Page 70 of Exposed to Him

“Wait! We can work something out!” I beg, which sounds foreign to me. But I can’t let him have her.

“No!” she wails as she closes her arms more securely around my neck.

“Baby, it’s okay. Shh.” I try and sooth her, but the man rips her out of my hands as she continues to scream and cry.

“Just fucking let her go!” I shout.

“Take her to my vehicle. I think I might keep her for a while. She’s a feisty one.” He grins and I lose my shit.

I roar and jump up to crash my body into Dean’s, which he wasn’t expecting. Shots are fired and we are punching and fighting to the death. I grab his weapon and place the cold metal to his head, pulling the trigger. My eyes are wild and I let out a sound that makes heads spin. I am ready to kill.

An explosion of some sort goes off and all I see is smoke. The ground rumbles and all the gunfire has stopped. I push his dead body off of mine and start to cough as the smoke fills my lungs.

“Erica!” I yell, but get no response. I trip and fall over something. The smoke is starting to clear and I see the bodies that lay before me. All I can think about is seeing Erica dead in a pool of her own blood and I instantly feel nauseated. The thought of finding one of my men as well makes me sick to my stomach.

Coughing and walking through the property, I see no sign of her or anyone for that matter. A couple minutes later I see Grady limping towards me, his face laced with concern.

“Jared! They’re all dead, man.” He grunts and then falls to the ground.

“The Irish are dead; Matt and a couple others made it and some didn’t.” He hisses in pain. We are all in need of medical care, but I’m not leaving without her.

“Have you seen her?” I croak, afraid of his response. He shakes his head ‘no’ and looks to the ground. Even though I’m in pain I start running through the grounds, yelling out her name. She never responds. It’s been an hour and still no sign of her. That’s when I drop to my knees and let out a cry. I am not one to show emotions, so when my shoulders start to shake and tears fall down my face I just let it go. The sorrow I feel is immeasurable. I can’t imagine my life without that woman by my side, but it’s looking like I might have to.

Erica

My body hurts when I regain consciousness. Something feels heavy. I gasp when I realize there is a man lying on top of me. His dead body weight is heavy on my heart. I try to push him off, but he’s too heavy. My arm snaps and I let out a sob as the pain radiates up my arm. I must have broken it during the explosion.

I choose to stay quiet under the deceased man just in case the Irish are still roaming the property, searching for me.

My body starts to shake as I feel the effects and realization of the position I’m in. I lie there and wonder if Jared is alive. I don’t know how I’ll survive if he’s dead.

When I hear footsteps my entire body freezes. I keep my eyes closed, staying hidden under the man. I could have sworn I heard a cry. Without a second thought I peek around the side of the man and see that it is in fact Jared walking around frantically, searching for someone.

Instant relief consumes me and I let out half cry/half sob, calling his name. He turns around so fast and his voice echoes in the cold dead air.

“I’m here!” I groan under the man.

“Oh my god! Baby, you’re alive!” He falls to my side, pushing the man off of me. I can’t imagine my horrifying appearance as I feel the blood and smell it everywhere. I hope it’s not mine, but I’m also unsure at the moment because everything hurts like hell.

“Fuck, baby! Is that your blood?” he asks, and that’s when I noticed his bruised, bloody face with tear stains. I reach out to touch him and he relaxes at first. Then he goes into action.

“I am going to carefully pick you up, okay?” I nod and wrap my arms around his neck as he picks me up, gently holding me like a child. My head is starting to hurt and my vision starts to blur.

“Jared, I don’t feel so good.” I complain, and then feel him moving faster to get me out of there.

“Stay with me Erica, please. Don’t close your eyes,” he pleads, but there’s no use because my eyes feel too heavy and my body is too weak. I then sense my body having a mind of its own and I sag into Jared’s embrace, passing out cold.

“Drive! I don’t care how fast. She needs a hospital!” Jared shouts, and I try to say something but nothing comes out.

“Baby, please! I can’t lose you,” he whispers in my ear, and I feel myself drift back into a deep slumber.

The sounds of people talking and rushing around meets my ears. There are a lot of medical terms being flung around and I can’t understand anything.

“Miss, you have been shot and we are bringing you into emergency surgery. We will take good care of you,” a woman soothes. I can’t help but feel panicked, knowing I’ve been shot. Again I find myself drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

There is a beautiful meadow before me. I can smell the fresh grass. Flowers are covering the field in what looks like daisies. I love daisies. I feel the warm sun on my face and a sudden sense of tranquility covers me like a warm blanket.

There is a figure walking towards me. My heart starts to beat out of my chest. It’s my mother, and she is dressed in all white with a beautiful smile on her face. I feel like crying but no tears will come. I smile back at her when she reaches me.

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