Page 73 of Not Your Hero

“I don’t know, Emerson! I have no fucking idea what he’s doing!”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” I mumble under my breath.

“No shit! None of it does. We can’t hide in here. We need to get out of here,” he says.

“And go where?”

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t thought that far ahead,” he replies just as we hear shots being fired. Ren rushes toward me, shoving me to the floor and covering me with his body until the shots stop.

He slowly rises and peeks out the window as all of Gannix’s security lights come on.

“Oh, fuck,” he says as he looks out the window. “Fuck,” he growls this time. Slowly I climb off the floor and peek out the window next to him.

“What the hell? Is that …”

“Gannix. He has Gannix.”

“He’s dead. I saw him shove the arrow through his chest,” I mumble in disbelief.

“There’s no way that would have killed him. He couldn’t shove it in far enough with his bare hands,” he adds.

“He’s not … dead?”

“I don’t think so. I can’t fucking tell from here.”

“Come on out, Emerson!” Gary yells through the yard. That’s when I see it, and my eyes widen.

“Don’t fucking do it! Run, Emerson. Fucking run!” Gannix yells from where Gary has him strung up from a tree. His body hangs there, his feet barely touching the ground.

“What do we do?” I squeal as I look around, trying to figure out what to do now.

“I don’t fucking know. He doesn’t know I’m here. We could sneak up on him.”

“He isn’t that stupid, Ren!”

“I’m asking you one more time. What are you prepared to do for Gannix?” he asks, looking me dead in the eye this time. I swallow hard as I look out the window to where Gary has a bow and arrow, pulling it back and shooting it into Gannix’s leg. He screams in pain as my heart is in a chokehold.

“I’m going out there.”

“Keep that gun on you. I’m going to go around behind him,” Ren tells me.

“Is that smart?”

“It’s the only choice we have,” he replies. I nod my head. We both stand and head for the door together. We walk down the stairs, and I go left as he goes right. He glances over his shoulder at me as I do the same.

“We can do this,” he encourages me. I nod my head before turning back and walking toward the back door. We can do this.I can do this. Gannix is out there. He saved me once before; why can’t I save him?

I pull open the back door and step out, walking through the yard toward them. Gannix sees me first and shakes his head. That’s when Gary turns to see me. He smirks before turning back to his brother and shooting another arrow into his other leg.

“Leave him alone! You wanted me, I’m here!” I scream at him. Gary turns to face me and nods his head. The gun sits heavily in the front of my pants.

“You’re right. It was you,” he says as I walk toward him, getting a little closer. Ren is out there somewhere. He has to be. That was the plan, right? The rest of his men are dead. I passed their bodies on the way out here, but I chose to ignore them so I wouldn’t lose it.

I swallow hard as I glance over at Gannix. His chest heaves as his eyes follow me. I drag my gaze away from him because there’s no way I can take my eyes off Gary right now.

Chapter 37

Gannix

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