by S. J. Bishop
“What has she done to you…?” he murmured, horrified.
I wanted to say something snarky, but in that moment, he picked me up, cradling me against his chest. All my anger melted away as a sense of safety washed over me.
My torment was over. He had rescued me.
I closed my eyes, a heavy fog rolling in.
But before I could give in to my fatigue, the door once again swung back.
Roxanne appeared, smirking in amusement. She clapped, stepping forward slowly. “Isn’t this sweet? The knight in shining armor comes back to save his princess. You two are going to make me cry, you really are,” she mocked with her hands on her hips. “Should I wait a moment as you two have your iconic kiss? I wouldn’t want to interrupt the big moment.”
“Go to hell,” Emil snarled. “I never should have trusted you.”
Roxanne laughed. “I could have told you that, honey.” She flashed a cruel smile. “I’m not the Queen because I’m nice, you know. In this business, it’s kill or be killed. You know that, Emil. But then again, you always were a softie. Sure, you try to act tough with your leather jacket and group of thugs, but I can see right through you.” She shook her head. “You’ve always been one of them.”
Emil held me a little closer, stepping back as Roxanne approached.
“A good guy.” She spat. “You make me sick.”
“Stay away,” he warned. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She snorted. “Oh my, that’s a good one! Hurt me? Well, aren’t you the scary one? I’m shaking in my boots,” she taunted. Before Emil could respond, she snapped her fingers.
Instantly, Mavis bounded into the room like some sort of dog. He held a gun in his hand.
I shivered.
What was Emil supposed to do? I was useless, and if he kept holding me, that would make him defenseless.
I was starting to fear that we wouldn’t make it out of this alive. My one chance at freedom had been dashed.
“Now, you’re going to do exactly as I say, got it?” Roxanne had the gun in her hand, her finger on the trigger. “Unless, of course, you want her brains plastered on the walls. Because I can have that arranged.”
Emil growled, “Don’t you dare.”
“Then you had better be a good boy,” she said.
Emil was tense, his chest like a brick wall.
My heart was beating a mile a minute as I tried to imagine how this would all play out. None of the scenarios had a happy ending.
Would we make it out of this alive?
“Put her back in the chair. I’m not worried about her. After the beating she took, she’s useless. I don’t even know why you came back for her. She’ll never love you.”
“I don’t care,” Emil insisted. “I love her, and that’s all that matters.”
What?
I looked at him, the world stopping for a moment.
He loved me?
No. That couldn’t be right.
“Then, for her sake, I suggest you get down on your knees.”
Emil hesitated for a moment.
Roxanne cocked the gun, pointing it straight at me.
“Don’t!” Emil snapped.
“Then what are you waiting for?”
With a look of hatred on his face, he got down on his knees.
“Hands behind your head.”
He did that too, making himself vulnerable.
Roxanne handed off the gun to Mavis. “Finish them both,” she commanded. “I don’t have time to deal with their nonsense. If they love each other so much, then they are going to die like Romeo and Juliet. Together.” With a sadistic laugh, she left the room.
Mavis advanced, his eyes wild, a grin dancing on his lips.
23
Emil
I waited for the perfect moment to attack. If this man thought I would go down without a fight, then he was in for a rude awakening. Then again, I was probably playing right into Roxanne’s hand. If I had to guess, she’d find enjoyment out of a gladiatorial fight.
She was a mean one.
Why had I ever thought I could trust her? God, I had been such a fool.
Mavis stumbled forward, sauntering with every step.
Suddenly, I shot forward, tackling him to the ground.
He held on tight to the gun, slamming its butt into my head.
For a moment, I was dazed, seeing stars swarming in front of my vision. I blinked them away, but it was a second too late. Before I knew it, his booted foot came crashing into my jaw. I flew back, my body slamming into the concrete, my skull throbbing from the impact.
“You shouldn’t have done that, you dumb fuck,” Mavis growled, holding up the gun and firing.
I managed to roll out of harm’s way just in time. I scrambled to my feet, charging forward. We collided with the wall, grappling for the gun. I rammed my knee into his groin. He doubled over, dropping the weapon. In our scuffle, it skidded across the room, just underneath Cassandra’s chair.
Mavis threw a punch, socking me in the eye.
My vision grew blurry, but I kept fighting. I had to. Cassandra was depending on me. So when Mavis came for me, I grabbed him by the pants and flipped him over, hoping the blow would be enough.
It wasn’t.
He yanked on my leg, pulling me to the ground where we rolled, punching one another. Blood flew everywhere.
I was starting to fear that I would lose this fight.
Bang!
Just then, Mavis’ body grew limp.
When I looked down, a pool of crimson was already gathering underneath his skull. From across the room, Cassandra held the gun, her fingers shaking.
“Good shot…” I whispered, a little dazed. She could have killed me. Then again, maybe that was what she’d been trying for. After all, I was the reason we were in this mess.
“Thanks…” she answered, trying to get to her feet, but as soon as she did, her knees buckled. The gun slipped from her hand, clattering to the ground.
She was just about to pick it up when it was kicked aside.
