A Number, Not a Name

It Ends with Us

Lorenzo obeyed, his heart sinking as he heard the clank of the knife hitting the ground, along with probably any hope they had of escaping.

"Please..." Milena pleaded, "let him go. I'm the one who went after Dalmar. I'm the one who tried to kill him, not Loren. I deserve this, not him." Milena shifted her gaze from her fiancé to the henchmen holding him to the floor. "Do whatever you want with me. Kill me...but just let him go."

"As you wish." Her captor clicked back the safety of the gun.

Lorenzo was overcome with emotion. Everyone seemed to fade away at that moment. Anger and desperation surged through him. Milena was his soulmate; he couldn't let her die. "Wait! Kill me! Take me instead!"

Daniel chortled, "I'm afraid it's ladies first."

Milena glanced back at Lorenzo. Tears brimmed her eyes. "It's okay," she whispered.

Daniel slowly began to pull back the trigger. Using all his strength Lorenzo lurched forward, desperately trying to reach Milena."NO!!"

Milena shut her eyes, waiting for it to be over.

A shot rang out.

The bullet drove into Daniel's chest and he promptly slumped over to the floor, dead. Jirair

fired his gun. The bullet collided with Lorenzo's chest causing him to collapse.

A third shot was fired, hitting Jirair in the head. Killing him instantly.

Milena scrambled to Lorenzo's side where he lay in a pool of his own blood. She quickly turned him over, placing his head in her lap. In a moment she could feel every heartbeat, every second.

It was as if her mind couldn't process the information but at the same time was creating every possible scenario. Lorenzo smiling up at her, alive and happy, in his hospital room. She standing before his grave, all dressed in black. "Lorenzo..." she stroked her cheek with her thumb. "You're going to be okay. Alright...you're going to be okay," she tenderly assured him.

Lorenzo's breathing was shallow and continued to slow. His heartbeat was fainter by the second. No, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not to Lorenzo. At the last second, he'd jumped in front of her causing him to be hit by the bullet Jirair had fired. She felt the tears burn at the sides of her eyes and the oxygen get sucked from her lungs. Her voice went from shaky to sobbing in a matter of seconds. Tears flowed down her cheeks and her breath was hitched. "Please Loren...don't leave me," she sobbed. "Stay with me." Milena gently stroked his face as he slipped away. "Lorenzo...Lorenzo..." Milena bent over his body, bawling uncontrollably.

She felt a hand gently rest on her shoulder. Glancing up from Lorenzo's body she saw a blurry figure above her. Her younger sister.

Liana gently placed her gun beside her and crouched down next to her anguished sister. "I'm so sorry," she said softly. "I didn't get here sooner."

Milena threw her arms around her sister. Liana brought her hand to her sister's back and rubbed her back and forth as she sobbed. All the anger and bitterness between them was obsolete at that moment. Right now they each needed someone to hold them. To comfort them. They just needed someone.

.....

Jason carefully made his way through the underground corridors. Every few seconds he checked every direction to make sure he wasn't being followed or if someone had spotted him. The box truck has to be around here somewhere. The more time passed the more Jason's nerves continued to grow. Footsteps sounded behind him around the corner he had just turned. Jason froze, not knowing who it would be. He turned around and waited anxiously for the person to reveal themselves.