Emma
The gunman didn’t notice Emma as she crept away from the cubicle, slipping down the hallways as quietly as she could. Her first thought had been to follow the same path Dean had, but that seemed foolish after just a moment. They’d cover more ground split up, and he was going to be pissed that she’d left the spot he thought was safe, even if it had been the right thing to do. He might even be enough of a macho idiot that he’d try to send her back, which she was pretty sure would end in disaster for both of them. All of them.
She could hear a conversation up ahead of her as she worked her way through twisting, dusty hallways. She recognized the tumbled stone of Jay’s voice, echoing through the deserted building. Maybe there was also the voice of a little girl, crying softly? It was hard to be sure. She couldn’t hear anything as much as she wanted to. She’d barely worked out any sort of plan. Dash into the room, grab Mia, make a run for it. What if he was standing with his weapon trained on the door? What if she felt the explosion of pain as soon as she came around the corner? What if all of this was for nothing?
For just a moment, her resolve wavered. And then she closed her eyes and pushed through, making herself focus. Even if it was all for nothing, the only alternative was to walk away. Leave the girl to her fate. And that was worse, unbearable. She couldn’t possibly make herself do it. She knew Dean would be pissed that she wasn’t where he’d left her, but she also knew that she was her own person, and Mia needed absolutely every bit of help she could get.
She turned another corner, and then, in an empty conference room, she could see Jay standing, his gaze focused on the far wall. Past him, she could see Mia sitting at a worn old table, covered in warped press board, and sitting in a torn office chair. She didn’t look afraid, though. She was smiling, working on something in front of her. Crayons and paper, maybe? Coloring? Emma’s heart gave a little leap. She kept walking towards the room, forcing her heart to stay calm and cool.
Jay had a phone pressed up against his ear. When he saw her walking towards him, his mouth spread into a slim, cold grin. He nodded and took the phone away from his ear, tapping a button to shut off the phone and tossing it across the table.
Mia glanced up, and a much sincerer smile spread across her face. “Ms. Mills,” she called out and waved happily. Emma felt something in her chest loosen. Mia was okay. If Jay hadn’t hurt her so far, what reason in the world would he have to hurt her now — when they were all so close to the finish line.
“Emma,” Jay said with a nod. “I’m so glad you came. Your boyfriend is still running around looking for you. He didn’t follow my instructions.” He held up a hand to waylay her before she could fall far down into panic. “It’s alright. I haven’t hurt him, and I won’t. I told you, I was in this to protect the girl. I’ve fulfilled my role. Yours will be harder. But I have faith that you can do it.”
Mia was nearly vibrating in the seat. She gave Jay a long, eager look, and he nodded. Emma could see a lot of trust between the two of them. She didn’t think she’d ever know exactly what had happened over the last few days, but she believed that Mia had been cared for as well as possible, given the situation. She believed that the man thought he’d done the right things and had tried to keep the child safe.
When Jay nodded, Mia all but vaulted out of the seat, running full tilt at Emma. Emma crouched to catch her in her arms, lifting her up to hold her carefully, tightly.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Emma murmured into her hair, needing the reassurance of the words. Mia nodded.
“Tell me what happens next,” Emma said, her eyes focused on Jay. She couldn’t miss the bulge of a shoulder harness under his arm. As much as she felt like this situation was nearly over, it wasn’t going to be completely resolved until they were in the clear and out of this building. That meant finding Dean and getting past whatever gunmen were still between them and the exit. Calling in the rest of the Titans to handle any necessary mopping up. Getting clear of the whole goddamn situation. Putting a bunch of shifty bankers in jail and knowing that they were gone for good. Mia slid down out of the hug and stood next to Emma, comfortable beside her, twining her small hand inside Emma’s. Emma would’ve preferred to keep holding her, but the girl wasn’t small, and Emma wanted to be able to move as much as necessary as they fled the building.
Jay nodded. “Always thinking ahead. I’ve liked that about dealing with you. It’s important. Next step is to get the girl out of here. There are shooters from the organization here to finish me. I’m not going to let that happen. You shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of that. The girl’s seen enough violence in her life. The bankers who tried to put all of this into play, they’ve been caught. The notebook was destroyed, so getting the girl to the DA is going to be the important next step. With what Abbey knows and what Mia can recall from the notebook, the DA should be able to construct enough of a case to put all of them away for a good long while, even if they are a bunch of rich white bankers from the coasts. Even those bastards can take a fall, if enough of us work on them for long enough.”
“Have you been working on them for a while?” Emma felt compelled to ask.
Jay’s thin smile got just a little sincerer. “Long enough,” he replied. He directed his next words to Mia. “I’m sorry you got put through all of this, little girl. I didn’t mean for you to see a single dark thing in your life. I didn’t know your name when I came for you — I thought you’d be one of the teachers or something. But in my business, once you’ve taken the contract, you don’t stop until you’re dead or they are.”
“Why did you stop?”
Jay looked at her like she was the villain. “I’ve done a lot of things I don’t like, but taking the life of a child? Even I’m not that kind of evil.”
There was a rough sound of running, and then Dean came in behind them, panting. Emma put an arm out to slow him as he began to curse at Jay.
“You son of a bitch,” he snarled, and Emma was surprised she was able to hold him back at all, even with all of her weight braced. “Give me back my kid.”
Emma made a calculated move, spinning to put her hands on Dean’s shoulders. “Hey,” she said, forcing his chin down to look at her, his eyes wild and afraid. “Hey. Mia is here. She’s safe. I’m here.”
He looked so completely angry and furious that she thought he was going to snap and throw her aside, not taking in either her words or the evidence of his own eyes, but instead, he pulled her into a huge and almost delirious hug. His arms were so tight around her that she had to struggle to breathe after a moment. “You’re safe.” She felt one of his arms loosen, but it was only so that he could grab Mia and pull her tight as well. “You’re both safe.”
“Jay didn’t hurt either of us,” Emma said. “And it’s time for us to go.”
“Yes,” Dean said, and Emma could hear the tears in his voice. The pain and the shock and the terror that he’d been holding back for days were now leaking out, but not fully. Not yet. A few more challenges still needed to be gotten through, and then they’d be free.
It was the sound of a gun cocking that brought Emma’s attention into sharp focus. “Jay, what’s happening,” she said as she turned. She wasn’t surprised to see his weapon drawn. She was surprised to see that he wasn’t pointing it at them. That was strangely reassuring.
“I told you,” he replied. “I’m not going to let them take me in. It’s time for me to be finished.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head, and stepping away from Dean and Mia. Dean hissed Emma’s name, but she ignored him. She was just a few steps away from Jay, and he’d been good to her. It wasn’t much to say, sure, but he’d been good to her. Better than he might have been, and he’d damn well taken care of Mia. “No. You’re not going to do this. Not now, not in front of us.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t want to, anyway. You three need to get out of here and let me take care of my business.”
He should’ve moved too fast for her to counter. Later, she wasn’t sure at all how it had happened. She saw his hand start to move and she dove across the table, grabbing for the gun. She hoped to pull it away from him, make him fire up into the ceiling or something like that. They grappled. There was a loud explosion, and too much noise, followed by too much pain. When she looked down, her stomach was spilling red between her fingers, and when she looked up, she saw Jay press the gun up against his chin and then it all went dark.