Mr. Grey-Book I

40

Emilia

"Are you sure you can't stay?" I asked Damien for the tenth time as I buttoned up his shirt.

"Emilia—" he started, his tone exasperated.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I had a strange dream last night and—"

He cut me off, opening his arms. "Come here."

I buried myself in his chest, inhaling his comforting scent.

"I'll be fine," he assured me, tightening his hold. "I promise to call every day and every night before you go to bed. I've made sure there are enough guards around the house to protect you and Suzan. You'll be safe."

I nodded against his shoulder. "Be careful—"

A voice interrupted us. "The car is ready, Mr. Grey," Alex informed us.

Damien pulled away, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I'll call you," he whispered before turning and making his way out the door with Alex. I stood there, watching until he disappeared from sight, an uneasy feeling settling in my stomach.

A few days later

Two days had passed without a word from Damien. Once again, I reached for my phone, and like countless times before, there were no notifications from him.

I sank into the covers, a feeling of dismay washing over me. I tried his number once more, but it went straight to voicemail. Tears welled up in my eyes, and in frustration, I threw my phone across the room. What if something had happened to him? No, Emilia, stay positive. He's probably just out of coverage or something.

Taking a deep breath, I wiped my tears and got out of bed, deciding to get something to drink to calm my frayed nerves. As I approached the bedroom door, a loud gunshot echoed through the house, freezing me in place. What was that?

With shaking hands, I grabbed the doorknob and gently pulled the door open. "Suzan?" I whispered as I made my way through the empty hallways to the kitchen. When she didn't answer, I felt my anxiety spike.

Cautiously, I pushed the kitchen door open and entered. What I saw made my blood run cold. Suzan was lying on the floor, clutching her ribs as blood seeped through her fingers.

I rushed to her side. "You're bleeding, Suzan! What happened?"

Another loud pop rang out, making me flinch. "What was that?" I whispered to Suzan, who was struggling to breathe. "I need to call an ambulance—"

"N-no," she gasped. "T-take this." She glanced at her free hand. I froze when I saw what she was holding: a gun.

"Take it and r-run as f-fast as you can," she managed to say.

My heart raced as I heard heavy footsteps approaching. "Suzan..." I started, feeling sick with fear.

"Emilia, t-take the gun and r-run. I-I'll be fine," she insisted.

Tears streaming down my face, I nodded. "I'll be back, Suzan. I promise," I choked out.

With trembling hands, I grabbed the gun, praying I wouldn't accidentally shoot myself. I'd never used a firearm before. Tightening my grip, I moved slowly towards the door. Another crash sounded, confirming my fears – there were definitely intruders in the house.

My heart pounding, I tried to recall every action movie I'd ever seen. Stay quiet, move fast. I held the gun up the way I'd seen countless actors do and slipped out the door. I dashed up the stairs, hearing thundering footsteps erupting behind me. I didn't dare look back, my lungs burning with each step, but I pushed on.

Just as I was about to clear the last step, I was tackled from behind. The air rushed from my lungs as a hand grabbed my throat.

I tightened my grip on the gun as my attacker flipped me over. I squirmed beneath him as he tried to pry the weapon from my grasp. In desperation, I did the one thing I knew I could do – I bit down hard on his arm.

"Bitch!" he cursed. Taking advantage of his surprise, I smacked the gun against his head. His eyes widened, and he fell to the side.

Feeling a fleeting sense of victory, I pushed myself off the floor. But before I could take another step, someone else appeared out of nowhere and slammed my head against the wall. I gasped in pain as my vision began to darken.

"Boss needs her alive," were the last words I heard before everything went black.