falling in love with a gang leader

chapter 33 (colby's pov)

i walked out of emma's room upset that i had a job right at this moment... and that i had a fucking boner, and back into the lobby, texting the head council back and forth about the pursuit details. i tried my best to distract myself from the throbbing down below and when i reached the lobby, sam, elton, and kevin glanced up at me with bright faces. huh?
colby: "hey guys, council just texted. i'll drive, but we've got to go now, let's go." i spoke quietly, not wanting everyone else in the lobby to hear. having random people know that my friends and i are in a gang is not on my top priorities.
kevin: "what about emma?" he and the others stood up.
colby: "i told her that we would be back, she understands." i said, walking in front of the three of them. i glanced back at him and he nodded as we arrived at the car. we all piled in and i drove to the address that seemed like the drive was hours and hours away. the entire way there, my stomach was doing flips. why am i so nervous? get it together, colby. i don't have a very good feeling about this mission. i've never been like this when we've been assigned a job. it's weird and i don't like it. is it because emma's in the hospital? is that why i'm so nervous? we entered the building what felt like forever and we stepped foot into the creepy, old, abandoned factory. sam and i pulled out our guns while kevin and elton whipped out their knives. we stopped in our tracks, elton and kevin behind sam and i, when we saw a familiar figure standing intimidatingly by the back door, facing our direction. it was dark in the factory, but there was a faint light over the unsafe staircase in the middle of the room. it smelt of mildew and gun powder. the knot in my stomach twists tighter when the very familiar figure walked closer towards our direction. we were all
quiet, listening to the unknown stature's footsteps from their heavy boots.
unknown: "who sent you?" the male voice getting closer and closer. why does his voice sound so familiar?
colby: "who are you?" sam and i pointed out guns in sync.
unknown: "woah, woah," he held his hands up in surrender, "no need for violence." the voice sounded cocky and arrogant, as if he thought we were messing around.
sam: "were not going to ask you again. who are you?" his voice was harsh as he pointed the gun aggressively at the character who had just stepped under the light that was covered in cobwebs and spiders.
unknown: "we've met before, i'm surprised you don't remember me," it was silent as if everyone was in deep thought, "how's emma, by the way?" he paused once more in suspense, "i heard she was shot." my eyes widened when i finally remembered who this was and why they were so familiar.
colby: "corey." i spoke in realization.
unknown: "ding ding ding!" he shouted, removing his mask and charging at the four of us. sam and i dropped our weapons and alternated when corey decided to take the four of us on when he was only one person. kevin and sam retrieved the weapons that flew onto the floor from the force of corey when he attacked us. as i sit astride corey, punching him and screaming things at him that were very uncalled for, sam hands me my pistol and sits on his knees by corey's head, anger as his chosen facial expression.
colby: "why did you shoot emma!" i shouted, pointing the barrel of my glock-17 at corey's temple.
corey: "i wasn't trying to shoot emma!" he shouted, struggling to move him arms from sam who was now holding them at his side.
colby: "then why'd you try to shoot me?" i screamed, angry at him.
corey: "because you took my position from me! i was supposed to gang leader for the spades! not you!" he screamed, breaking free of me and pushing me off of him, hitting sam in the process. i jumped up while kevin went over to help sam, and shock was more than clear on my face. so, that's why he's been after me? because i "took his place"? that doesn't make any sense.
colby: "explain this to me, i don't understand." i spoke, genuinely confused. sam and kevin huddled behind me, next to elton who stumbling around trying to discreetly find his knife that wasn't in his hand.
corey: "before you became leader, i was working with the council to try and beat you to it. mike was supposed to me by runner up just like sam is to you. you took that away from me. and since emma came along, mike and i have had nothing but a target to be able to get back at you," he said angrily, "you're soft now, colby." he continued, breathing heavy. soft? i'm not soft.
corey: "mike and i became members of the sparrows while we were bluffing as part of your gang. and now since he's gone," he paused, "i have to take care of emma myself... since that's all you care about. never made time for me, for mike... you barely even make time for the gang that your leading. it's only emma now... sad, really." he shrugged. no one touches emma.
colby: "i'm not letting that happen." i spoke though a clenched jaw. just then, corey pulled a gun out fro beneath his waist belt and aimed it at me, standing at least three feet in front of me. if he shoots me, i'm done for. he has perfect aim at this very moment, especially since i'm vulnerable after he brought up emma. fucking bitch. i raised my hands up in surrender and my eyes widened. sam and the other two stepped back, sam slipping me a gun very discreetly while staring me down with that deadly glare of his. this isn't going to end well.
corey: "you're done for, colby. we've had some great times," he paused, digging the gun into my chest, "but those great times are over. your over. you fucked up."
colby: "i fucked up? i apologize that the council chose me as leader and not your stubborn ass. you can't even tell what's right from wrong. you let mike talk you into this shit," i stopped, watching his face turn beat red out of anger, "what do you think devyn thinks of this, huh? you switching sides...? i'm sure devyn probably doesn't even know about it!" i shouted, getting more and more intimidated every time he digs that barrel deeper into my chest. please don't pull that trigger...
