My heart beat quickly, thumping harder and harder as I tried to stay present. It was the only thing I felt before there was a popping sound, and I suddenly collapsed to the ground.
I fell flat as soon as my knees hit the floor. My head slammed down like a ton of bricks.
My vision was foggy, but I could see Richard lying beside me, writhing around. “You fucking piece of shit! Who are you? You just shot me!”
“If I didn’t think sending you to prison was a better idea, that bullet would have gone right in between your eyes. You’ll go away for life, Richard. You can’t pay off the FBI and ATF.”
I groaned, reaching up with a shaky hand and touching my head. It was sticky. Was my hand sticky? Or my head? Both? I blinked again, suddenly feeling very cold. Someone in a black mask was standing over Richard with a gun pointed at his head. “If I find out that you’ve touched Journey like you have Gemma, I will fucking kill you with my own bare hands.”
Then, his boot raised, and he dropped it down onto Richard’s face, silencing every word on the tip of his tongue.
“Bain?” I groaned. Was that Bain? It sounded like him.
I felt a light slap to my face, and my eyes opened again. The black mask was moving all over the place, and it was hard to focus. “Keep your eyes open.”
Just then, I heard the crash of something, and the person in the mask suddenly stood up. He was there one second, but then he was gone. I turned my head to the left, my head flopped hard, and I cried out. Richard was lying beside me with his eyes shut, and although I felt like I was unable to move, I still tried to get away from him.
“No,” I whispered, shoving myself backward, except there was something hard behind me. A wall?
“Gemma!” There was a blur of something dark up ahead. I knew something was coming for me because the dark color stood out in the white hallway.
Wait. Isaiah! I had to make him leave.
“No!” I shouted. “Isaiah…ru…run.”
But then, my face hit the floor again, and it was dark.