Mr. Lawson's Assistant

Chapter 70

I stopped at the last step, staring at the grey door in front of me. This was it.
Now or never.
I inhaled and pushed the door open. I scanned the hallway in both directions, but there was no one. My knees felt weak as I walked towards my apartment door.
Just like every other normal day.
I repeated, hesitating outside the door when I saw the scuff marks on the bottom of the door. After this, I was moving.
I blinked quickly, glancing back at the single agent that entered the hall behind me, coming to stand at my side.
When he motioned, I raised my hand and knocked.
There was a quick stream of Spanish conversation, before someone yelled out in heavily accented English.
"Who it is?"
I looked at the agent and he nodded again.
"This is Oana Atkins, I'm here in exchange for Soma." That caused a scuffle inside and there were two or three rapid conversations, before footsteps sounded inside. The doorknob dipped and two men appeared, both with guns drawn. My heart constricted when I saw Soma behind them, her face white as ash. She looked at me and her brown eyes filled with tears.
"Oana, please don't-" One of the men cut her off by giving her a rough shove. My agent took a step forward, drawing his own gun.
One of the men chuckled. "No good 'migo, put away." He motioned to my agent's gun and pulled Soma forward. I glanced past her into my apartment. Damon was sitting on the couch, a gun at his head. I stiffened when I saw the blonde woman who held the gun. She lifted her head and met my gaze.
Soma stumbled out into the hall with a little extra shove from one of the men, and the agent pulled her safely behind him. I looked away from Sara and switched my attention back to the man who grabbed my arm. On instinct I took a step back. The second man stepped into the hall to help grab me. I looked at the agent and he was already staring at me.
Stay calm.
I reminded myself as I pulled back from the men, starting to struggle as they took a hold of me.
"Please," I lifted my eyes back into my apartment where Sara was now pointing her gun at me, "don't hurt me." The second the key words left my mouth, chaos erupted in the hall. Agents poured into the hall with their guns up, screaming their arrival over the panicked yelling of the Spanish men. I gasped when one of the men yanked on my arm, before he let go and took off down the hall. That's when the gunshots started.
I screamed, ducking my head and trying to look for somewhere to hide.
"Oana!" I heard Damon's voice and looked up. Sara was pointing a gun at me and one of her men was holding his gun to Damon's skull. Damon was kneeling in front of him, his eyes wide. I switched my eyes back to Sara quickly, before I heard her gun go off. I was knocked back against the hallway wall behind me, and everything went black.
*
Damon's Pov.
*
I yelled and tried to pull away from the man holding me when I saw Oana's body crumple to the floor outside the apartment, but I didn't have time. Men with guns poured into the room, screaming for me to get down. I felt the man behind me let me go and I fell forward, burying my face in the floor. Tears burned my eyes and I grit my teeth, replaying Oana's face in that split second over and over in my mind. Someone came to my side and quickly patted me down for weapons.
"Sir, I need you to stand up and follow me." The man ordered, and I felt the ties on my arms slack. I pushed myself up onto my knees and peered desperately out into the hall. Three men were kneeling beside Oana, but she hadn't moved.
My chest cramped.
I didn't stop them.
God, help her.
Was all I could pray as I was escorted out of the room and out into the hall. I tried to stop when we reached Oana, but the men refused to let me.
I was taken outside and ordered up into an ambulance to be checked over, and the last thing I saw was a group of medics rushing into the building with a stretcher.
I buried my head in my hands.
*
Oana's Pov.
*
I gasped for air, opening my eyes and trying to sit up. Someone held me still, urging me to calm down. I choked, feeling a sharp pain just below my bra line on my left side.
"That's it, hon. Deep breaths. You're alright, sweetie." Someone was squeezing my hand and gently holding my right shoulder in place. I winced and blinked, trying to orient myself.
All at once, I remembered what had happened, and I struggled to sit up again, suddenly aware of the shouting around me.
"Damon-" I coughed, pushing the woman's hands away from me as I pushed myself into a sitting position, "Where's Damon!?" I turned, wide-eyed to the medic beside me and she reached out to cup my cheek.
"He's fine, honey. It's alright." She smiled, patting my arm as I slumped back against the wall, wincing when my chest ached.
I took in a deep breath. "What happened?" I opened my eyes and scanned the hall. More agents were milling in and out of my apartment, but there was no more yelling.
"You were shot," The medic told me, smiling as she pointed to the discarded bulletproof vest beside her. I glanced down and noticed that there was blood on the left side of my shirt. It wasn't much, but the area stung. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine. It's mostly bruised, but we're going to take you to the hospital just to make sure, okay?" The woman motioned to the medics that were jogging down the hall towards us with a stretcher.
I nodded and started to stand up, groaning at the pain in my side. The woman helped steady me until a few other medics came and assisted me onto the stretcher, in spite of my claims that I could walk.
They carried me down to the ambulance and in a few minutes, after I'd spoken to the detective, I was sent on my way to the hospital. I asked if David and Greyson knew I was alright, and the medic assured me that someone had let them know to meet us at the hospital.
I let out a breath and laid down on the stretcher, closing my eyes. I hoped I could see Damon when we got to the hospital.