Page 70 of Emma's Element

When he opened his eyes again, she was there. Her gaze steady and strong. Filling him with courage and fortitude. She made him feel indestructible. He let the tenacity in her imbue his determination to see them through this. They would not be defeated, finally acknowledging to himself that they were stronger together. They would prevail, and then he would begin the rest of his life by his love’s side. Of course, they had to survive the next few minutes for that to happen.

“Well, what’s it going to be? I really wanted to be far away from the dirty business, after all, blood is so hard to get out of clothing. But I will make an exception in this case. I’d love nothing more than to see this bitch’s brains splattered across the wall.”

Shorty, of course, snickered as Marcus blanched at the image Harrison had placed in his head. The bubble of hope he’d felt a moment ago popped in a gruesome explosion in his mind. Feeling a squeeze on his hands, he took a steadying breath and blocked the horror in his mind’s eye.

“Can I do it?” Colleen begged, the gleam in her eye sickening.

“Sure, babe. Have at it.” Harrison flipped the safety on before handing the gun over to Colleen. She was giddy with anticipation.

“You ruined everything, bitch,” she accused, raising the gun. “This is no less than you deserve.”

“Wait,” Marcus shouted. “Give me a pen, and I’ll write down everything you need.”

Harrison reached over and pushed the gun down. Colleen objected at a decibel he didn’t know a human was capable of reaching.

“Where did Charlie go?” Stretch asked as he crossed the room with a pen in his hand. The minions looked shocked that he’d slipped out without them noticing.

“Oh, he left a while ago,” Marcus informed. “He’s probably long gone.”

“The file with the copies of the paperwork is gone too,” Shorty said, no longer snickering. “Wonder what he needed those for?”

He saw Emma roll her eyes out of his peripheral vision and had to stifle a chuckle.

“He thinks he can save himself by turning on us, you imbecile,” Colleen hissed.

“Son of a bitch!” Harrison bellowed. “That little fucktard thinks he can turn on me.”

“Let me guess, next you’re going to say that nobody crosses you. Am I right?” mocked Marcus. “How cliché.”

Harrison glared angrily at Marcus. “Find him,” he ordered his minions. “Kill them.” Shit. He’d gone too far. Three guns were now pointed directly at them. He quickly wrapped himself around Emma to block as much as he could.

“Wait!” she yelled. “You need us.”

Harrison snorted. “I don’t think so.”

“We can track him. We can find him for you.”

“How do you mean?”

“Don’t you know who I work for? Ever hear of the Nighthawks?” His eyes widened, recognizing the name. “We track people for a living. He’s on foot. It will be easy for us to track him.”

Harrison seemed to mull that over. He turned to his men. “How many does it take to track one person?” he asked them.

“One, Sir,” Shorty replied with a snicker.

“Good. We’ll take her. Kill him.”

“No!” shouted Emma. “I will not help you if you harm him. You will just have to kill us both here and now. And then you will never find Charlie. And once Charlie reaches the right people, you won’t stand a chance. Especially without the resources from Marcus’s accounts.”

“We find Charlie; I sign everything over to you,” Marcus promised.

“Fine,” he muttered. “You two stay here and watch him,” Harrison ordered Shorty and Stretch. “The rest of you with me. Come, girl.” Emma got into a crouch next to Marcus, shoving something under his leg. Her knife, the one she’d kept hidden in her boot.

She leaned in close to him and whispered, “Find me.”

“I will. Be careful.”

“I will. I love you.”

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