I couldn't get to my girl fast enough. The fact she's prepared to take me down shows her dedication in protecting my sister. I saw her body recoil after the first guy pulled his gun, so I expected the blood to be hers. Then what does the woman do after kissing me, she throws herself in front of a bullet meant for me and throws another knife. I drop him with another double tap, and her knife embeds in his chest.
My girl is in my arms and falling to the ground. Please let this be a nightmare. My mind flashes back to Christopher whenI need to focus on checking on her. The two bullets I put in that arse aren't enough, I want to get up and unload my mag into him, but my girl is struggling. We fall to the ground, her in my arms, me on my knees.
I see her struggling for breath, that's when I see the first hit to her upper left shoulder area. The second shot was direct to her heart. The shots are too close, the vest probably failed. My mind is screaming no repeatedly. I won’t lose her now.
My mind flashes back again to losing Christopher, how close this is to that. I shake my head and struggle with the fog. I love this woman. I'll die before I lose her. I reach down, check her airways, and pull the Velcro on the shoulders of her vest through her sweatshirt.
"Baby. Honey, I love you. Come on! NO! I can't live without you. I love you. Say something, baby, please," I scream; my sister is on her knees crying and screaming for help.
Maya lost consciousness as soon as we hit the ground. I'm hoping it's just from the air being knocked from her. I can feel the vest under her clothes is still mostly intact. The only problem I notice is the body armor vest I bought her for Christmas is on my sister, not her. That was a point-blank shot from a .45 caliber revolver to an already compromised vest.
"Oh God, Duncan, all the blood. Help her, she's dying. Don't let her die, Duncan, we need her." I start to look for the source of all the blood. I pull a knife from my boot, slip it down the front of the sweatshirt, and thank God above. I cut the shirt underneath until I get to her vest. It's destroyed by both hits.
"Come on, baby, it's the shock. Open your eyes. I know it hurts, but open your eyes so I know there's not any internal damage. Please, baby!" I beg and the smellshit me.
I lock down my emotions and the memories before I go back there. The blood, the air, the screaming, the pain of another loss. Please, God, not my girl.
"I'll have you know this motherfucking shit hurts." She gasps and I know exactly what she means. I've taken a couple to my vest too, it hurts. I feel my heart calm.
"I know, baby, be careful, you could have some bruised or broken ribs. You took two to the vest." I make her stay down until the paramedics can check her.
"Bruised ribs, Duncan, she's shot in the chest. She's bleeding! She's dying! She can't die. I need her, I'm pregnant." My sister is yelling.
"What?" I look at Ana like she's got two heads.
"Ana, you need to calm down, the blood isn't all mine. I have a vest on, it knocked the wind out of me, that's all, sister." I see Maya’s look of concern though and know there's more damage than what she's saying.
"Oh, thank God, Maya!" Ana gasps.
"Did my sister just say she's pregnant? And did you really throw yourself in front of a bullet for me?" I try to change the subject from the fact my girl is lying to me about how much pain she's in.
"Yeah, about that...I'm sorry, you were right. I'm sure I want you. I'll live in London or wherever you want to live. I love you, Duncan," she says as she still struggles for breath.
My own breath stops, my heart slows. "Baby, are you sure?"
"I'm sure, I've already spoken to my superiors at both jobs, and Joshua and I spoke yesterday."
"Jobs? You got the job with Secret Service?"
"I'll explain later. Help me up."
"No, stay here until the paramedics check you out."
"Reach into my hoodie pocket, both my badges are there, pull them out." She looks down to see her exposed vest. "Okay, check the ground and see where they fell." I find them, the first is her Metro PD ID with a badge, and the second makes my breath stop again.
"Baby, Secret Service ERT?"
"I told you I interviewed with them, but I'm not a close protection agent, I’m a sniper with them." She struggles to laugh.
"We will discuss this, baby."
"Hands up," officers yell as they surround us.
"Metro PD and Secret Service," Maya says breathlessly.
I'm worried that she's got broken ribs, she's having trouble taking a full breath. I can see a small amount of blood trickling down to her hip where she's lying on the ground.
"We got a call from Securities International Incorporated in London, but they failed to tell us about the dead bodies," one officer says.
