My fingers dug into my thighs. My heart had been racing ever since the attack, but that was not the reason now. I couldn't stop worrying about Emerson.
I felt so guilty for leaving her. I was sure my stalker had everything to do with this, but Jax had confirmed there wasanother party at play. Someone I hadn’t truly thought about for years. But I couldn’t say I was surprised.
Once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit.
“It’s her father, you're sure?” I asked, leaning forward. Jax nodded.
“It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that he's likely the one behind all of this. I knew he had a bone to pick with Emerson. She told me all about it when she had us look into him.”
Fear constricted my chest, making it hard to breathe.
It couldn’t be a coincidence. He was supposed to be in jail, just like my stalker, but they were both out somehow. This had to have been planned.
And Emerson… She didn’t deserve any of it. It was like he had just been waiting for the perfect moment to swoop in and destroy her life even more than he already had. He wanted to see her suffer. He always had.
To be honest, I was never fully sure of why he had kept Emerson as a child. He obviously hated her and saw Emerson as nothing more than a punching bag.
I was angry for her. And to think he had her somewhere and was probably hurting her even now made me even angrier.
Up until now I never thought I had this much rage in me. Guilt, fear, hurt—all those were normal for me. But apparently all it took was for someone to hurt Emerson, and the claws were out.
He better not have hurt her.
There was a buzzing in Jax’s pocket, the sound breaking through the obvious tension in the car. She pulled it out.
“Team three confirms there are men in the building on the right. Likely armed. Let's go get her. Pearl, you stay here.”
Just as I was about to complain, she looked back at me with a hard expression. I couldn’t believe this was the same girl who’dseemed all casual and playful when we first met. This was her in full-on work mode and ready to save her friend.
“Emerson would kill me if I got you hurt, so for my sake, please…”
I sank back into the seat and nodded. Disappointment washed through me. I should've known she would never let me leave the car.
“Please get her back to me.”
She gave me one long look before placing something on the center console.
“We will. Safety’s off. Point and shoot if you need to. Just in case.”
They all walked out, and I watched them as they disappeared between the abandoned buildings.
When they were finally out of sight, I looked at what she’d left for me.
A gun.
Pitch black and with the power to save or kill a person. A power that seemed too heavy for me to bear. Too important.
I knew next to nothing about guns. I’d never fired one. And still I grabbed it without a second thought.
Fuck this. Emerson’s in danger. I'm not hiding any longer.
I snuck out of the car and went in the same direction they had, holding the gun with both hands. I weaved in between buildings and containers, being careful not to step on anything that might give me away.
The night air was silent. So much so that my breathing and heartbeat felt far too loud.
When the gunshots started in quick succession, it almost sounded like one of those first-person shooter games, nothing like I would've expected in real life. But each of them felt like it was hitting me straight in the chest.
At the end of each bullet was likely the end of someone's life.
