25. Pearl #2
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.
“Jax!” I screamed, my voice breaking. “Jax, help! Emerson… Emerson’s hurt!”
But I didn't know if she could hear me. I was hyperventilating. I didn't know what to do. My hand hovered over the wound in her chest, but… Was I supposed to put pressure on it?
“Pearl,” she forced out, her voice weak as her bloody hand came to cup my face.
“Hold on. They'll be here any second now,” I said as I reached for my gun and pointed it at her father. He wasn’t moving, and he seemed to be losing a lot of blood.
Good. How dare he hurt her like this?
“Pearl,” Emerson breathed. “That's not you, Pearl. Don't dirty yourself with—”
A violent coughing fit cut her off, spraying blood everywhere.
I dropped the gun.
“No. No. No, Emerson. Stay here with me, okay? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.”
“I have something to say.” Her voice was getting weaker.
“Save your strength! Jax!”
“Pearl.”
“Jax, please!” I was screaming so hard, my voice cracked. My throat was feeling raw. I couldn't scream loud enough. It seemed like no one heard me.
“I love you,” Emerson whispered, and I looked down at her, wide-eyed.
“Don't do this.” I swallowed the knot in my throat. I couldn't stop the tears from falling. “Not now. Not like this.”
“I'm the one who's sorry. I've never been able to say it, but I've loved you since—” She coughed again. “The first moment I laid eyes on you. Pearl, it's my fault—”
I put my finger against her lips, silencing her.
“We can discuss this when you get better. Please, just don't do this.”
She was as pale as a sheet, her eyes bloodshot and barely open.
Am I going to watch the love of my life die? Right in front of me?
“Can you do one thing for me?”
I shook my head, and she let out a weak laugh that only dissolved into coughing.
“I’ll do whatever you want as soon as we’re out of here—"
“Can you tell me if you still feel the same? Just let me hear it again.”
Sobs racked my entire body.
“No, I can’t. Not if it means—”
“Please, Pearl.”
Her begging broke my heart. This wasn't Emerson. Emerson was strong. Hard-willed. Mean at times.
Emerson didn't beg.
She does. For you.
“Emerson, I love you,” I confessed. “I know I’m the worst assistant in the world, and I'm annoying and a hindrance, but I love you. And all I’ve ever wanted was for you to love me back.”
“Pearl, you're harder on yourself than I could ever be. You’re perfect in every way. I'm sorry. I think I…”
When she stopped talking, I screamed again. I buried my head in her chest and let out the loudest scream I could.
“Don’t!” I screamed. “Don’t leave me alone!”
But this time she didn't answer, and her hand fell to the ground.
“Please! Please, we’re in here! Someone please save her!”
A laugh pulled my attention to her father, who was slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position.
“So fucking pathetic,” he said with another laugh. “You’ve always been so fucking annoying.”
My head snapped to him. Violent rage stormed inside me. My vision tunneled. My blood pressure rose so high I felt seconds away from fainting.
I watched as he reached for the gun, but anger and loss were fueling me now.
“Has anyone ever told you you’d be better off dead?”
I pulled the trigger without hesitation. Multiple shots rang through the air, and I didn’t stop until the mag was empty. Only then did the doors open, and Jax and her team flooded the warehouse.
Her wide eyes caught me immediately, then fell to Emerson.
“Please,” I whispered, my voice hoarse. “Please save her.”