“Ah!” she screamed as Roxanne’s talons tangled in her hair, pulling her head back.
I watched in horror as Roxanne pressed the barrel of a gun to her temple.
“Don’t you dare.”
She cocked it.
I froze. “Please. Don’t hurt her. She doesn’t deserve this. She has a daughter who needs a mother. If you want to torture someone so bad, then take me instead.”
Roxanne smiled. “Aww, isn’t that sweet? Trying to sacrifice yourself for her sake. But I really don’t understand. What do you see in this little runt?” She pulled on Cassandra’s hair even harder, eliciting a whimper from her lips that made my heart ache.
I wanted to help her – to protect her – to keep her safe – but in that moment, there was nothing I could do.
“I love her,” I answered, unable to do anything else.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. “Love is so overrated. It doesn’t do anything for you except make you vulnerable. Take it from me, you’d be better off without her. Besides, you deserve a real woman.” As she spoke, she shifted her hips, showing off her body.
Was she… flirting with me?
Really? At a time like this? This woman really was insane.
“Think about all we could accomplish together, Emil. Mavis was a damn idiot, but you’re different. We could take this city by storm. You know, every Queen needs her King.”
“You’ve completely lost it.”
“Have I?” She laughed. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’m at the top of my game while you’re just groveling on your belly. You don’t know a thing about the world, Emil. I could show you.”
“I’ll never be like you,” I said. “I’ve done some bad things, but I regret every single one of them. It’s about time I do something right…” Then, before she could react, I dashed forward.
She was taken by surprise, tripping on her obnoxiously high heel, giving me a point of advantage.
I grappled for the gun, but she held onto it with superhuman strength, refusing to let go.
“You’re going to regret this!” Cassandra hissed. “You’re a dead man!”
My only focus was on getting that gun.
But before I could wrench it away from her, it went off with an ear-deafening pop.
The world stopped.
At first, I didn’t know what had happened.
There was a weird buzzing noise in my ears. Everything felt numb. My tongue had turned to cotton.
And then, it hit me.
The pain was like a cinderblock to the chest – no, a sledgehammer – no, a whole goddamn freight train.
I screamed, but no sound emerged from my lips. My body crumbled into a heap, warm, sticky blood seeping from my chest.
In horror, I reached up to touch the bullet wound, my fingers getting lost in the hole.
No.
Was this how it would all end?
Click. Click. Click.
Faintly, I could make out the sound of Roxanne’s retreating footsteps.
A moment later, Cassandra was by my side. “Emil!” she screamed, the sound penetrating through my skull. “Oh my god, Emil…” She sounded so heartbroken.
I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, but I felt my life slipping away second by second. I wouldn’t last much longer.
But I had saved her. That was all that mattered. She would live to see another day – to raise her beautiful daughter – to fall in love and get married.
She deserved it.
I did not.
With a final breath, I closed my eyes.
24
Cassandra
No…
No!
I ran to Emil’s side, fearing the worst. “Emil!” I cried, but he did not respond. Already, blood flowed from his chest like a river. “No… you can’t die on me. You hear me? I’ll never fucking forgive you if you do,” I growled, pressing my hands to his chest and trying to stop the blood from pouring out, but it never stopped.
He wasn’t going to make it.
I needed to get him to a hospital.
Now.
Calling on strength I didn’t even know I had, I managed to get him on his feet, dragging his body out of the building. As soon as I stepped over the threshold and into the night, I collapsed, too exhausted to move another step.
No.
I had to keep going. If I didn’t, he would die. I couldn’t let that happen.
But my body felt like lead, refusing to move.
With tears in my eyes, I managed to scoot a little closer, pulling him into my chest. Maybe I couldn’t save him, but I’d make his final moments as comfortable as possible. “I’m so sorry, Emil…” I sobbed. “I… don’t know what to do…” I ran my fingers through his hair, my cheek pressed against his. He felt so cold.
Had I already lost him?
I was scared to feel for a pulse, so I just held his hand instead. As I did so, I felt something hard in his pocket.
My eyes widened. That was it! Cassandra had taken my phone and destroyed it, but Emil still had his!
Quickly, I pulled it out, my fingers shaking as I called Cruz’s number.
He picked up on the second ring.
“Help,” I croaked before passing out.
When I woke up, I was lying on a bed, cocooned in a mass of blankets.
Abruptly, I sat up, looking around wide-eyed.
A strong hand pushed me back down. “Shh. You’re going to hurt yourself.” It was Cruz.
“Where is he?” I demanded, growing frantic. There were a million and one things going through my head. Had he made it? Or had I been too late?
“Shh,” he insisted. “He’s fine.”
My shoulders sagged in relief, tears springing to my eyes. “Really?”
“Mhm.” Cruz handed me a tissue, trying his best to comfort me. I appreciated his hand on my back.
“I was so scared…”
“It’s all over now, Cassandra. I promise.”
I looked at him. “What about Roxanne?”
“We have our best team searching for her as we speak,” he said with a smile. “She won’t get away with this.”
