Ben had never been a good actor. Proof was in the videos he had to make for commercials and videos for the team. Today that changed. He did his very best to act like he was unconscious while the man who hit him attempted to drag him across the room. It was even harder to do when that person threw him into a wagon, but the hardest part was when he kicked the wagon over and Ben hit the ground. Biting his tongue was the only way to prevent from making a sound when his head connected with the concrete.
Thanks to Anna, he discovered that Ethan was the one who clobbered him with the pipe. If he wasn’t trying his hardest to look like he was knocked out, he would have jumped to his feet and pummeled him to death. But something like that could potentially cost Anna her life and it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
Ben could feel the heat of her body beside him and he desperately wanted to reach out and touch her. He had no idea of her condition since he was still feigning unconsciousness and was unable to look at her. As he listened to the couple chat about who was going to kill first, two sets of feet padded across the floor near them. This was his moment to make a move.
Ben threw his feet out and managed to trip Ethan to the ground. He was about to jump up when the blade of a knife plunged into his left thigh, rendering him immobile.
“Well, well, well. Look who’s finally awake!” Ethan exclaimed as he climbed to his feet. “Before you attack a man, you should probably make sure he’s not armed.”
He turned the knife slightly before he pulled it from Ben’s leg causing him to hiss.
“Like music to my ears,” Ethan murmured into Ben’s ear before he stabbed the knife into his leg again. He bit back the next hiss, not wanting to give him the satisfaction again.
Ethan stared into Ben’s eyes, like he was challenging him to make another move. He continued his stillness until Ethan laughed and pulled the knife from his leg and backed away. He slowly blew out the breath he had been holding and chanced a glance towards Anna. His heart broke instantly. Both her eyes were swollen shut and her nose was most likely broken. She was hunched over slightly and he was sure it was because her ribs were broken. Shoe imprints were evident on the pale green top she wore leading him to believe that someone had kicked her and stomped on her. This is all my fault, he thought to himself.
“I’m here, Anna. I’ll get you out of this.” When she slowly raised her head to face him, he smiled. She did not return it. Maybe her face hurt too much from all the bruising or maybe she was afraid to show any emotion in front of the dynamic duo. Whichever it was, it killed him.
“On the contrary, Ben. You won’t be getting her or yourself out of this.” It was Cara who spoke this time. She raised the gun and aimed for Anna’s head. “Ethan thought it would be fun for you to watch Anna die, and I thought it would be more fun for Anna to watch you die, so we flipped a coin. I won.”
And with that, Cara squeezed the trigger. It felt like an eternity before the bullet ripped through the barrel of the gun and sped towards Anna’s head. Ben only had a moment to react. Without thinking, he flew from his chair and placed himself in the path of the bullet where it connected with his chest. He felt the searing pain of it instantly and blood began to soak through his shirt. His body landed in a heap on the ground and the last thing he heard before the world faded around him was a murderous scream from Anna.
* * *
Tom heard a gunshot on the opposite end of the house and sprinted across the marble floors. He threw open a door just in time to see Ben flying through the air, a bullet piercing his chest. The site of it momentarily stunned him, and it was just enough time for Ethan to turn his gun towards Tom and fire. It landed in his chest, just as the bullet that hit Ben did, causing him to fall to the ground. Ethan stood over his body and pointed the gun at his head.
“Stupid man. This is what you get for meddling.”
Lucky for Tom, his men had followed after him and arrived seconds after Ethan fired the first shot, preventing him from putting another in his head.
Two shots were fired and Ethan and Cara fell to the ground, their bodies instantly limp and lifeless. Ben lay on the cold concrete beside Anna’s chair, unmoving. He couldn’t tell if his long-time friend was still alive or not. Their backup had arrived and the room filled with men he did not know. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but the room began to spin and the lights blurred.
“Can someone get a medic over here!” he heard a voice shout. Someone had crouched beside him but he couldn’t make out the face.
“Don’t worry, Tom. Help is here.”
His breathing slowed and he wasn’t sure if he would survive the night or not. All that mattered was that Anna had survived. It was the one promise he made Ben before everything went down.
* * *
Anna watched in horror as Ben toppled to the ground and instantly became motionless. This wasn’t how she expected things would happen. Ben was supposed to figure out who the murderer was and send the cavalry to help; he wasn’t supposed to come in here alone and try to be the hero. But he was. He was her hero. He took a bullet to the chest and she would never be able to repay him for it.
Please be alive, she pleaded silently. His death would follow her for the rest of her life and it was a something she couldn’t live with. As she pleaded with God for Ben to survive, Tom burst into the room, but Ethan was too quick for him.
Another man who was doing his best to protect her was now lying on the ground with a bullet to his chest and was probably dead. Feeling defeated, Anna dipped her head to her chest as tears trickled down her cheeks. She attempted to look up when Ethan spoke, but her head suddenly felt like lead.
Her heartbeat sped up knowing she was about to die. It pounded in her ears so loudly that it began to drown out the negative thoughts she was having.
One shot fired. This is it, she thought. A second shot.
Anna believed that Cara had finally shot her and she would die any moment, but the pain never came. Anna lifted her head in time to see both Cara and Ethan drop like flies, and men she had never seen before flooded the room.
“Anna.” A man she didn’t recognize crouched to her side. “We are here to help. I need you to listen to everything I say without argument.”
She nodded but remembered Ben and Tom. “Ben,” she whispered.
“We’ll get them the help they need.” The man began untying her hands and the pain was instant. Somehow the ropes had made the searing pain bearable, but once they were removed, the blood flowed back to the open wounds causing immense pain. Once she was free, she attempted to run to Ben’s side, but her legs refused to move.
The gunfire subsided and a crew of EMT’s ran in and hovered over Ben’s body. Relief filled her as she heard one of them yell that there was a pulse. It wasn’t strong but it was there.
Both injured men were rushed from the house to waiting ambulances, and Anna finally managed to find strength in her legs enough to chase after them. She rushed from the house hoping to catch up with the occupied gurneys, but she wasn’t quick enough.
“We’re losing him!” one of the EMT’s screamed. Anna was still too far away from the medics to see who it was they were talking about. The thought of Ben dying dropped her to her knees. She let out a scream.