Cherry Lover (Cherry 2)

“Please do. I miss my privacy.”

“No, you don’t. You just want to fuck your girlfriend on the couch.”

I glared at him.

“You know I meant that in a good way.” He patted my shoulder. “Let’s get some lunch to celebrate. I just need to grab something from the next room. I’ll be right back.”

“Alright.” I watched him walk out before I looked out the window in front of me. He had the same view I did because his office was on the same side of the building. But he was on a lower floor, so the view wasn’t as breathtaking. I looked out at the overcast sky and watched the snow fall down, feeling the peace inside my chest. Now I didn’t feel pain. I only felt relief, optimism. I couldn’t wait to go home and be with the woman I loved.

The woman I loved.

Like a weight had been lifted off my chest, I felt free. I’d been scared to feel anything for so long. I’d been afraid to trust anyone because everyone was so deceitful. But then I found an honest woman who liked me for me, and she would never betray me. It felt good to let the past stay in the past—where it belonged.

The door opened beside me.

I kept looking out the window. “Let’s try that new—”

The cock of a gun filled the silent office. It was so distinct, I would recognize that noise anywhere. I wasn’t a big fan of guns, but I knew how to use them and use them well. Without looking, I knew it was a pistol that was pointed right at me.

I turned to see a man in a black sweater, black pants, and a black mask pulled over his face.

Everything happened so quickly.

The man was in Coen’s office, so that meant that gun was for him, not me. He didn’t make any demands, didn’t ask for money. He only had one mission—to kill Coen. Unfortunately, I looked just like him, and I was standing in his office. Anyone else would make the same mistake.

Better me than him.

I only had a second to react, and I had to make it count.

I knocked the gun away from me, but not before he pulled the trigger.

My body jerked as the bullet hit me right in the chest.

I didn’t feel any pain, probably because my body was in survival mode.

The man fell to the left but quickly righted himself.

Coen ran back into the office when he heard the gunshot. “What the fuck?”

The man pointed the gun at Coen, realizing I wasn’t the target. With a shaky hand, his finger went over the trigger.

Blood dripped down my clothes and fell to the ground, but that didn’t stop me from protecting my brother. I launched my body at the gunman and knocked him to the ground as he squeezed the trigger. Bullets hit the ceiling and shattered the glass around us.

I got him to the floor, but instead of killing him, I grabbed the gun and slammed it into his skull. It took two hits before he finally passed out.

I took the bullets out of the gun and tossed them across the room.

“Slate!” Coen moved on top of me and ripped my shirt open. “Call 9-1-1!” he screamed to the girls at the front desk. “Shit, you’re bleeding like crazy.” He dropped his jacket then removed his own shirt so he could tie it around my body as a tourniquet. He pressed both of his hands against my chest and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. “Slate, stay with me.”

I watched my brother work to save me, but my vision became blurry. I didn’t feel any pain. All I felt was weakness, confusion. All I felt was my mind drifting away as my body began to fail me. It must have been the loss of blood that drove my weakness.

“Slate.” He patted his hand against my cheek. “The paramedic is on the way. I need you to stay with me.”

“I’m trying…” My eyes grew heavy.

“Slate, come on. Think of Monroe.”

I tried to focus my thoughts, but I couldn’t. I felt myself slip away.

“No! I’m not letting this piece of shit take you away from me!”

Then I was gone.

20

Monroe

I couldn’t remember how I got from the office to the hospital. I couldn’t remember if I ran, took a taxi, or even sprouted wings and flew there. The second he was mine again, he was taken from me—in the most horrific way imaginable.

By being shot.

In his own building.

By a fucking stranger.

I made it into the emergency room and then stumbled down the hallways as I looked for a familiar face. Everything happened so quickly, I hadn’t had time to shed a single tear. My body went into defensive mode the second Coen told me the horrible news.

I still hadn’t accepted it yet.