Time seemed to slow in that moment. The bullet should've taken less than a second, but it felt like a lifetime as I waited to see if it hit or not.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move.
And then I saw it.His shoulder.
It jerked back like he’d been hit hard, sending him off balance. He couldn't catch himself before he fell to the floor in pain, his groans echoing through the warehouse.
Emerson didn’t move. She looked… shocked.
I quickly climbed inside through the window, and only then did her eyes snap up to me, her face twisting into the most agonizing look I've ever seen.
Her hand reached out to me. Her bloody hand. She was trying to stand up and come to me, but she couldn't move.
That’s when I saw how hurt she was.
“Emerson,” I cried.
“Pearl,” she said with just as much pain in her voice. “You don't understand. You need to go. They're going to hurt you.”
I raced to her, catching her just as she was about to hit the cold ground. The weight of her on me made it all real.
She’s still alive. I haven’t lost her.
Tears welled in my eyes.
“Jax is here,” I said as I tried to help her up. “Come on, we have to leave now.”
Her father was still on the ground, moaning in pain and cursing us, but he was the least of my worries. I knew Jax had a team, but who knew if it would be enough? I didn’t know how many men he had.
“Wait! I need to…”
She groaned when I finally got her to her feet. My eyes fell to her leg, and seeing the blood seeping through the fabric had my heart breaking.
That motherfucker shot her. He shot her.
“No, we're leaving,” I ordered as I tried to keep cool. We needed to get out of here.
Emerson looked like she was going to fight me on it, but instead, she let me pull her along.
She was here. She was alive. And she was mine.
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I left.”
“Not the time, Pearl.” Her voice was hoarse, the pain getting to her.
“I know, I know.”
But we weren't fast enough.
I hadn't heard her father move, but she had.
In a single moment, I went from holding Emerson to her shoving me away so hard my side hit the ground. She stood there, her eyes wide, her body frozen. And then when her eyes met mine, she started coughing up blood. More was spilling down her lips and onto her shirt.
I looked back to see her father on his stomach, his hand raised, and his gun pointed at her.
No. Pointed at me. He wanted to shoot me.
He dropped it just as Emerson fell to her knees, and I scrambled up to catch her. She was getting paler by the second.