I nodded, taking a minute to gather my thoughts. “Where is he?” I asked once more.
“Are you sure you want to see him?” Cruz asked.
“What do you mean? Of course I want to see him. He saved my life.”
“Cassandra, you’re going to have to tell me what happened. Twelve hours ago, we received a signal that his ankle monitor had been deactivated. We tried to get in contact with you, but you went MIA. We assume that things took a turn for the worst, so I’m going to need to know everything that happened.”
I bit the inside of my lip. If I told him the truth, I risked incriminating Emil and getting him into trouble. Despite what he’d done to me, I didn’t want to hurt him any more than he already was. “Do I really need to do this, right this instant?”
“It’s best to do it while it’s still fresh in your mind.”
“Trust me, this isn’t something I’ll soon forget.”
“Consider it protocol then,” Cruz said. “And just as soon as you tell me, I’ll let you see him.”
Still, I hesitated. What was I supposed to say?
In the end, I told the truth as best I could. Hopefully, things would work themselves out, and Cruz would understand. The last thing I wanted to do was make Emil hate me.
I love her.
I heard his voice in my head. I still couldn’t believe it. Was it true? Honestly, I didn’t know. I couldn’t see how. After everything that had happened, I found it difficult to accept that he would love the woman who had turned her back on him. All he’d wanted was someone to love him, and I had let my inhibitions ruin what could have been.
Sigh.
“Alright. That’s it. Can I see him?” I asked.
“Sure, but you’ve gone through a lot. Don’t push yourself too hard. The doctors said you need rest as well.”
I ignored the warning. I was on enough pain medication that I couldn’t feel a thing. Besides, the torture Roxanne had put me through was already a distant memory. All that mattered, at this point, was seeing Emil. I needed to make sure he was okay.
With my heart pounding, I watched as Cruz pulled back the curtain behind him. I hadn’t even realized that I was in a room with someone else.
I gasped, my heart tightening when I saw him. He looked so pale.
How was he okay? He looked like he was dying.
Quickly, I scrambled out of bed and rushed to his side, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it tight, choking back the sobs that threatened to erupt.
This couldn’t be happening. This had to be some sort of sick nightmare.
“Emil…” I whispered.
He didn’t respond.
I looked back at Cruz.
“He’s asleep. He should stay that way for a while. He’s still under the effects of the anesthetics. Don’t worry, he should wake up in a few hours. Why don’t you get some rest in the meantime?” he suggested.
But in that moment, I vowed that I wouldn’t dare leave his side. I locked our fingers together, my thumb caressing the back of his hand. “I love you…” I whispered ever so softly, praying for a miracle.
He would be okay. He would be okay, I kept repeating to myself.
But still, I was terrified.
What if he didn’t make it?
25
Emil
I was lost in a fog. The notion of direction alluded me. One second I was up, and the next I was down, just floating through space.
At times, I tried to figure out what was going on, but my head was so light and airy that it was like it didn’t even exist. The only thing that kept me whole was this dull pain in my chest that radiated to every part of my body.
What had happened?
It felt like I had been run over my 16-wheeler.
Maybe I had. I couldn’t remember.
At some point, I could hear muffled voices. They all sounded frantic, talking in hushed tones like they spoke some great big secret no one else could know. I tried to decipher their words, but it was impossible.
So I continued to float, enjoying the weightlessness of my body.
Somehow, I seemed to get lighter and lighter. It felt like at some point, I would just disappear into nothingness.
Maybe it would be for the best.
When had I ever mattered? Even when I’d tried, I had always failed. The world was better off without me.
But before I could vanish, something tethered me down. A strong tug that started at my hand and pulled me toward some unknown destination.
The warmth seeped up my arm before settling into my chest, wrapping around my heart and piecing it back together. The fragments fused seamlessly as if nothing had happened. I smiled.
It was her.
Cassandra.
With a sharp intake of air, I woke up. I was blinded by the bright light, squinting against it and trying to get my vision to adjust. As I waited, everything came rushing back. I relived everything in painstaking detail.
“Emil…?” Cassandra’s voice sounded angelic.
I turned my head in her direction and smiled.
Suddenly, she lurched forward, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.
I gasped, pain shooting through my chest as if someone had driven a red-hot dagger straight to the heart.
“Shit. Sorry. Are you okay?” Cassandra pulled away, her eyes painted with fear and concern. “Please tell me you’re okay…” She was already searching for the panic button when I pulled her toward me.
Our lips collided, and I melted into her sweetness, the pain fading in an instant. I kept kissing her, addicted. Despite my arm feeling like it weighed a million pounds, I lifted my hand, tangling my fingers in her hair, feeling like if I ever let her go, she would disappear right before my eyes.
I would never let that happen again. I had almost lost her once, and I’d be a fool to make the same mistake twice.
Eventually, we pulled away, our chests burning with the need for air. “Cassandra…” I started to speak, my heart beating fast. Our eyes locked, our noses and foreheads touching. In that moment, it felt like time had halted to a snail’s pace. I wet my lip, preparing myself, but the worlds felt like boulders in my throat.
