Gangs and Roses

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

My eyes scanned over the shop shelves while in a leisurely browse for some clothes. I hadn't been shopping in a while (more like months) and I was seriously getting tired of my old wear. Winter was now in full swing so my shorts and tank tops just weren't keeping my warm anymore. I had managed to drag Luke along with me. I'd managed to persuade him that we could get something for him to wear for his date with Annabelle. He then softened, mumbling under his breath about how I'd better not go into every shop. I was a girl, wasn't I? And yes, we did go into every shop and Luke was sagging. God, boys had seriously no stamina when it came to this kind of thing.  

"Can we please go to the tuxedo shop already?" he whined, trailing behind me. I found a winter hat, the kind that went right over your ears and had little tassels coming down with balls on the end. It was in snowy colours - greys and whites - and it snuggled against my head. Very toasty! Though it looked weird against my neck brace.  

"You're not wearing a tux," I replied stubbornly, posing in front of the mirror. "That's when you go out for dinner or something. You're just going to the cinema, right?"  

"Yeah," Luke said uneasily. I grinned at him in my woolly hat. He was so cute! He had no idea about this kind of thing.  

I sighed. "Fine. We can go in a minute." I took off the hat and looked at the price tag. "I think I'm going to buy this..." I was just walking off to the till when Luke grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back. "What?" I snapped.  

"The guy standing in the aisle next to ours," Luke whispered to me. I cocked my head to the side, seeing a guy in tight trousers and T-shirt randomly looking through some clothes. It was kind of strange, seeing as it was the women's underwear aisle...He also kept on glancing at us, I noticed. When he made eye-contact with me, I instantly looked away, "he looks like he's watching us."  

"Oh god," I breathed out, turning my back to him so it looked like I was just casually speaking to Luke, though I knew that the guy wouldn't be that dumb. "What do we do?"  

"Nothing," Luke said, one eye still on the bloke. "You don't do anything." I saw his hand go into his pocket. The light bounced off the shiny handle of a gun. My eyes widened slightly but I wasn't surprised. I had a gun on me too, inside my handbag for emergencies. It was actually Seb's. He'd given it to me for protection. This was the only time I had been allowed out of the house on the fact given I would go insane if I didn't see other people. 

I felt the click of Luke's gun and my whole mouth went dry. I glanced behind my shoulder to the guy and saw that he had his own gun. He wasn't hiding it away like Luke was. He had it in his hand; his finger lingered at the trigger even though it pointed to the floor.  

What came next all seemed to happen so quickly. I felt Luke shove me to the side, not enough to make me fall but enough to make me stumble. The hats and scarves that lay on the rack fell to the floor and I had to clutch the hangers to steady me. I heard the bang of the other guy's gun and I watched as it narrowly missed Luke's shoulder. He retaliated, though the man had already ducked behind an aisle. Luke grabbed me by the arm, just as I was fumbling with my own gun and pulled me behind some stock. I couldn't believe this was happening. Again.  

It was quite for a moment and the shopkeeper came over from his till. In sync, Luke and the man ducked out of the aisle and pointed their gun at him. Seeing the two armed blokes, the shopkeeper yelped in surprise. The blood drained from his face and for a second he seemed to freeze on the spot.  

"Go!" Luke ordered. He didn't need to be told twice. The shopkeeper ran from the room, behind the cashier and out the emergency exit. Luke made two more shots but the guy was too quick. How could you be too quick for bullets? They went like lightning. Though this guy had done this before, of course he had. This guy was trained and was capable of doing these things and winning. He was meant to come and find me I bet - and kill me. I wondered whether that meant Will was dead too.