Jesse stopped, he hesitated but he stopped, and we knew that he was stuck. That I was stuck. There was no way out. I was going to die. I wasn’t ready to die, I didn’t want to die, and I felt the tears beginning to roll down my face.
“You’re going to be okay, I promise you’re going to be alright.” Jesse pointed a finger at me, seeing the tears that I couldn’t wipe away.
“You never promise anything. Jesse, you’re changing into a different man already. How long have you known her? Last night? The Jesse I remembered would’ve been long gone. Just into the game not the ones that he left behind.” Jacob’s chuckled.
“I’m not changing but I’m not willing to let someone die over a game. I’ve never let someone die over a game. It was always killed or be killed!” Jesse shouted at him, taking his eyes off mine so that he could concentrate on the matter at hand.
“You might as well be the one to kill her then. Take my gun, kill her, put her out of her misery before someone else does. When the call comes down and we must fight she’s going to be the first one to go. Are you going to kill her or let someone else kill her? They might not be as nice as you are. One bullet and she won’t even know she’s dead.” Jacob’s made it sound like it was an easy choice. Maybe for him it was but I could see the pain in Jesse’s eyes.
Chapter 7
Jesse
I didn’t know what was taking Teddy so long, he should’ve been in here by now. The game wasn’t something that I wanted to play anymore. The only gems that I wanted from the start was Alexandrite. That was what I was searching for since I started the game. I wanted to call it quits now that I had what I wanted and the one that I was interested in was going to die because of what I wanted.
“Jesse.” Ginger whimpered, struggling to get out of the ropes that held her in place tightly.
“We’re going to get out of this.” I assured her, I knew that we were I just needed to know where Teddy was.
He should’ve been here by now, he should’ve shown himself. I didn’t know what he was doing but he had to hurry up. I couldn’t keep Jacob’s off forever. He was going to get tired of this game and he was going to shoot the both of us.
I came in with nothing, it was the plan. To get Jacob’s to trust that I had no one with me and now I felt like I was alone as if Teddy had abandoned me.
Ginger wasn’t going to die, not if I could help it. I had never seen someone be so afraid of death before and she was making me think that there was a softer side to life. That she could be my softer side.
I closed my eyes and shook the thoughts of her out of my head. I wasn’t going to win if I had fantasies of someone that I’d only just met.
I looked at the window, no signs of him. I knew that we weren’t going to be able to get in that way. It was impossible. We couldn’t lure him out because Jacob’s wasn’t that stupid. He would send his men but that was it.
I watched as Jacob’s got on the phone, stating his location. He was bringing in more men. They would be here shortly and if Teddy didn’t hurry we were both going to be dead.
“You’re out of your safety zone. My men will be here in twenty minutes. Guns blazing outside. Whoever is out there will be dead. Then you will be dead and that leaves me to take your place.” Jacob’s was serious.
I knew it would only be a matter of time before he would stop playing my game and start out with his own. He was going to win if Teddy didn’t hurry the hell up.
I stayed where I was. I knew that Jacob’s didn’t care about keeping me alive anymore. He had all the power. All the control and yet I was still breathing. I felt like I was barely breathing but I was breathing just fine.
There was no other plan. This was it, I thought it was going to work and now that I was inside, and Teddy was on the outside I wasn’t so sure.
He had never left me high and dry before, I didn’t think that he would this time. It wasn’t something that he would do, not in a million years I didn’t know why I thought he would just leave me this time.
“Are you wondering when you’re going to die Jesse?” Jacob’s laughed, putting his phone back into his pocket.
I didn’t answer him. I wasn’t going to answer him, he knew he had the upper hand and I couldn’t even look at Ginger. My plan obviously didn’t work the way it was supposed to. I was failing her, she could see that just by looking at me.
I wouldn’t believe my lies either. I didn’t think that it was a lie. I wasn’t even able to save myself. Not this time how could I sit there and tell her that I was going to save her?
We heard a gunshot, it jumped the three of us. Ginger almost fell back in her seat and if she had she would’ve smashed her head off the cement flooring. Possibly getting a head injury.
Jacob turned and when he did I went for Ginger, getting behind her as she sucked back her tears. I untied the ropes as quickly as I could.
“Are you okay?” I asked, when she stood up and almost fell.
“I will be.” She nodded her head, refusing to look at me. I could understand. She didn’t want me to see her cry now that she was freed.
Jacob’s had his gun in his hand. He fired his gun in the direction of where the gunshot had come from but when he shot it he missed.
