Shards of Us

I don't even bother to argue. I adjust my shirt and fast-walk after him as he unlocks the back door and leads me out. The sound of the truck gets closer and closer, and Sebastian grabs my arm as soon as I step into the garage, pulling me close. 'Don't try anything,' he whispers. 'Stay with me. I'll save you.'

I nod. 'Okay.' But he doesn't seem to trust me enough to let his grip go. He walks quickly throughout the dark garage, not daring to turn the light on, eyes searching for something I do not know. Then, he seems to find it, because his pace slows.

'This is one of my safe houses,' he says, stopping in front of a car and pulling out a key. He unlocks the side door and hurries me inside. 'I have lots of them. And in all of them, I always keep a backup car. Just in case.'

The truck slows in front of the house as Sebastian closes the door behind me, then gets into the driver seat. The whole garage is dark, and my heart starts pounding as the men approach. Last time, we barely escaped with our lives. I can't imagine what's going to happen this time.

Sebastian reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. It takes me a minute to realize it's a handcuff. 'What are you doing?' I hiss, eyes widening. I try to protest, to throw him off as he clamps his hand on mine and attaches one side of the cuff around my right hand, then the other to the car door, but he's too strong. I can't do anything but let him. My head aches some more and I desperately try to pull out of the handcuffs, to rip my way free, but they won't budge. Sebastian watches me sadly as he puts the key into the ignition. 'I'm sorry,' he says. 'But I have to do this. I have to keep you safe. I won't let them hurt you, angel, and I can't risk you getting away.'

The sound of car doors slamming from somewhere outside fills the air, and Sebastian's eyes become vicious, his voice urgent. 'Are you ready?' he says to me, turning his key. My heart rate picks up, and I try to jerk out of the handcuffs again, but they're too tight. There's no escape. I take in a deep breath, my body shaking.

'Sebastian, please, let me out,' I protest, biting back the tears. 'Please just--' But before I know what's happening, Sebastian slams on the accelerator, and we're propelled backwards out of the garage, shattering through the white wood of the door, and into the blinding sunlight of the day. Shouts erupt from the front of the house as soon as we speed out, and I hear the sounds of guns loading, the rush of Marco's men hurrying to the garage. I keep jerking around in my seat, trying to break free, but nothing works. A sob racks through me as I hear their guns loading, hear them reach the driveway as we burst out onto the street. I just keep staring at Sebastian's face, at the hard determination in his eyes, and I feel my heart pound and for the second time in the last two days, I think I'm about to die. I think this is it. This is the end of me.

And right before the guns go off, right as Sebastian pulls onto the street and guns for it, I swear I hear him say the words, ever so softly, 'I'm sorry.'

But I can't be sure.

The only thing I'm sure of in that moment is that something very, very bad is about to go down.

The rest happens in slow motion.

One moment we're driving and I tear my gaze back towards the ten-ish men crouched by the shattered garage, guns trained on us, and the next thing I know several earsplitting cracks fill the air.

It's the worst sound in the world.

I duck down desperately, covering my head with my hands, as the bullets collide with the car, windows shattering everywhere. I scream and scream and glance back at Sebastian, but none of us seem hurt.

'Get down, angel!' he shouts at me as another round of fire goes off, connecting with the sides of the car. Sebastian hits the gas harder, sending us speeding to the end of the street. The sounds of cars starting behind us fill the air. Sebastian jerks the car to the right, turning onto a smaller street, and several black trucks speed after us. My head keeps pounding, my vision zooming in and out, and I glance wildly around the car, my body now covered in millions of pieces of glass. I feel blood trickling from my arm, and I look down and see a shard of glass lodged there. I scream, knowing I need to get out of the car. I jerk at the handcuffs again, but they don’t budge.

Oh god.

Oh god I'm going to freaking die.

'Let me out, Sebastian!' I scream as another bullet hits the back of our car, shattering through the glass and causing us both to duck. 'Please let me out of here!'

Sebastian speeds faster down the road, eyes hard, knuckles clenched on the steering wheel, but he doesn't so much as meet my gaze. 'I can't do that, angel,' he says in a low voice.

Another quick turn. The car jerks to the side, throwing me back against the seat, and then Sebastian hits the gas and we're speeding again, shooting down the road. The sound of the cars behind us keeps getting louder and louder, and more gunshots break out, narrowly missing my head. One bullet even hits the windshield, creating a spider web of cracks throughout it and making my heart race furiously in my chest. I spin around to check our progress and instead see that the trucks are even closer now, the squeal of their tires getting louder and louder.

They're too fast.

'They're gaining on us!' I scream. 'Oh fuck, they're gaining us!' My voice cracks and I feel a sob rack through me. This is it, I tell myself. This is how I'm going to die.

Everything trembles. Hurts. Burns. I don't want to die like this. I don’t want to die and not even know why.

Sebastian jerks his gaze to mine for one long moment, and his nostrils flare, eyes burning into mine. 'Stop that, angel. I won't let them touch you,' he hisses. He speeds down the street, careening past a couple walking their dog on the sidewalk. I see the tension in his forehead, the crease above his eyebrows, as he steps harder and harder on the ignition, jerking onto street after street, but the men are too fast. The three trucks are gaining on us, and quickly. First they're one-hundred feet away. Then seventy. Then fifty. Then thirty.

More gunshots rip from their car, shattering another one of our windows, and I duck, tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling another piece of glass lodge into my arm. More blood trickles out and I look around wildly, trying to figure out how to escape. I pull on the handcuff one last time, but nothing gives.

I'm trapped here.

I'm trapped here and I'm going to die.

'Sebastian!' I scream. 'Please, just let me go!'

'If I let you go, they'll find you,' he says roughly, eyes trained on the road as he takes another sharp turn, narrowly missing a car driving the other way.

Another shot sounds, and this time it connects with the headrest right above Sebastian's head. He curses and ducks, still trying to speed up, but it's no use. We're outgunned, outnumbered, and not going fast enough. The realization makes my heart plummet.

Then, Sebastian pulls something from the seat beneath him and tosses it to me. It takes me a minute to realize it's gun. 'Use this,' he growls. I hesitate as soon as I catch it, so he adds, 'Fucking now.'

Another sharp turn. Another slam on the gas. The car is officially travelling at its maximum speed, but nothing is working. The men are still gaining on us. So I reach for the gun, flip off the safety, and cock it like Sebastian taught me to do, aiming at the broken window in the back of the car where I have a clear shot at the first truck. Then, I narrow my eyes, and I fire.

Everything slows for a second. It's like the whole world is in a slow-mo cam, and I just watch the bullet fly through the air, spiraling toward the first truck's windshield. I hold my breath, ducking down as someone fires in return, but then a scream pierces through the air and the first truck veers off the road.

Just like that, everything is fast again.

Sebastian turns another corner onto a totally deserted road, eyes darting between the space in front of him and his rearview mirror. 'One down. Two to go,' he says quietly.

As if on cue, another bullet fires at us, this time hitting the windshield and totally cracking it. More glass shatters, shooting every which way, covering me and Sebastian.

I turn back around, reloading my gun. My heart keeps hammering. The other trucks are still gaining on us. Twenty feet now. Nineteen. Eighteen.

Not much time left.

I try to shoot at the next truck, but my hand don't stop shaking and I keep thinking about how this might be the end, how Sebastian might leave my life forever, how I might leave my life forever.