falling in love with a gang leader

chaper 13 (colby's pov)

my immediate thought was to make sure emma was safe. she did what i asked her to do—which was go up to my room and lock the door, then hide in the closet. mike shot one of the guys in the stomach, then the rest of the opposing group ran upstairs. i chased after them, not worrying about the rest of my group, and beat one of them, easily, to the ground. i got to the top of the stairs and saw that my bedroom door was open. emma! my eyes widened and i darted to my room. i was surprised at what i walked in on. emma rede was in there fighting two guys at once. i jumped in and fought one guy, while emma fought the other. i grabbed a knife that sits by my bedside and slit the guy's throat, but before i could help emma, the other guy was holding a knife to her neck.
colby: "leave her alone. she has nothing to do with this." i said angrily.
the guy laughed like this was a petty fucking game of monopoly.
colby: "give her back. now." i scowled, the knife in my hand dripping blood.
guy: "i don't know, she's a pretty one. i think i'll take her for myself." he skimmed the blade down her cheek, careful not to dig it into her face.
emma was starting to panic, but no tears were coming out of her eyes. she looked at me with wide, nervous eyes, "do something." she mouthed to me. i slightly nodded so that she could see that i understood her, but careful that the guy didn't understand what we were saying. i'll do whatever i can, baby girl.
colby: "i'll make a deal with you."
guy: "speak. now. and if i don't like the idea, she gets a slit in her throat."
i saw her eyes widen. she looked terrified.
colby: "all of our weapons and the money bag. take it all." i said confidently. he didn't agree. the guy cut the side of her neck with the sharp knife. she winced in pain as she let in a sharp exhale through clenched teeth, but didn't scream.
colby: "take me instead." i panicked.
the guy's grip loosened, which gave emma room to move a little.
guy: "stop moving, baby." he cooed at emma. anger started to rise out of me. but before i could do anything, emma did.
emma: "i'm not your baby." she elbowed him in the stomach and then turned around and twisted his arm around behind his back before pushing him forcefully against the wall. emma looked over at me as her neck was bleeding more and more. i ran over to the guy and emma stepped behind me on the opposite side of my bedroom. i took no time to hesitate and i snapped his neck. it wasn't the first time. i ran over to where emma was and grabbed one of my shirts out of my drawer— i wasn't wearing one so i had to grab one. i put it on her neck and it helped stopped the bleeding.
colby: "are you okay?" i said, panicking.
emma: "not really." her eyes screwed shut in pain. why is she not asking questions?
colby: "aren't you confused as to what the hell just happened?" i rubbed her back gently.
emma: "oh, yeah. very confused. but i'm kind of bleeding out so if you could help me not die, that'd be great." she winced, squeezing the shirt against her neck tighter. i smiled at her bravery and grabbed the first aid kit that was hidden in my closet. i cautiously took the shirt off of her neck and cleaned the cut with hydrogen peroxide. she winced and groaned in pain, but still no screaming. i put a big bandage on it and i threw the blood-stained shirt on the floor in the corner of my bedroom. i looked back over at her and she met my gaze.
emma: "thanks for kind of saving my life." she giggled. her giggle was music to my ears.
i smiled at her, "of course. anytime." i chuckled. she smiled in response.
colby: "so, i have some explaining to do..."
emma: "mhm..." she said, confused, wanting to know more.
colby: "me and my friends... we're... um... sort of... in a..." i paused, i've never been nervous like this before, "...gang...?"
her eyes widened, "holy fuck." she whispered in shock.
colby: "...and the guys who just came in, they were the opposing members, the sparrows."
emma : "so who are you guys?" her voice was kind of a whisper, horror still sleeping through her voice.
colby: "we're the spades."
she bobbed her head in response and said nothing. is she going to think of me differently? now that she knows i'm a fucking gang member, will she still talk to me? even as friends, did i make her run?
colby: "you're scared." i frowned.
emma: "not scared, just... shocked. i've known sam and them for how long and i'm just now finding out that they're part of a gang?" she paused, taking in what she just said, "that's crazy!" she exclaimed in a whisper. i don't know how she's taking this. is she scared? is she mad no one told her? i have no idea. i hope she's not scared... or angry. looking at emma had me thinking. if sam and the rest of them have been hanging out with her, how am i just now meeting her? a couple days ago we met, but even still. if they've hung out so much, how did i not notice her? i would've noticed her straight away if they've hung out before. but, sam did say that she was never over at the bunker.
emma: "there's blood on your hands." she smiled her small smile. i looked down at my hands and sure enough, they were covered in dried blood, of course.
colby: "no big deal. it's happened before." i shrugged. and i can guarantee there's going to be more blood because now that emma has been exposed to the system, this isn't going to be her first rodeo.
colby: "how's your neck?"
emma: "it hurts, but that peroxide stuff took the sting out of it, so it's fine." she shrugged.
colby: "and how are you taking this whole gang thing?" she smiled up at me worry-free.
emma: "don't worry, i won't say anything. your secret's safe with me."
colby: "i appreciate it, but that's not what i meant..." she gazed at me, confused.
emma: "then what did you mean...?"
here goes nothing...
colby: "are you scared of me? now that you know?" i heard the nervousness in my own voice. fuck, colby. stop being such a simp. her eyes widened and she shook her head.
emma: "don't be ridiculous. if you wanted to hurt me, you would've already. same for sam and the others. i'm not scared... of you or our friends."
god, does that make me feel better.
colby: "if anything, you'll hurt me first." i teased.
emma: "keep pissing me off, and i will have no problem showing you what's up." she laughed.
fuck. she is not making this whole 'try not to get attached' thing easy, is she?
colby: "maybe i'll have to piss you off on purpose." i smirked at her. figured i would see how she takes this comment. a smirk formed on the pink, plump lips that i want to taste so badly. she leaned in to my face to where we were only inches apart. the butterflies in my stomach started to whirl.
emma: "i dare you to try." she whispered. i smiled and glanced at her lips then back to her eyes. shortly after, she moved away from my face and she got up and left the room. i grinned at myself and walked out behind her only to find that she was downstairs talking to the others. that was probably by far the hottest thing she's done to me. teased me and walked away. devil.
colby: "guys, she knows."
kevin: "you told her?" his eyes were wide.
colby: "y-yeah...? is... that a problem?" i asked nervously.
elton: "no, we're just shocked because you never tell anybody that you just met."
mike: "yeah... it's not hard to cover up the situation. you could've said it was a home invasion or something... what was different this time?"
he was right, i could've. but emma deserves to know. and plus, not only do i like the girl, but she knows some techniques that she could show me... depending on how much she plays around. again, fucking devil.
colby: "because she's different. she deserves to know."
kevin: "I CALLED IT!" he blurted.
emma eyes shot to his, "you yell too much. keep it down a bit." she chuckled.
everyone laughed and murmured things around the room. emma caught my eye, once again, and i smirked at her. she blushed under my gaze and turned her attention back to sam and kevin who were talking to her.
sam: "okay, but on a real note, is everyone okay after the... incident?" he glanced around the room.
everyone said they were okay and emma spoke up.
emma: "the messiness of this place is giving me anxiety. who wants to help me clean it?"
everyone in the room laughed and agreed, and we all cleaned up.