Page 24 of Juno

“She was just a kid,” Juno spat. “You killed her and now, her family might never know what happened to their daughter.”

“You’re right because I erased all the video footage from the parking lot and destroyed her personal belongings. And now, I’m going to get rid of the only other person who knows the story. No one will remember Erica or you, Juno.” He raised his gun and pointed it right at her chest. The time for talking was over, and if Saint didn’t get up off the floor, they’d both be dead in just minutes. She shot Saint a pleading look and Bruno laughed at her.

“He can’t save you now, honey,” Bruno taunted, “he’ll be out for hours. I’m just upset that your boyfriend won’t show me the same fear that you just did since I plan on finishing him off after I’m done with you.”

“I wouldn’t show you fear anyway, asshole,” Saint insisted. He stood from the floor and tackled Bruno, wrapping his arms around Bruno’s knees. The gun went off and for a split second, Juno was sure that Saint had been shot. But, when he grabbed the gun away from her former boss and stood from the floor, she saw no blood, or any sign of a gunshot wound.

“Are you okay?” Juno asked Saint. “Where did he hit you?”

“I wasn’t hit, honey,” Saint said.

“Is he dead then?” she asked.

“Nope, just knocked out.” Saint put the gun on the kitchen table and turned to look Juno over. “Shit,” he grumbled, quickly untying the ropes that bound her. “You’re hit, honey.”

“No,” she insisted. “I’m not.” Juno looked down her body and found her shirt bloody around her abdomen. “I don’t feel it. Maybe he didn’t hit me. Maybe that’s old blood.” She knew that it was just wishful thinking on her part. The blood spot on her shirt was growing and Saint grabbed a few dish towels and held it to her wound. Juno winced in pain, suddenly feeling where she had been shot.

“Is it bad?” she asked.

Saint lifted her shirt, and she could tell by the look on his face that it wasn’t good. “No, you’re going to be fine,” he insisted. “Hold these towels to your wound and I’m going to call for help.” Juno nodded, taking the towels from him and pressing them to her abdomen.

Saint quickly called the cops and used the rope that had bound her to the chair to tie Bruno up. He took the blood-soaked towels from her and pressed them tighter to her stomach. “Sorry, honey, but I have to keep pressure on this, or you’ll bleed out before the ambulance gets here.”

“Will you stay with me?” Juno asked. She was suddenly exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep.

“Keep your eyes open, baby,” Saint insisted. “You need to stay awake for me.” She tried to smile, and nod, but Juno wasn’t sure if she did or not. All she could think about was closing her eyes for just a few minutes and catching some sleep. It had been a long day, and all she wanted was some rest.

“I just need a nap,” she insisted.

“Nope,” Saint said, “no naps. Do you hear me, Juno? You need to keep those eyes open, beautiful.”

“I like it when you call me that,” she whispered. “You make me feel that way.”

“Good, because I plan on calling you that for a damn long time, honey. I just need you to keep your eyes open.”

Juno could hear the sirens in the distance, and she knew that the ambulance was almost to the house. She just hoped that they would make it on time because, despite her best efforts to do as Saint ordered, she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

“Hello,” someone called as she started to drift off.

“We’re in here,” Saint shouted, “please, hurry. She’s lost a lot of blood and she’s trying to fall asleep.” She wanted to tell him not to worry about her, but the words wouldn’t come out of her mouth. As she let the darkness consume her, she knew that leaving Saint wasn’t an option, but she had no choice.

“Please stay with me, Juno,” Saint begged. “I love you.” She wanted to give him the words back, but she couldn’t. She let sleep take her and Juno just hoped like hell that she’d wake up at some point to tell Saint that she loved him too.

* * *

Juno could hear voices, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. Her world was still dark, and she wondered if that was because she was sleeping or if she was dead. “When will she wake up?” a woman asked. She had an Irish accent and for a second, Juno wondered if it was Banshee.

“I don’t know,” a man said, “they won’t tell me anything.” Juno would know that voice anywhere. It was Saint and that had to mean that she was still alive. She tried to open her eyes but couldn’t seem to muster the energy to do so.

“I’ve called her parents, and they will be here in the morning. Her dad can’t drive in the dark and her mother doesn’t have her license anymore,” Banshee said. “I offered to pick them up, but they said they needed some sleep. The cops talked to them and told them what happened. I’m betting they didn’t leave out the part about Juno dancing for that slime ball at his club.”

“Shit,” Saint grumbled. “Juno isn’t going to like that they know what she did for a living.”

“No,” Juno muttered.

“Juno, honey, wake up,” Banshee breathed. Juno shook her head, and Saint chuckled.

“She’s hard to wake up in general. I have to bribe her with coffee. I’m sure that with all the drugs in her system, she’ll need to sleep for a while.”

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