I tried to kick and scream until the man leaned down and whispered in my ear. “It’s me.”
Tears filled my eyes as I looked up at Ryder, hardly believing he was there. “Why are you here?” I held up the rebar, my hands still shaking.
He cupped my cheeks and shook his head. “You think a piece of rebar is going to protect you from bullets?” he asked, staring down at me.
I was covered in scrapes and cuts from being thrown off the bike and blood was still dripping steadily from my nose. I know I must have looked a mess.
“You didn’t have to come for me,” I whispered
He stared at me as if I'd grown a second head. "Of course I did! You were in danger!"
"I don't deserve this. I don't deserve to be rescued," I whispered, my voice starting to shake. "I should go down with them."
He cupped my cheeks and stared at me helplessly. "You can't die here. How are we supposed to start our life together if you die here?" he asked, staring at me.
"You still want me?” I asked, incredulously.
"Yes! I love you, Brittney. I told you nothing would change that. I realized that you did what you had to do to survive. You didn’t know me our my family when you agreed to get into this fucking mess in the first place.”
I looked at him wide-eyed for a moment. I took him in, and even as gunfire exploded around us I knew I had to kiss him. If I died here, I wanted to have the taste of his lips on mine. I threw myself at him and kissed him long and hard, my eyes squeezed closed.
When I pulled away I looked up at him, “I thought you hated me."
He held me close and shook his head. "Never. I just had to process everything. It was a lot to take in."
I nodded but stayed silent, refusing to let him go. After a moment he pushed me back and gripped my shoulders.
"We have to get out of here.” he murmured.
I nodded and grabbed my rebar, swallowing thickly. "Where's your gun?"
"I'm out of bullets."
The gun fire had died down, though a few shots rang out now and then. There must have only been one person left hiding out somewhere. Ryder took my hand and pulled me close, leading me across the foundation.
Just as Ryder was about to peek around the corner, Fang jumped out, gun raised. "Well, well. Look at this. Two little love birds that got away."
My eyes widened and I started to take a step back. Ryder stepped in front of me to shield me and Fang just laughed. "You think you're going to protect her?" he spat, stepping forward. "Why would you waste your time on this useless bitch? She's not even a good lay."
I had a lot of sharp witted retorts for that comment but I stayed silent, my eyes narrowed. I had a smart mouth but he had a gun. My hands were shaking, the rebar smacking the wall and making far too much noise.
“That all you got, princess?” he hissed, grinning wildly at me. “I’ll take you on. Let’s see if you can get to me before my bullet gets you,” he said, cackling at his own terrible joke.
“NO! This isn’t her fight!”
/> Fang glared at Ryder, his eyes full of a fiery hate. “All my men are dead because of this bitch. She tricked us. She tricked her family; this is most definitely her fight,” he snarled.
Ryder’s eyes narrowed and he took off after Fang. Shocked at the audacity of the man, Fang took a step back and was suddenly completely open. He no longer had the wall as a shield. I saw Damien raise his gun, but I knew Fang would have more than enough time to fire. My eyes widened and I jumped forward, shoving Ryder out of the way. He was larger than me, but since he was running it was relatively easy to push him. He stumbled to the side, his shoulder slamming into the wall.
As he turned to look at me our eyes met and a chorus of sounds filled my ears. There was loud pop as Damien and Fang fired at the same time, followed by the sound of Fang’s body hitting the ground, and Ryder screaming my name as the air was forced from my lungs.
I hit the ground hard, an aching feeling in my chest as I tried desperately to suck air into my lungs. The world was spinning and I wasn’t sure what to do. I felt Ryder pull me into his arms and the tears in his eyes made my heart ache. I reached up to touch his face, smiling weakly.
“Tell me you love me,” I whispered.
He pressed his forehead to mine and swallowed thickly, whispering the words “I love you”, through tears. We stayed like that for a long moment before I cupped his cheeks.
“Hey, don’t be mad at me for dragging this out. I just wanted to hear you say you love me again,” I whispered.