Another gunshot rang out, making Ginger cover her ears. I could tell that she wasn’t used to the gunfire. She was used to in and out without having to deal with the aftermath or the middle of it, she wasn’t part of the game she was just a gopher. Now she was seeing what it was all about. That it was more than just instructions.
It was on the third gun shot that we saw Jacob’s fall. His body fell hard to the ground. Not only did he have a gunshot in his chest but there was blood coming out of his head. He was dead before he hit the cement and I knew that we were going to have to leave fast.
“Let’s get the hell out of here. He called his guys in.” I called out, seeing Teddy come out of his hiding place from around the corner on the other side of the warehouse.
I felt better knowing that he hadn’t left me. That he hadn’t just up and left letting me die here. I wasn’t going to tell him that, we didn’t have time for that.
“There’s one thing we have to do, get his body.” Teddy told me quickly.
“What the hell are we doing?” I asked, not wanting to move the body. We were wasting time and his men were going to be here.
“You want to do this right? We are going to have to clean up this mess. We can’t just leave it. Grab his arms.” Teddy told me.
I quickly grabbed his arms while Teddy already had his feet. Ginger opened the door for us as we dragged his body across the room.
“The car, get the car door!” Teddy shouted.
Ginger jumped to help as much as she could. I was glad that she was there and ready to spring into action.
It was either we were going to die doing this or we were going to get out and not be heard from again.
I didn’t want to die.
We threw his body into the driver’s side seat. I smelled the gas before we got him in the car. I began to understand what we were doing and why Teddy had taken so long to get inside. He had come up with a side plan that I hadn’t known about.
Once Jacob’s was in the car Teddy flicked his lighter. We watched the flame of the lighter as it was being tossed into the car.
We watched for a few minutes while Jacob’s body caught fire. Ginger held onto my arm for dear life as if she was the one who was burning in the car. Only she held on like she was alive and could feel the burning sensation as the flames grew higher and higher inside the car.
“Let’s get out of here. We’re going to have company if we don’t.” I nudged Teddy and moved so that Ginger would have to let go of me.
I did take her hand as we ran around to the side of the warehouse. There was a car there waiting for us. Teddy it seemed had someone drop the car off knowing that we were going to need a helping hand.
I pushed Ginger into the backseat and got in beside her. I wasn’t going t
o let her out of arms reach now that I had her with me and out of danger for the most part.
Teddy got into the driver’s side and we were headed out of the parking lot just as we heard the glass busting. The Audi was gone, it was toast but that was the least of my problems. We had made it out alive and I could see a bright future ahead of us.
“We’re going to have lay low for a while. You know that, right?” Teddy asked, looking in the rearview mirror.
“I don’t want to lay low for a while, I want out of the game Teddy. I got what I wanted. From the beginning of this game I wanted one thing.” I sighed, leaning my head back against the seat and closing my eyes.
“What’s that?” Teddy asked, I could hear the surprise in his voice. I had pushed him off guard. I wasn’t sure that I had ever done that before.
“The only gem that had been on the top of the list since I started was Alexandrite. It has never been found until now and we are the ones who have possession of it. I’m out of the game. I quit.” I opened my eyes to see that Teddy’s mouth had dropped.
“You can’t just stop now.” Teddy shook his head.
“But I am, there’s no other gem that I wanted. I have won after all these years I have won the game. My own game.” I grinned at him.
“So, what are you going to do now? What’s on the agenda?” Teddy shook his head, I could see that he wasn’t happy about it, but it was life.
I didn’t want to keep running, I didn’t’ want to see people die, I didn’t want to be the one killing others because they wanted me dead.
“I don’t know but I’m a dead man, that’s my Audi Teddy, they aren’t going to worry about the cops and calling them. Jacob’s is dead, they aren’t going to find his body. They are going to think that that’s my burning body in the car. His men aren’t going to sit there and go looking for help. They are in the game too deep too.” I explained, pointing out facts.
It was the perfect story I was dead. No one had to know that I was alive, and it was best that they didn’t if I was going to live a normal life. I was going to change my name and my appearance, just start over and it was the easiest thing to do.
“You know that we are going to have to do a lot of hiding out right?” Ginger asked, looking at me. It was the first time that she had talked to me since we left the warehouse.
“I’m up for that, I want to have a normal life and we will have one. If you don’t want to play the game. I mean that’s a choice that you’re going to have to make yourself. Do you want the game, or do you want a life that could make you truly happy?” I asked her.
