Page 7 of Drowning

"What's with her all of a sudden?" Seven questions, pulling off his helmet to reveal his face.

"Not sure, but let's get this shit done so we can get out of here. I don't have a good feeling about it." I look around, retrieving my gun as we walk up to the door.

There's a risk we take with any job, but we always manage to get them done. This isn't the first time I've done business here. Whether it's doing a large cocaine drop-off or a huge cash pick-up, we've never encountered any trouble, but there's something about tonight that just feels... off.

The second I walk up to the front door and raise my hand to knock, the porch light flips off and the sound of gunfire roars from behind the door, inside the house. In a panic, the three of us duck and rush to find cover, hoping not to be hit by the flying array of bullets aimed right at us.

"What the fuck is happening?" Seven seethes, opening fire to try and defend us.

"I don't fucking know!" I scream, firing back while frantically looking around to see if Emerson is safe.

Ducking behind the PODS storage container, she fires back in the direction of the flashes we see through the door's glass panes, her helmet still covering her face.

After minutes that feel like an eternity, the gunfire comes to an abrupt stop. I peek out from behind cover and see Emerson taking off her helmet, her face pale and her eyes filled with fear. But when I try to embrace her, hoping to comfort her, she pulls away from me.

"Emerson, are you hurt?" I can feel my arm burning as I ask, already knowing I had been grazed by a bullet.

"I... I'm fine. But, Kane," she gasps, her jaw dropping. "You're bleeding."

"It's just a graze," I assure her, watching her eyes darting back and forth between my face and my arm.

"Stay here while we see what the fuck happened." Seven just stares at her, afraid to leave her alone.

But we cautiously approach the door and slowly push it open. What we find is a scene of chaos and destruction, and I feel a pit form in my stomach. This job was supposed to be routine, so how did it go so fucking wrong?

We quickly search the house, but the 20 grand we were supposed to pick up is gone, along with any answers. And the dealer lies dead on the living room floor.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," I hiss, trying to figure out what the fuck happened.

As we ride back to the bar, my mind races with thoughts and possibilities. Who could have known about this job, and how did they find out? And the most pressing question of all, who is going to pay for this fucking disaster?

Seven leaves as soon as we get back, leaving me and Emerson alone at the closed bar. I sit down and grab a bottle of Jack, not even bothering with a glass. I begin to panic when I don't see Emerson, but before I can get up and look for her, she emerges from the hall with the first aid kit in her hand, a grim expression still painted on her pretty face. Without saying anything, sherolls my sleeve up to assess the wound, pulling out the necessary items to bandage me up.

"I'm fine, Little One." I flash a smile at her, but she shakes her head, ignoring me.

Pouring rubbing alcohol over the laceration across my bicep, I hiss, getting a grin out of her. "Stop being a baby, Kane."

"How about you get shot, and I'll pour alcohol on it?"

"You got grazed, remember?" She finally smiles, cleaning the area thoroughly.

And then an awkward silence falls around us, and another look of concern flickers in her eyes. I can tell she's holding back, but from what? When I try to tug her onto my lap, she resists, refusing to give into temptation.

"We can't, Kane," is all she says, finally wrapping a bandage around my arm to stop the bleeding.

"I just want to make sure you're okay. Tonight was a lot to take in; it shouldn't have fucking happened." I shake my head, still utterly confused about the situation.

"It shouldn't have, but it did," she says, looking at me through shame-filled eyes. "And I think it was all my fault."

"How the fuck is it your fault? You were there on a job that had nothing to do with you."

Shaking her head, she whispers, "it had everything to do with me, Kane. I'm pretty sure it was Damon inside that house, and I think he was trying to kill me."

three

Caving

E m e r s o n

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