Chapter Fourteen: Annika
Itried to keep calm, following suit while Stephan took out the first few guards, drawing them all out while I shot them down the way he taught me to. It was hard to spot them all, hearing them coming barreling from the alleyway behind the house with their guns blazing, but I managed to get as many down as I could.
I watched Stephan turn back at the front door of the house, calling out to me, and I rushed in behind him, shutting and locking the door behind me. I could already tell that there were more of them crawling around the house, and I glanced over to Stephan, noticing the concern on his face that told me we both had to be careful or this was going to go terribly wrong.
“What now?” I asked, frustrated that I hadn’t been paying enough attention to answer that question for myself.
“We need to get to the office, get what we can, and shoot anyone that tries to get in our way. Be careful, and stay behind me, okay?” he said, and I nodded.
“I’m right behind you, Stephan,” I replied, following him up the stairs where we were met by two men pointing their guns directly at us, but Stephan didn’t even hesitate.
He fired the first shot into the man’s arm, knocking the gun clean out of his hand while I tried my best to take care of the other. I didn’t allow myself to flinch, I didn’t allow myself to be scared of losing control, and I followed Stephan’s steps near exactly. He was a great teacher, and with him, I knew I was going to be safe no matter what.
He finished them both off, and we stepped over their bodies, making our way into the little office space, noticing the books and papers that were scattered all over the place. There were stacks of cash at every corner of the room, and Stephan’s eyes lit up the moment he saw just how much we were going to walk out of there with.
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and I glanced into the hallway to see that we still had quite a bit of trouble on our hands. I didn’t say a word to him as our eyes locked, and I took a deep breath, my eyes averting to the cash so he’d know to start packing it up while I took care of the remaining goons myself.
I made sure I had enough bullets in my gun just in case I missed a few shots, and if there was one thing I learned from Stephan that stuck with me, was that in situations like this, there was no time to hesitate.
You either get the first shot or you end up dead.
I thought, and I stood out in the hallway bravely, before they even had a chance to look up at me, shooting them both in the kneecaps while they staggered back.
I shot them both again in the chest, inching closer to them to make sure that they were out cold before I returned to Stephan to see just how much of the room he was able to clear out. It was amazing to see just how good he was at all of this, and how he really didn’t care who he upset along the way if it meant getting what he wanted.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy that, that my body is running on such an adrenaline rush that I’m not sure I ever want to come down from it.
I helped him finish up stuffing the cash into the backpacks we brought before we headed back downstairs to find the first door out of there.
When we were finally out into the open air again, I was overcome with joy, truly astonished that we were able to even pull it off, to begin with, and the minute Stephan and I got back into his car, we threw the bags into the backseat right before he leaned in to kiss me.
We were covered in sweat, hot, and coming down from the high, but we did it. I felt just like I did the night that Stephan and I stole the car together. It reminded me that I wanted to be a part of this, that I wanted to continue being a part of his life because I didn’t ever want this excitement to dissipate.
“We did it, Stephan,” I said, and he smiled back at me.
“You never cease to amaze me, you know?”
“I was just following orders,” I replied.
“I didn’t give you any orders when you stepped out into the hallway and got the first few shots into those men before they even had the chance to see who it was that fired the gun,” he said, and I shrugged.
“I guess I’m picking up quite a bit along the way, huh? It’s almost as if I was made for this,” I said, and he nodded.
“I think it’s safe to say that you’ve begun to figure out what you want, Annika. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve seen a genuine smile on your face.
“I know that things aren’t always going to be this simple, and we’re going to be in danger for quite a while before things settle down again, but I need you to know that I’m right here with you. Even if you woke up tomorrow and decided that you didn’t want this anymore, I would never hold any of that against you. I love you,” he said, and I reached over to caress his cheek.
“I’m not going anywhere, Stephan. There’s nothing that’s going to scare me away this time, not Natalia, not her family, not even my own. I want to be here with you, I want to do this with you because I love you. I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but what I can say is that we make an incredible team,” I replied.
“We certainly do. Your parents are going to be arriving soon, and they’re going to expect you back home,” he said, glancing over at the clock on the dashboard.
“Can we head somewhere to get a bit cleaned up before we head there?” I asked.
“Of course,” he replied, starting up the engine, and driving us away, with his free hand resting softly in mine. I could tell that he was scared, that there was still a part of him that doubted what my wishes truly were.
I didn’t know what else I could tell him to convince him that I wouldn’t ever dream of leaving him. There was nothing that I could go through now that would make me feel that I could ever escape this life. It was a part of me now, and I genuinely believe it was the only way I’d ever be able to find true happiness.
He showed me an entirely different side to life, and the rush alone from the small jobs he’d taken me on, has given me more than the last few years of my life had. I wanted nothing more than to pursue this with him, and I knew he cared enough about me to keep me near.
