Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 60~

~Emily~

As we made our way to towards Corey's room as Sadie followed closely behind us, I could hear loud crashes downstairs which stressed me out because I was scared for Colby. When we got to Corey's room the alarm system cut off, causing my heart to stop.

"Mama, I'm scared." Blake said as I nodded. "I know, love. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you guys." I said then looked at Devyn.

"Can you hold her for a second?" I asked as she nodded, holding her arms out. I kissed Aspen on the head then gently handed her over to Devyn.

Once she was settled, I went towards the closet and started clearing enough space for them all to hide in there. I needed to work fast though because I could hear more and more commotion with every passing second.

"I need you guys to listen to me very carefully." I said with a serious tone. They all looked at me nervously.

"No matter what happens out here, I need you to stay in here with Aspen and Blake." I said seriously, as I motioned to the closet.

Devyn sighed. "But we need to help."

I shook my head. "No, me and Colby have this covered."

Katrina sighed as she sat in Sam's lap inside the closet. "but-"

"No buts, please just get in the damn closet." I said pointing to the closet.

The rest of them did, Devyn sat in Corey's lap, Tara sat in Jake's and Blake sat in Katrina's as she sat next to Sam. Sadie went in there as well and set next to Corey and Devyn as she scratched behind her ear.

Just as Isa was about to get into the closet, she looked at me and said, "Don't do anything stupid, Emily." Isa warned as my eyes watered with emotion.

"I'm serious Emily rose." She warned again.

"Please just...get in there and hide." I said as Isa got into the closet. She took Blake from Katrina as she moved back into Sam's lap. Sam rubbed her back to calm her nerves.

Blake looked at me worriedly, "Mommy, is Colby dead?" he asked as I shook my head.

"No, B. He's protecting us." I said as gunshots sounded from downstairs, sending a shiver down my spine.

"We have to hurry." I said as the house grew silent once again.

The only sounds were Aspen whimpering in Devyn's arms. I watched as they got situated, then set Blake on Isa's lap.

"You've got her?" I asked Devyn and Corey. They both nodded as I nodded back.

"Ok, be silent and cover her ears." I said and gestured to Aspen then closed the door.

My heart was beating out of my chest, the sound of the blood sloshing around filled my ears as I waited in anticipation for Colby to open the door and say the coast was clear.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't the case. I stared at the door as I unclipped the safety and waited.

~Devyn~

Huddled in the darkness, the closet felt like a shrinking sanctuary as the muffled chaos from below seeped through the cracks. My arms were a cradle of safety for little Aspen, who was a bundle of innocence unaware of the terror that enveloped us.

"Shh, it's okay, Penny," I whispered, my voice a soothing hum, rocking the baby gently. "You're okay."

Corey's hand was steady on my back, despite the tremor in his voice. "We'll get through this baby," he assured, though his eyes darted to the door every time a gunshot rang out.

Katrina's tears were silent, her body shaking against Sam's chest as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"Who would do this?" she whimpered, her voice barely a breath. Sam's arms tightened around her, a futile shield against the horror outside.

"I don't know, but we're gonna be fine. Emily and Colby... they'll handle it, they're badass's." he said, trying to believe his own words.

Tara's grip on Jake was white knuckled, her face buried in his shirt. "I hope they're ok," she murmured, the fear palpable in the confined space.

Blake clung to Isa, his small body rigid with fear. "I want Mommy," he whispered, his voice cracking.

Isa hushed him, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "She's going to be alright. She's strong, Blake," Isa said, but her own fear was mirrored in her eyes.

We flinched as another gunshot echoed from downstairs. Emily's voice filtered through the door, authoritative and fierce, a stark contrast to the dread that filled the closet.

"What are we gonna do?" Sam said as he brought Kat's head to his chest and moved her hair away from her face.

"We stay put," Jake said firmly, meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "We have no other option here. You heard Emily, we stay put and protect the kids."

The tension was a living thing, wrapping around us suffocating. Yet, during fear, there was a bond, unspoken but unbreakable, as they waited for the nightmare to end.

Gunshots punctuated the tense silence, a grim reminder of the danger lurking just beyond the door. Blake started to cry as I shushed him trying not to give away our spot.

"Shh, we gotta stay quiet," I whispered, rocking Aspen gently, my heart a drumbeat in my chest.

Corey's hand was a steady presence on my back, his voice a low murmur, "We'll be okay, I promise."

Katrina's tears were muffled against Sam's shoulder, her fear palpable in the tight space. "It's gonna be ok Kat."

Tara, curled up in Jake's lap, clung to him, her eyes wide and searching for reassurance in the dim light.

And they're sat Blake, Emily's brave little boy, trying to be as silent as possible in Isa's comforting embrace.

We heard a tumble to the ground followed by a scream of agony from Emily. Aspen started to cry as I quickly rocked her to soothe her.

