Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60447 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Then, true to her word, the sounds of smashing can be heard clear as day.
Moving back around to the front of the container, I peer around just in time to see the man angrily shouting at her to stop as he unlocks the keypad and swings the door open, his gun up and ready. I don’t think nor do I wait. I slip around and move up behind him, hitting him so hard in the back of the head he falls forward.
He tries to roll, but I take him by the hair and slam his face into the closest stack of wooden boxes. Just like that, he passes out onto the ground, blood pouring from a wound in his head. Taking his gun, I lift it and see Addison appear with a girl tucked in by her side. She rushes over, throwing her arms around me.
“You came for me.”
“I will always come for you, sugar. Now come on, we have to move.”
Stepping towards the exit, I’m immediately stopped when a gunshot rings out, bouncing off the metal that is so fucking close to my head I’m forced to take a step back. “Fuck,” I bark, putting my arm out to stop the girls moving. “Stay here.”
Taking another step toward the door, I’m forced back once again when another bullet flies in my direction. Someone is eager to take my fucking head off. How the fuck are we supposed to get out of here if we’re being shot at, and I can’t see where the fucker is. Eyes scanning the area, I do my best to locate the man shooting, but I can’t get eyes on him.
Addison steps up beside me, her fingers curling around my arm. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know, they’ve got eyes on us, so I don’t know how the fuck we’re goin’ to get out of here.”
“Maybe if we just stay in here, he’ll come closer eventually, and you can shoot.”
Smart girl. “Should be a biker, baby.”
She laughs, softly. “It would seem so.”
We wait, quietly, for the person with a gun to get closer. It takes a while, but eventually, we hear footsteps coming closer as the man tries to get a better look at us. Holding the gun up, I wait for the chance. The moment I see him appear into view, I fire. It hits him in the shoulder and his entire body jerks as his arm swings back. A bellow rings out, but he doesn’t go down.
He doesn’t go down because he’s wearing a vest.
I know it, even before he raises the gun toward me, that I’ve fucked up.
As if in slow motion, I think about pulling the trigger, but I don’t get a chance. Addison takes hold of me, pulling me back frantically as a shot rings out. I wait for the blinding pain, the unwavering burn of a bullet tearing through skin, but it doesn’t come. I wait, and I wait, but it’s only when I hear the gasping sound beside me that I know it wasn’t me the bullet was intended for.
It was her.
My body moving slowly, as if not a single part of it works, I turn to see Addison bring her hand up to her chest. Her eyes are wide, her mouth opens, and she chokes out a sob before collapsing onto the ground.
I don’t realize I’m bellowing until the container doors slamming makes the sound so much louder as we become trapped in the space. Dropping to my knees, I take her face in my hands as I watch her eyes get glassy.
“Addi, baby, do not close your eyes. Baby, please.”
A sound comes from her throat, a sound I never want to hear again in my life.
As if she’s struggling to breathe.
No.
God dammit.
No.
22
Addison
I can hear him screaming my name, begging me to wake up, but my entire body feels numb, as if I’m floating aimlessly through the clouds without thought or conscious memory. I can’t feel any pain, nor does my brain seem to realize anything is wrong. I feel scarily at peace, not a single part of me holds any tightness or worry. Even with the chaos surrounding me, I’m okay.
Hands gripping my face has my eyes fluttering open, but I struggle to focus on anything. It almost seems as if the world has gone black. I can hear, but I can’t see. Closing my eyes again, I try to focus on bringing myself out of this, to tell him I’m okay, but it doesn’t seem to matter what I do, I can’t bring myself to open my eyes once more.
“Addison. Baby. Please wake up.”
He sounds so afraid, so scared.
That saddens me, so much.
I want to croak out that I’m okay, but not a single part of my body is working. I don’t even think I could lift a finger right now if I tried. Instead, I just let the blissful darkness take over because it feels safe there, warm even, like nothing can touch me. I like the peace I feel when I’m here. Gone is the fear or anger, and in its place, nothing but pure white peace.