Everything aches, and I just can't focus anymore. My shot misses the truck by several feet, and I drop the gun, because it hurts my hand, and I feel myself crying again.
Fifteen feet.
'It's over, Sebastian,' I say, shaking, the handcuff biting at the skin on my right hand. 'It's fucking over. We're going to die. Oh god we're going to die and that will be the end of everything.'
Sebastian jerks the steering wheel to the left, and the car skids across the street, knocking over a mailbox on its way, but we're still going, gunning down another empty street. Another round of gunshots bursts through the car. I keep my head down and so does Sebastian, but the bullets are getting closer and closer, shattering the glass right beside me.
Ten feet.
Sebastian's grip on the steering wheel is steely. His eyes are wild and filled with determination as he shoots down the street, his knuckles whitening with every passing second. 'I'm going to save you, angel. I've always told you that. I'll die for you if I have to.'
Five feet.
My heart is beating so loud that I can't hear anything anymore, just the roar of the engine and the ringing in my ears from the gunshots. I feel so desperate, so empty and useless, and I reach for the gun and try to fire at the truck again but I only manage to hit its roof. They are so close I could reach out and touch them, and no matter how hard Sebastian hits the ignition, they just keep gaining.
Two feet.
They're right there now. So close that I can taste the end. Every muscle in my body screams in protest, and I look at Sebastian one last time, look at the determination in his eyes, the hardness in his jaw, and I know how much I'm going to miss him, how much I love him despite everything.
'Goodbye, Sebastian,' I whisper, just as their truck connects with ours. There's a squeal of tires, a scream, and then our car is jerked off the road, tumbling across someone's front lawn.
And then, there is nothing at all.
Chapter Thirteen
My eyes feel like lead as I force them open. My ears are ringing and every muscle in my body aches as I roll over. Blinding white light fills the air, forcing me to squeeze my eyes right back shut. I try to stand, but my legs refuse to hold my weight, so I continue to lie there, against a cool piece of metal, hurting all over. The blood in my head pounds and pounds, and I try to remember what happened, how much time has passed, or how the hell I even got here in the first place.
Smoke billows everywhere, causing me to cough and cough, burning at my face. I try to open my eyes again, and this time they adjust better, even if they still kind of hurt.
I look around wildly to figure out where I am. Scraps of metal are everywhere, tires smoking all around me. It looks like several cars were broken, like…
Then I remember what happened.
Sebastian.
Marco's men.
The truck.
The gunshots.
The scream.
Automatically, my body crumples up at the memory, and whether it's from thinking Sebastian's face before our car was uprooted or from the acrid smoke in my eyes, my eyes start burning with tears.
I force myself to stand, shaking off the pain.
It's sunny here, grassy too, and if it weren't for the smoke filling my lungs and nostrils, it would actually be a nice day. I stumble out of the wreckage, coughing repeatedly, trying to get my bearings, trying to find Sebastian. There are bodies strewn across the scraps of car metal, too, tons of them, all men with guns and angry looks in their eyes. I look around wildly, but none of them are Sebastian.
My heart aches. Where is he? Where is Sebastian? I stumble onto the empty street, trying to cry for help, but my coughing drowns it out. The cool air whips by me, and it would feel insanely good against my skin if I weren't so wound up. Desperately, I move in the direction of what appears to be a house, knowing based off of my growing headache, shirt covered in dried blood, and the way my vision keeps zooming in and out that I need food and water, and I need it badly. My throat is totally parched, and all of this feels so surreal, like I'm dreaming or something. I
In fact, every part of me wants to rewind back to a few hours earlier, when Sebastian was touching me, when we were making love and everything was okay. I choke in another breath, and this time more tears are mixed with it. I sniff, continuing to stumble toward the house, not knowing what else to do.
The desperation has just about set in when I hear a sound from within the little shack I've been heading toward: a muffled grunt.
I freeze. My heart might literally stop.
Because I know that sound.
I know that voice.
It's Sebastian's.
Curiosity getting the best of me, I move in closer, more slowly this time, trying to keep from coughing. Why is Sebastian grunting? What if something is wrong?
My legs ache in protest as I draw near the little shack, but I ignore it, moving toward the door. I need Sebastian. I need to make sure he's okay. I need to--
My hand is at the doorknob when I hear a second voice. And I stop, because it's not a friendly voice, either. The sound is deep and guttural, filled with hatred. 'Well, well,' it's saying. 'Is getting punched not enough for you? Because the boss will be here any minute now, and I hear he's bringing his knife with him,
'Go ahead, then,' another voice snarls. My stomach seizes as soon as I recognize that it's Sebastian's, and based off of the fear gripping his voice, it could only mean one thing is going on: he's being tortured for information of some sort. And Marco must be coming soon to finish the job.
My stomach twists. I swear I'm going to be sick now. I look around wildly, suppressing another cough, trying to figure out what to do. I need to save Sebastian. But I already know I can't overpower this man myself, and my gun was probably destroyed in the crash. A sinking feeling hits me. How am I ever going to save him? Do I just make a break at the man and hope for the best?
I decide to see if there's a window in the room and figure out what's going on from there. Keeping as silent as possible, I slip alongside the shack. I find it on the other side of the building. It's a small window, covered in dirt, but if I squint hard enough, I can just make out what's going on inside the shack. My heart pounds and I hold my breath as I watch with baited breath.
The floorboard creaks within the room as the man, who looks to be about Sebastian's height and who has a deep tan and a bulky body, steps toward something. That's when I realize it's Sebastian, facing me, tied to a wooden chair and gagged. I have to cover my hands with my mouth to keep from gasping. Seeing Sebastian like this, this vulnerable, makes my heart physically hurt.
'Where are they?' the man is saying, taking a step toward Sebastian. 'Where are they hiding? Tell me or you and the girl both die.'
'Don't bring her into this,' Sebastian hisses. I see his eyes then, as the other man shifts out of the way. They're filled with pure hatred. I've never seen him like this before.
The man laughs. 'Sorry, I forgot how sensitive you get when you fall in love.'
Sebastian narrows his eyes and spits on the man, who just laughs some more and punches Sebastian across the face like it's nothing. Sebastian grunts again and blood trickles out of his nose, and I have to clamp my mouth shut with my hand to keep from screaming. I know I have to do something, anything, but I don't know what.
