Chapter 28

-Jianna-

**2007**

James and I have been walking for a while now and he hasn't said anything to me after leaving the parking lot. He hasn't let go of my hand but he's been quiet.

"Sooo..." I tried to break the silence.

"So?" he looked at me like he just didn't tell me that he also wanted out and that he had been planning this for a while.

"You can't just tell me that you had been planning to get out of the game and not tell me why," I said as I finally caught up to him.

I didn't notice that our hands were intertwined until he tugged on my hand to lead me into a street hidden from view. When we were a couple of steps in, he spun me around with a sudden jerk that made my stomach flip, pinning my back against the wall.

"I didn't take that shot because I chose to get out. I chose to stop the trail of blood on that rooftop. I chose you." he said.

My heart raced at his words, and his eyes bore into mine with an intensity that made my knees weak. I've only known James for a short amount of time and from what I had observed, he had always been the strong, silent type, but in that moment, I could feel the weight of his emotions pouring out of him.

He leaned his forehead on mine and sighed.

"What have you done to me J?" he whispered.

I closed my eyes and let the feeling of warmth from James' words engulf me.

"James..." I whispered back.

The world around us faded away as we lost ourselves in each other. For a moment, it was just the two of us. Nothing else mattered. Not our past. Not the fact that we're now on the run. Not the fact that we're going to be hunted down. The only thing that mattered at that moment was that we were together. I barely knew him apart from the fact that he had been following me and the information I got from his room, but I trusted him with my life right now.

After what seemed like forever, he opened his eyes and whispered, "We have to go J."

"Where? We have nowhere to go." I replied.

"We'll figure it out," James said I nodded, knowing that this was the start of a dangerous journey. We walked in silence, our fingers still intertwined, as we made our way through the deserted streets of the city. We made our way through the bustling crowds, trying our best to blend in, but I couldn't help but feel like we were being watched.

As we turned a corner, we came face to face with a group of men dressed in black suits. They looked like they meant business and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

James stepped protectively in front of me, his hand reaching for his gun.

"Yours?" I asked him.

"Yep," he replied.

"James." said the man standing in the middle of the group.

"Carlos," James responded.

"You should've left. I gave you a chance." he raised his hand and motioned for his men to hold. I didn't even realize that they had guns pointed discreetly at us.

"I know. I couldn't leave without her." he placed his arm around my waist and pressed me against him.

I looked at him, bewildered and puzzled. "He was offered a way out? Why didn't he take it?" I thought.

Carlos stepped closer, his eyes fixed on James. "Your life is forfeit now, James. You know that." he didn't sound threatening. He sounded concerned. Like a good friend telling him that he had done something irreparable.

James didn't flinch. "I know that too."

"James," I muttered. He glanced at me. His green eyes were full of desperation.

"You made a mistake coming back. I can't let you walk a second time. I'm sorry." he responded.

He looked at Carlos and they both were just standing there waiting for the other one to make the first move.

What happened next, at first felt like happened in a blink of an eye but then everything started going in slow motion. Both Carlos and James fired at the same time but Carlos didn't fire **AT** James, he fired at the men beside him.

James started shooting at them as well and the crowd around us started to panic and run in all directions.

He tossed me a gun and I finished off the last of the men that was with Carlos. James looked at him after all of them were down.

"What now?" he was still in shock at what Carlos had done.

"Now, you run," he said.

James looked at me and looked at Carlos.

"She better be worth it Buck," Carlos said.

He looked back at me. "Absolutely," he responded without thinking.

"The whole organization is going to rain fire on both of you not to mention her people. Here," he tossed him a key.

"It's my little piece of paradise. No one knows about it. Absolutely no one. I have a feeling it wouldn't stay that way but whatever." he hands him a piece of paper. "Here's the address."

"Thank you," I said to Carlos and gave him a hug which caught him off guard.

Carlos and James were both surprised with what I just did.

"Better take her away before I do." Carlos chuckled.

I chuckled. James just looked stone-faced. I was confused as to why he wasn't showing more emotion. This man just gave us our out and he's just standing there.

"You'll get used to it," said Carlos, like reading my mind. "Now, go."

James grabbed my hand and we left. As we turned a corner, I saw a car parked by the side of the road. James rushed towards it and quickly hotwired it with ease.

"Let's go," he said, pulling me in and starting the car. As we drove away, my mind raced with questions.

"Do you know where you're going?" I asked him.

He remained quiet and kept his eyes on the road.

"James. Talk to me. What's wrong?" I squeezed his hand. He squeezed it back but he still didn't say anything.

"James. If you don't say anything I'm jumping out of this car." I threatened. I wasn't going to but I needed him to talk to me.

He finally sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road. He leaned his head against the steering wheel and ran his hands over his face.

"J, I need to tell you something," he said, his voice shaking.

"What is it?" I asked, now worried about what he was going to say.

"I didn't tell you everything earlier. I didn't take that shot because I couldn't do it, yes. But the reason why I couldn't do it was because...because I saw you." he paused, his eyes locking with mine. "I saw you through my scope and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't pull the trigger. I had never felt like that before. And then when I finally met you, it just confirmed everything. I knew that I had to get out. I had to get out with you." he took a deep breath and placed my hand on his lips.

"Carlos is my mentor. He taught me everything I know. I owe him everything. So his helping us puts him directly on the path of death. For me." he said, his voice breaking.

I was shocked. "Then why did he help us? Why did he risk everything for us?"

"He saw something in me that he didn't like," James said. "He saw the way I looked at you, the way I was willing to risk everything for you. He knew that I was in too deep and that I needed to get out. He did this for me, not for us."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to feel. On one hand, I was grateful that we had a chance to escape, but on the other hand, I was scared of what was to come. We were on the run, and now we had the most dangerous people in the world after us.