She knew there was no doubt that I wanted to get to know her more than what I already did. I wanted to see where this was going to go and if we could do it together it was going to make the both of us stronger.
“I don’t want the game. I have realized out of all this that the gopher can get hurt too. If it wasn’t for you I would probably be shipped off to another country to be a slave. I heard him talking to someone it sounded like from Africa and I could only imagine what that would’ve been like.” She whispered putting her head on my shoulder.
Chapter 8
Ginger
I was alive, to hear that Jesse didn’t want to play the game anymore was something that had thrilled me to no end. I wasn’t going to tell him that of course. I wasn’t going to show him that I was happy that he had decided to quit.
It had to be a big decision for him to make. I mean he had a goal and he reached it. I was just starting out and wanted to get out. If I had stayed in the game I was going to die. He wasn’t always going to be there to save me and I knew that I was making the right choice.
My phone was gone, my boss wasn’t going to try and get a hold of me. If anything, he was already dead and that was fine by me. He probably died thinking that I was the one who screwed him over when in the end he had done it to himself.
There were only a few people who knew about the Alexandrite. I wasn’t one of them, Jesse had to point out that I had gotten a good loot from the shop. I wouldn’t have known anything about it if he hadn’t explained it.
“Where is the Alexandrite?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.
I was sure that it was in a safe place, that it was probably in reaching distance. I just wanted to make sure that we weren’t getting out of the game for nothing.
“In my pocket. I wasn’t going to leave it behind. I’m not that much of a fool.” Jesse laughed, kissing the top of my head.
I just wanted to sleep. There was nothing else I wanted to do. The Alexandrite was safe. I was safe, and we were going to live a new life. A life away from all the chaos. Where that was I didn’t know but I was glad that Jesse had saved me. That he had come to rescue. I would’ve gotten away from the police, but I would’ve been dead by now. I was sure that my body would’ve been hidden so that no one would ever find it.
The car ride was quiet, and I didn’t know where we were going to go. I was going to let Jesse figure that out.
If he could figure out a way to save me instead of running off with the gems, then he could figure out a way to get us the life that he wanted.
I was excited about where my life was going, though I had only been in the game for a little while I was going to miss the gems that I had found, that I had succeeded in getting back to my boss. The way they shined and the colors that I had picked up, but it wasn’t worth my life. I had to continue to remind myself of that.
There was nothing that important that I would sacrifice my life again for. I had learned my lesson. There was no gem out there that was worth taking my life over.
“I don’t know how you stayed in the game so long without getting killed.” I whispered, almost asleep.
“I didn’t care about anything or anyone. I just wanted those gems. It wasn’t about anyone else. I didn’t try to save anyone but myself. If someone was going to be left behind that was on them, that all changed since last night when I saw the gems hit the table. When I saw the gems that I had been searching for. Not just for months but for years and I knew then that the game was over for me. This had worked out better than what I thought it was going to.” Jesse shrugged.
Hearing his voice, knowing that he was happy and content now that he had found what he had wanted. I think that he was amazed at himself as well, the change that he was showing. He sounded sincere about what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it.
The more Jesse talked the more confident he was in himself and that was the best kind of man there was. I wasn’t the type to go looking for love, I had my fair share of heartbreaks and didn’t want to play even that game anymore, but Jesse didn’t make it sound like a game.
We were going to take it day by day and that was fine with me. All we had was time and that time we were going to get to know each other. We were going to know each other inside and out before we got into a relationship and that was the best way to go about it, the best way to start something was to get to know someone before jumping into anything. It was the first time that I had ever tried it and I had nothing to lose but time and even if it didn’t work out I hadn’t wasted my time. I would gain a friend and that was better than anything else. A true friend was better than making a true enemy.
“What’s your name? Since we are starting everything new. What is your name?” Jesse asked, making me open my eyes this time.
“Amanda.” I laughed at him.
Out of everything that had happened he still didn’t believe my name was Ginger. I knew he hadn’t believed it from the second the words came out of my mouth.
I looked up at him and we laughed. It was the best feeling in the world. In that moment we were both happy. We weren’t worried about anything and no one was after us. Jesse and Teddy had made sure that everything was going to be alright. That we were going to be able to start a new life whether it was together or not we were going into the new world that we had created, and it was better than what we had left.
The End.
Also by Emily
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Dual Hearts
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FREE GIFT ‘SEX, MONEY & ME’
Virgin On Vacation Page 13