"Oh no you fucking don't!" there was a loud bang followed by 2-gun shots as we all flinched. Isa held her finger up to her lips as she shushed Blake from crying

Jake rubbed Tara's back as she breath in and out heavily, "Why is this happening?" Tara's whisper barely carried, fear lacing every word.

~Emily~

There were sounds of heavy footsteps coming closer and closer and with every passing second, I could feel the fear climbing up my throat.

When the door opened, I raised my gun with my jaw clenched. "Found ya." The random man who I barley recognized said and came into the room, closing the door.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I seethed angrily, praying that Aspen would stay quiet for just a little while longer.
"You. Your daughter. Either one works." He snarled then lunged towards me before I could even prepare myself to fight.

I could feel the adrenaline and anger coursing through my veins as he pushed me to the ground, knocking the gun out of my hand in the process.

I grunted in pain but quickly reached for the gun, only for the guy to stomp on my wrist causing me to cry out in pain. As soon as I did this Aspen started crying, causing my blood to run cold as more gunshots sounded downstairs.

I had to just pray it was Colby who was shooting the gun.

"Perfect." The guy said as he took a step towards the closet. That simple step triggered the most insane amount of adrenaline.

"Oh no you fucking don't!" I quickly got up and kicked him in the back as hard as I could causing him to hit the closet door and fall to the ground.

I didn't care that my wrist was probably broken. I didn't care about anything but protecting my babies and my family. I reached for the gun once again, my hand going completely limp as I did so.

I didn't care about the pain. I shot the guy in the head, causing him to go completely limp. I heard Blake sniffle and cry as I shot the guy once again, making sure he was for sure dead.

"Don't move guys. Stay where you are." I warned and held my wrist as the shooting pain filled my arm, I had an insane feeling that there were more guys coming and that I would have to keep fighting so I couldn't worry about the pain.

I kept my jaw clenched and my arms ready to shoot someone for what felt like forever. It was so quiet besides Aspen cries that I was getting a horrible feeling in my stomach that something happened to Colby.

I thought about going to go check on Colby but before I could another man was coming in.

"He was right." He said with a laugh, looking at Billy. I knew that smug face anywhere...Colby's dad.

I should've known...

"You really are a heartless killer. Not that it would surprise me." He said as I nodded, noticing the knife in his hand. I smirked as I looked at Billy, then back at Layne as I shrugged. "Well deserved."

"I know, bringing a knife to a gun fight never works. However, I don't think you'll be able to shoot that gun with your hand like that." Layne taunted then took a step towards me.

"I think I can manage. Go ahead and ask your friend." I said as the guy smiled and walked towards me.

"He's a bit more violent. You have no idea who I am do you?" He said as he smirked.

"I know exactly who you are...Layne Brock."

"Ah so she does have a brain." I glared at him, not moving even an inch.

"Tough crowd?" He asked as I nodded. "You don't know anything about me," I explained with a bland tone.

"That's a shame, Emily." He said then held up his knife.

"What's your motive? We aren't doing anything wrong!" I snapped, growing impatient.

"My point is that you brainwashed my son, making him think its ok for him to be with a leech like you. you stole my son from me, and now you're gonna pay the price," He said then lunged towards me with the knife.

I gasped and moved out of the way quickly, trying to get the gun in my hand to cooperate with me.

I got it mostly situated before he was tackling me to the ground, holding my neck, trapping my arms under his body.

"I thought you were gonna be better at this, honestly. Given the bunker." He said as I looked into his eyes with a hard expression before kicking the bloke in the nuts as hard as I could.

"I thought you were less dumb." I said then pulled my good hand out from under his body and grabbed his knife so I could plunge it into his ribs.

"Fuck, you little bitch!" he panted a few more times before he went limp.

I pushed him off me and sat up, trying to catch my breath.

"Emmy? Are you alive?" Katrina asked shakily as I nodded.

"Alive. Stay quiet." I said and stood up shakily.

As soon as I was up, I flinched seeing that someone was coming towards the room we were in.

As soon as I saw it was Colby, I let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you hurt? Where's the gang? Where are Blake and Aspen?" Colby asked frantically as he rushed over to me. I shook my head slightly then wrapped my arms around him.

I didn't realize how badly I was trembling until he held me tightly.

"It's okay, Em. We're okay." He said gently as Brynn whimpered.

"Can we come out?" Corey asked gently as I looked up at Colby. He had blood all over the front of him and looked like he had been cut a few times, but overall looked mostly unscathed.

"Just let me do a walkthrough, brother. Then we'll get you guys out of there and we can talk." He said, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

I could tell he was trying to keep it together for my sake, but I was one second way from absolutely losing my shit.

I ran over to the closet and opened seeing that everyone was still ok. I turned around to see if Layne was still there and he was completely gone, I looked up and saw that the balcony to our bedroom was open.

We haven't seen the last of him yet.

Isa ran up the me and hugged me. "oh my gosh, are you ok, are you hurt?" I sighed.

"My wrist is fucked, my I'm fine, are you guys ok, where are Blake and Aspen?!" Isa nodded.

"She's ok sister, Corey has her."