Page 114 of Jep

“God, help me,” he said as he rubbed his fingers on his eyes to clear them. “I need your strength, and I need you to get me there in time.”

When the door opened, he was on his feet, but he couldn’t remember standing. He practically threw himself down the hall, hoping his legs wouldn’t give way while his hand traced a path on the wall of the corridor. It seemed interminably long.

He could see the door ahead was open. Then he heard a weapon discharge, and he surged forward, entering the room in time to see Jade’s body lying at an odd angle on the floor before he registered Em was cowering against the wall with her eyes shut. Pearce was aiming his weapon at her.

Jep cried out for help from above as he leapt.

Em held her breath and flinched when the gun fired, waiting for either pain or the end. When nothing happened and all she could hear were muffled grunts, she looked up to see Jep hanging off Pearce’s back with one arm around his throat and the other clamoring for the weapon.

The gun went off again, punching another hole in the ceiling. Em scrambled to her feet. She wanted to help, but all she could do was jump out of the way as the two men careened toward her and slammed into the wall. Pearce swung around, smashing Jep into it.

Jep was pale, and his face was tight, but he continued to hold on with his teeth gritted. Pearce flung his body back against the wall again, pinning Jep, whose eyes had rolled into the back of his head. When his arm went slack, Pearce wrenched from his grip and staggered free.

Em didn’t know what to do as she watched Jep struggle to hang onto consciousness.

“Don’t,” he whispered. One of his hands was pressed into his knee, propping him up, while the other lifted in front of him like he could stop a bullet.

Pearce was breathing hard, but he held his gun steady. His eyes moved to Em. “At least now I have a good reason to shoot you both.”

He looked back at Jep, and Em screamed as a shot rang out.

In the echo that followed, Pearce flinched like he’d been startled, then dropped to the floor.

Em stared at his dead body before looking to Jep for a weapon he must have been carrying, but he had listed sideways in exhaustion, his hands empty.

Her eyes travelled the room to Jade, who was lying on her back, her arm extended but resting on the floor. The gun was still in her hand. She was looking at Em, and her lips were moving wordlessly.

“Jade!” Em dove for her, but by the time she reached her, her sister’s eyes had emptied and stared at nothing.

She held Jade’s head and kissed her forehead, mumbling words of forgiveness and love as her tears wet her sister’s skin.

“I’m sorry,” Jep said from his place at the wall. “I couldn’t save her.”

“There was nothing you could have done.” She kissed Jade one last time, then ran her hand over her sister’s eyes to close them. “There was nothing any of us could have done.”

She looked at Jep and saw he was in bad shape. Her sister was dead, but she couldn’t let Jep meet the same fate.

She hurried over to him and touched the back of her fingers against his forehead. Then pressed her palm against his cheek. “You don’t look good.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

She laughed despite herself. “You need help. I’ll call someone.”

She dialed Lawson first, but he still wasn’t answering. “Why is everyone still gone?” Her teeth were clenched in frustration as she called down to security and arranged for them to get paramedics on site.

She dropped her phone beside her and moved closer to Jep. “They’re on their way.” She wiped at the blood on his face but only smeared it. “You’re not going to die on me, are you? ’Cause that wouldn’t be cool at all.”

He smiled weakly. “I think I can hang in there.”

“Good. I can’t lose anyone else.”

He pushed up from the wall and grunted. “I should check Pearce’s pulse. Make sure.”

“No. Stay where you are. I’ll do it.”

He didn’t resist when she pressed him back against the wall before tentatively making her way to Pearce’s body, where she hovered over him, rubbing her fingers together to get up the courage to touch him.

“Wait,” Jep said, holding out his hand. “Give me his gun. Just in case.”

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