Page 15 of Escaped
For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, it was quiet excitement I saw flashing in her gaze as I waved the plastic at the control panel.I held my breath as the flashing red light paused.
“Please.”She mouthed the word as her fingers tightened around mine.“Let’s just get out of here.”
“I don’t think so.”
My blood ran cold at the male voice echoing from behind us, every fiber of my being knowing who it belonged to without even having to look.Yelping with fright, it was Erin who turned to face him first.
“Hawkins.”I hissed the word between gritted teeth just as the mechanism flashed green.Heart hammering, I spun to find the bastard sitting upright, his gun pointed in our direction.“I should have fucking killed you.”
“Yes, you should have.”Hawkins grinned, his finger brushing the trigger.“So, please, let me have the honor.”
My gaze searched for my weapon on the ground beside me, but I knew reaching for it wasn’t an option.I’d have been dead before I’d achieved the goal.My only flimsy hope was to push Erin and me to the ground and pray he ran out of bullets.
Not much of a plan…
In the nanoseconds that passed between the decision flitting into my head and my body moving to act, the deafening noise of fresh gunshots boomed around us.
Too late.
Tension cramped in my stomach as the conclusion resonated—the realization possibly the final thought I’d ever have.Flinching on reflex, I cringed as I leaped for the ground and attempted to yank her down with me, but I already knew it was over.
Hawkins had won.
I hadn’t put the bastard down when I’d had the chance, acting on some misguided desire to keep the body count low for Erin, and I was about to pay the price.All I could think as I braced for the fresh pain was that I should have seen it coming, should have done better, but all I’d done was hand her to Hawkins on a fucking plate.
Falling to my knees and tugging her with me, it took another few seconds for me to accept that I hadn’t just been sprayed with bullets.Not only was I still alive, but I hadn’t been hit again at all.
“Oh, fuck!”
Erin’s shaky voice stirred me from my self-imposed stupor, and lifting my head, I noticed she was leaning against the door, the gun she was holding drawn in front of her.
“Little girl?”My focus flew from the shock on her ashen face to the bloodied mess that was Hawkins’ body, the pieces of the puzzle slotting into place in my head.“You shot him!”
I didn’t know why I sounded so stunned.Staring at her outstretched arms, it was the only explanation.
“Oh, God!”She dropped the gun, quivering as she slid down the metal still trapping us inside.“What have I done?”
“You saved us.”There was no doubt about that as I lowered to my haunches.“You savedme.”
Reaching for her chin, I guided her attention toward me.“Thank you, little girl.”
Furrowing brows echoed the confusion gleaming in her gaze.“I… I shot him.”
“You did what you had to do,” I soothed.What I failed to do…“Without you, we’d probably both be dead.”
Though looking at her sickened shock, I wasn’t sure how much consolation that was to her.
“Oh, God,” she repeated, thick tears falling from her eyes.“I killed him.”
“Come on.”Tugging her to her feet, I held her close while I waved the card over the control panel again.“Let’s get out of here.”
It had been a long time since I’d had any genuine qualms about taking the lives of those I’d killed, but her disbelief was entirely normal for someone who hadn’t slain targets for a living.Erin had been leading a so-called normal life until she’d agreed to go hiking with her friend, and then, due to a series of bizarre and unforeseen circumstances, she’d been flung into the maelstrom of my sordid life.Whatever transpired once we were free from the bunker, I’d need to make sure she had the support she needed to try and come to terms with recent events.
Taking another life was forever.No amount of therapy would change what she’d done.There was no coming back.
“But, sir?”She twisted against me, trying to look back at her handiwork, but I was already bundling her toward the opening door.
“Don’t look, little girl.”It wasn’t the first time I’d told her that, but I hoped to the God she was so keen on referencing that she’d listen that time.“Stay with me.”
