Page 31 of Jared's Redemption

“Good.”

The guard I kicked stands in front of me, with his gun pointed between my eyes. He has a flare in his pocket and a plan blooms. I take a breath, close my eyes and thrash forward, catching them both off guard. I snatch the flare, snapping the end to life. Sparks shoot out as I twist and jam it against the guard’s chest. He lets out a guttural cry, trying to break away from me. His shirt catches fire and I grip his hand, twisting the gun to pull the trigger as I jam it into Steffen’s stomach.

The guard falls onto me, his clothing still lit in flames.

My neck and shoulder are burning, the pain white hot and crippling as I drop to the ground and roll to put out the fire.

Steffen screeches my name, and I have to force myself to crawl away from him.

I want to live. I want to see Jared one last time. The smell of burned flesh and my blurry vision overwhelm my senses as I stagger to my feet and try to escape. Before I can take another step, a new pain bursts from my side.

I stagger back, hands pressed to the blood that seeps between my fingers. Squinting through the tears that flow down my face, I see him. Steffen’s hand shakes, his gun raised as we face each other in this dirty basement surrounded by the sounds of a massacre.

He and I both know this is where we die, and a smile forms on my face as I stand as still as a statue while he screams and curses me. Blood drips from his mouth and I nearly laugh at the sight.

I’ve done it.

He’s going to die and Amelia will go home, safe. My mother saved her, I’m sure of it.

“Luna!” a familiar voice calls, rattling me to the core at the sound of his grief. But I don’t open my eyes. I won’t let myself sink into this fantasy. A cold, metal barrel slams into my cheek and a tear drips down to kiss the edge. I’m falling, my body crumbling into the ground beneath it.

“Open your eyes, damn it.” His voice is a shout that fills the void that I am sinking into.

“I love you.” My voice cracks, barely a whisper.

A gunshot cracks near my head, but I don’t feel pain.

Not anymore.

It’s finally over.

Chapter 22- Luna

My hand won’t move. The skin feels stiff and clammy, but it’s as if my body is locked in place. My heart raced while I struggled to speak, to move, but nothing worked. I couldn’t even open my eyes, and panic gripped my heart.

Am I dead?

“What’s happening? Do something!” A voice echoes, sounding so far away but close enough to touch if I could just reach out. This was Hell, it had to be. I was trapped within my body.

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!” A voice roars, clearer this time before the sound of metal crashes, making my head twitch as I fought to turn away.

“This isn’t helping.” A woman says. I know that voice, but her name is like sand slipping through my fingers.

“I can’t lose her.” His breath caresses my ear and neck, but the voice itself is what embraces me. It fills me with strength to hold on, to push myself. I needed him to know that I could hear him.

“Jared.” The word is nothing more than a breath, hissed between my lips.

“Luna? Talk to me, baby.” He pleads. Large hands suddenly grip my arms. Agony floods through me at his touch. A high-pitched keen pierces my ears as I wail from the pain. My eyes rip open from the sensation and dart around the room, everything a swirl of blurring colors.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Jared’s voice breaks and I struggle to turn my head, blinking through the tears as I fight to see him. His face is in his hands as he kneels next to where I lay, his shoulders shaking while he murmurs under his breath.

“Jared.” I croak again, his name a prayer to see into the brown eyes I love so much. His head snaps up, our eyes locking onto each other’s as we stare. Tears track down his cheeks and the sight of such a powerful man brought to this point leaves an ache in my chest. I try, and fail, to reach out to him. Jared leaps up to grip my hand in his and shakes his head.

“Try not to move too much, baby. You’re still healing.” He whispers, smiling while wiping away the tears.

“I’m alive?” I ask, still unsure. The soft beep of a machine over my head, combined with the overwhelming antiseptic smell, tells me I’m in a hospital. He grins, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on my wrist.

“You are.”

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