“You ungrateful little bitch! Mark kept trying to tell me that it didn’t look like a cover, but I refused to believe it,” he growled. He stepped forward and I saw the resigned expression wash over his face as he finally realised that I would never be what he wanted me to be, we would never have what he wanted us to have.

“I hate you, you piece of shit!” I shouted, sneering at him. “Just kill me already!”

His eyes flashed with menace at my disrespect and he staggered forward, his lips pressed into a thin line as he twirled the knife in his hand. I fought a smile, knowing that death was coming for me now. For the last six and a half months that I’d known Ashton, I’d learned to live again. For those six and a half months, I didn’t want to die. But he was gone now, and so was my reason for being.

I closed my eyes and thought of Ashton. His eyes, and the way his hair felt when I ran my fingers through it. I thought of the way he held me at night, his laugh, his smile, and the amused way he would look at me when I was behaving like a bitch to him. I remembered the way he kissed me, his taste, the way his smell made me feel, and how his voice sounded when he said he loved me. I smiled at the thoughts, and was thankful that the nightmare that I called a life was finally over.

A loud bang erupted out of nowhere. A gunshot, then another, and another, and another.

I waited for the pain, but it never came. My eyes fluttered open, seeing Carter’s wide eyes. He coughed and blood gurgled out of his mouth. He slumped down onto his knees in front of me, and another shot filled the room. My breath caught in my throat as he fell, face first onto the floor, with a heavy thump.

He’s dead? But he can’t be dead; he was going to kill me! I looked up to see Ashton leaning against the wall, holding a gun out in front of him. His face was murderously angry. He was covered in blood and dirt, his T-shirt was ripped, and his body slightly hunched on one side as if he was nursing it. He looked like a hot freaking badass.

I couldn’t speak. Confusion made my brain fuzzy. He was dead. I heard the shot. I saw him fall. He definitely died.

He pushed off the wall, leaving a trail of blood smeared there and limped over to me, practically falling down to my side. He looked like hell. His face was broken and swollen, there was blood everywhere and his white T-shirt was now almost entirely red, from where it was soaked with blood. His hands were swollen and grazed and he could barely breathe, but he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life.

My heart took off in overdrive. He’s alive? He didn’t die? Or am I dead too? Maybe this is heaven…

“You okay, Baby Girl?” he asked, taking my face in his battered hands.

“I… I… You… Ashton, you died. I heard it. You got shot, I saw you,” I choked out.

“I’m okay, I promise. What about you?” he asked, touching my stomach worriedly.

I winced, gritting my teeth against the pain. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly. I wrapped my tired arms around him, noticing how he flinched as I touched him.

“Are you okay, Ashton?” I asked, touching his blood-soaked shirt. I pushed him away and moved the soggy, wet material away from his bicep, making him suck in a breath through the pain. I gagged as I saw the bullet wound on his upper arm, just before it met his shoulder. Blood was trickling out of it, running down his arm and dripping slowly from his fingers. I squirmed on the spot, thinking how painful it must be to have been shot. “Ashton, shit! We need to get you some help!” I cried, trying to get up. Pain coursed through my stomach and I screamed and slumped back to the floor in agony. It was so bad that I leant over and threw up again.

“Shh, stay still, Baby Girl. I’m okay, I promise. The bullet went straight through, no permanent damage done. I’ll be fine,” he assured me, kissing my forehead. “Don’t move,” he ordered, crawling over to Carter and searching through his pockets for something. He pulled back after a few seconds with a cell phone.

“This is Agent Taylor. I have the jewel. She’s hurt, you need to send an ambulance, now! 4232 Western Ambrose. No, the threat has been neutralised. No, he’s dead. They’re all dead. Just get the medics here now!” he ordered.

They’re all dead? How can they all be dead? I glanced over and saw five bodies on the floor in the room. Carter, Mark, the guy called Richard, Jimmy and the other guy that I didn’t really know. Ashton had killed all three of them while I was fighting Carter? He got shot and still managed to kill three people? I smiled weakly because he was so skilled at his job. The pain in my lower body was starting to fade now, and I was grateful for that. The cold, hard floor made my teeth chatter, and my eyelids were getting heavier and heavier by the second. I decided just to sleep for a little while, just until the medics came, then that way I’d be able to stay with Ashton at the hospital when he had to stay there for his treatment.

“No Anna! Stay awake. I need you to talk to me,” Ashton gasped, shaking my head.

“I’m tired,” I whined, not opening my eyes.

“No! You need to stay awake, Anna. It’s extremely important. Can you do that for me, Baby Girl? Can you stay awake for me?” he asked desperately.

I nodded. Of course I could. “I’d do anything for you, Ashton,” I promised, forcing my eyes open to look at his broken face.

He smiled weakly. “I know you would, Baby Girl, I know.” His arms slid under me, pulling me into his lap as he groaned in pain from his injuries. I hissed through my teeth as the pain doubled in my stomach and back. I forced my arms up around his neck so I could hug him back, but they were so damn heavy. “Stay awake, Anna,” he rasped in my ear.