”
The seconds pound away like a gong as imminent death surrounds me. One wrong move. One wrong decision, and I am dead.
“Gunner,” the man warns as he keeps walking. I silently pray, not for myself, but for Alec and Tage. For Lara and Luke. For all the people I love. I pray a silent thank you for the brief happiness I was allowed to have. For the friends I was blessed with. I pray for their lives and their joy. It’s all I can give. My prayers are all I’ve ever really had.
There’s a strange clicking sound before Gunner spontaneously pushes me to the ground and opens fire. I curl into a terrified ball as the bullets fly over my head. Then there’s a huge cloud of smoke choking me. I keep my eyes closed until the madness ends, covering my ears from the loud torrents of cracking bursts.
Terrified tears stream down my face, and then there’s suddenly nothing. No sound, no smoke. No Gunner.
It’s only a split second before a man is scooping me off the ground.
“It’s okay, you’re safe now. I’ve got you.” Shaking, I wrap my arms around his neck and look up into a pair of warm, unfamiliar, brown eyes. He isn’t dressed like a policeman. Instead, he’s wearing black fatigues.
“Alec, Tage.” I come to my senses as the man carries me to a blacked-out SUV. “Alec, he’s shot.”
“We know. There’s a team going up to get him now.” Red and blue lights flash, nearly blinding me. It looks like a war zone with all the emergency personnel scattered around.
“Who’re you?” I ask, beside myself.
“CJ.” He smiles brightly. “I work with Tage.” He winks.
“Oh, you’re one ofthem.”
“I am,” he confirms. “But shhh, I was never here, and you never met me.” I think CJ is trying to be funny, maybe trying to take the edge off, but my sense of humor is currently absent.
“Where’s Gunner?” My panic though, is most definitely present.
“Gone. He got away. He’s a slick one.” CJ scowls. He has the same kind of authoritative air as Tage. A blue-coat kind of persona.
“Gone?” My throat closes, but I don’t have time to dwell as Alec is rolled out on a stretcher.
“Alec.” I scoot out of the backseat and book it toward him. Tage is with him. His hands are bloody, and so is his white shirt.
“Alec, Alec.” I try to fight the tears. He doesn’t respond.
“Is he going to be okay?” I turn to Tage as they lift him into the ambulance.
“I don’t know,” He’s brutally honest.
“Do you two want to ride with?” the EMT asks right before he closes the door.
“Yes.” I catapult myself into the bus.
Tage follows.
“Hey!” CJ yells. “Tage, get her checked for trauma!”
Slam. The doors close, and we speed away.
