Page 46 of Chasing Hope

‘Oh my God. We did it! We did it!’ Hope soared ahead. She grabbed Ethan’s face and kissed him hard on the mouth. Before his instincts could kick in she disengaged and jumped back. ‘The sick son of a bitch is going down.’ Ethan’s heart tossed around as he took one last look at the two lowlifes, strapped to the ladder of the milk truck. Anger darted up his spine as the witch raked her gaze over Hope’s body, her red painted lips curled up. Hope’s hands squeezed into fists.

‘Hope, it’s over. Everyone’s safe now.’ Hope’s shoulders sagged as if the insurmountable weight was finally lifted. Unstoppable tears rolled down her cheeks as together they took notice of the group of ten girls huddled in the corner. Their eyes, pale and distant, blew Ethan’s heart to smithereens. He exhaled, releasing the pressure from his tightly wound nerves. Hope sighed as he squeezed her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

‘Promise me they are safe now?’ In all the years he had known her, Hope had never looked so scared.

‘They are safe, I promise. They will be taken back to their homes or given new homes, whichever may be the case.’ Rescuing these girls felt like the missing piece of his heart was fitted back in place.

Hope shuddered. ‘Come on, let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.’

‘That makes two of us. Let’s—’ In the spur of the moment, Ethan leapt to action as the loon raised a gun at them. Hope screamed as Ethan shoved her forcefully away from the line of fire. Everything happened all at once. Police sirens exploded in the distance and out of nowhere the boom of a bullet being discharged resonated through the thick air. Instinctively, Ethan angled his body to dodge the bullet and it whizzed past his thigh.

‘Holy fucking shit.’ Panic grabbed his throat and squeezed hard. A huge adrenaline rush made him giddy. So this was how it felt to experience a heart attack.

‘You psycho,’ Anjana raged and kicked the gun from the madwoman’s hands. Horror-struck, Ethan watched as the pistol sailed through the air, crashed against a cardboard box and dropped to the ground without accidentally being discharged. Breath found its way into his lungs, infusing it with much-needed oxygen. He would have nightmares about this night for the rest of his life.

‘How did she manage to cut the ties?’ Hope asked as she struggled to pull herself out of her shock. Laughing hysterically, the nutjob went into a rage as Anjana held her down with great effort while she tried to claw Anjana’s face with her sharp fingernails.

Police sirens grew louder.

‘Go, Masked Man, leave. We’ve got this under control.’ Mahika shook him, jarring his senses back to life. ‘The police can’t discover you.’ She shoved him with all the strength she could muster. ‘Go!’ Ethan stared at her terror-stricken face.

Cars zoomed in their direction and bright lights blinded his vision.

Hope reacted instantly. She sprung forward and yanked Ethan’s hand. ‘The police are here, Ethan, please. They’ll be safe. We need to go, please.’ Her voice trembled in panic. Hope decided for him. Without warning, she ran ahead at full throttle as Ethan sprinted alongside her.

In a sky stained with purple, the moon slowly rose as they weaved their way through the maze of colourful gigantic containers. In the background the sirens blared and the port suddenly came to life in the dead of the night.

‘This way,’ Hope panted as she pointed in the direction of her parked car. The energy to keep up with her diminished and Ethan slowed his pace to a trot. ‘Come on, hurry up.’ Hope called out over her shoulder. Excruciating pain vibrated up his thigh. Ethan jerked to a halt and clamped his hand over his throbbing left thigh. His hands came up sticky and Ethan sensed a thick trail of blood roll down his leg. He clamped his jaw as a stabbing pain caused his muscles to spasm. ‘Now is not the time to lose your shit,’ Hope glared at him, impatience bouncing off her.

‘I’ve been shot,’ Ethan said as he swallowed the acidic taste of fear.

‘Ethan. That’s low, even for you,’ Hope snapped at him. Despite the spike in pain, his chest rumbled with laughter.

‘I wish it were a joke.’ Hope minced her way back to him. ‘I must have misjudged the angle. Looks like the bullet grazed my thigh.’ As a mark of proof, Ethan showed her his blood-stained palm. Hope gasped and dropped to her knees to examine the wound.

‘Unless you have a medical degree you’ve failed to mention, I doubt you could help with the injury.’

‘Not everything is a fucking joke, Ethan,’ Hope raked him with freezing contempt.

‘Ain’t the pot calling the kettle black?’

Hope's eyes blazed, showing him exactly what she taught of his sarcastic remark. ‘We need to go to the hospital,’ Hope said, breathing hard. She lifted her arm to dab her sweaty forehead. She spun around to head for her car and Ethan seized her wrist.

“No. Not the hospital. A shooting will be a police case.’ Ethan grabbed the sidebar and leaned his weight against the beam, getting the pressure off his injured leg. The fucking pain was making him dizzy. ‘Take me to Aarav.’ His voice sounded shallow.

It was Hope’s turn to laugh. Ethan did not even crack a smile. She gave him a gapped-mouthed stare. ‘You have gotta be shitting me. Aarav is a vet for crying out loud.’

‘He is our only hope.’

***

‘Ethan.’ Ethan groaned inwardly as he continued to apply pressure on his wound to control the bleeding. His jacket was soaked with his blood. Goddammit. The movement of the car made him nauseous. ‘Ethan!’ While he ignored her first two calls, her third one was detrimental to his eardrums.

‘Jesus Christ, woman. I’m not dead – yet.’ Ethan squeezed his eyes shut. The drive from the port to Aarav’s house roughly took about twenty to twenty-five minutes. At 2am the roads were deserted. But at the speed with which Hope was driving, he estimated they’d take over an hour. ‘Unless you want me to bleed to death in your back seat, I highly suggest you hit the gas pedal. Getting blood stains off this white upholstery will cost you a fortune.’ He had to be a dick about it.

‘Cut me some slack, will you? My nerves are fried. It was a crazy night.’ She slammed her foot against the accelerator and the car shot ahead.

What a fucking night!

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