corey: "don't talk about devyn!" he screamed, his spit covering parts of my face. ew.
colby: "may i ask why?" i sassed, trying to get my mind off of how fucking terrified i am of this gun in my chest. corey was silent for a moment, before he sighed in defeat, holding the gun tighter, his knuckles turning yellow.
corey: "she was shot in a house invasion a couple weeks ago," his face turning angry once more, "but that doesn't change anything. i'm still annihilating you whether you like it or not. i'm over you causing problems with my gang." he whispered harshly, squeezing closer and closer to the trigger. and that was when i heard it. the gunshot. it was loud and clear, but i felt nothing. i opened my eyes from being screwed shut and my eyes trailed down to corey's lifeless body lying on the floor, a gunshot wound directly on his chest. i glanced over next to me and saw sam with his pistol in his hand that was slowly falling, his face in distress. did he just...?
elton: "sam..." he said in disbelief... frightened.
kevin: "what do we..." he stopped, "did he just..." he stopped again, "...holy shit." he breathed out, scared.
i didn't even know how to respond or react. corey, on of my best friends for the longest time... is dead... gone. i watched as his blood pooled under beneath him and realization hit me. we need to leave before someone else gets here.
colby: "guys, we need to go. council knows what happened since they assigned this to us and they'll handle it, but we need to go... now. we don't know who's lurking." everyone trailed their attention up to my face and they all shuffled out of the room. it wasn't long before i followed behind them after taking one last glance at corey. as bad as he betrayed us, i'm going to miss him. after all, he was one of my best buds. i sighed and walked out to the car, my head down in sorrow.
we drove back to the hospital, me in the driver's seat, sam in the passenger, kevin and elton in the back seat. the car ride back to the hospital was quiet and the tension was building a stronger bond than most of my old friendships. we got to the hospital after fifteen minutes of awkward silence and pulled into the parking lot. we all shuffled inside with our heads down and made our way emma's room. what was i going to tell her? how do i explain to her why we were all so upset and... sad? we walked into her room and kevin, elton, and sam wandered over to the couch and sat down. i walked over to her and she smiled up at me, averting her attention from her phone, and smiled. i'd be dammed if that smile didn't make me want to marry her. it was just so perfect... she was perfect.
emma: "hey, baby," her smile quickly faded once she searched my expression, "what's wrong?" she worried. i dragged my feet and laid next to her on the bed, resting my head on her chest while she let her fingertips run up and down my back. i still can't get corey off of my mind. i can't believe that this whole situation stemmed from him wanting revenge on me because he didn't get the placement he wanted. and for him to go after the most valuable person in my life is so fucked up. i wasn't going to let anything happen to her, regardless, but i still can't wrap my head around the fact that he was one of my best friends... and he tried to kill me and my girlfriend. unbelievable.
emma: "is everything okay?" she whispered to me, leaning down to my ear and kissing my cheek, letting her soft, plump lips longer for a few moments.
colby: "it is now." i smiled, catching her lips in my own. no, colby, it's not okay.
kevin: "so..." he sighed, "what are we going to do?" he asked, his face softening. elton was doing better, but sam... he's a wreck.
sam: "this... the entirety of this situation is not okay..." he rest his chin on his hands. i looked up at emma and she was more confused than i've ever seen her. she was quiet and not questioning, but confused.
elton: "emma," he paused, "corey... he's..." he struggled, trying to find the proper words, "... he's deceased..."
emma: "woah..." she whispered, shocked. me, too, baby... me, too...
sam and i, including kevin and elton, filled emma in on what all happened and what all corey had to say... and i even included the part where he told us that devyn was no longer with us. she took it all pretty well, but i could tell that something was bothering her. something wasn't right.
colby: "baby... what's wrong? you seem as if something's on your mind..." i mused.
emma: "this isn't about me." she said softly, looking up at me.
colby: "it's always about you," i paused, "and i mean that in the nicest way possible." i corrected myself quickly, realizing how awful that sounded. she giggled and i relaxed once she understood.
emma: "has katrina texted any of you?" her smile faded. i knew something was bothering her... i knew it!
sam: "she told me that she's spending the night with me tonight, but that's all." she nodded and everyone else spoke up, stating that they haven't heard from her.
elton: "em, are you okay?" he asked cautiously, not knowing what to say to my poor emma. her hand was now resting on my back comfortably, scratching every once in a while.
emma: "y-yeah. i'm okay. just want to make sure she's okay." she faked a smiled. after a while of conversing, i peeked over at emma and saw her wiping her eyes. i gently put my hand against her head and brought her into my chest while she willingly gave in.
colby: "can you guys give us a few minutes? i'll text you in a little bit." everyone nodded, shuffling out of the room. emma stayed in my arms for a couple minutes, not saying anything. she eventually pulled away and looked down at her hands.
emma: "she's changed... and i don't like it. she's become so... bossy and... rude and i don't know why or how." i grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.
emma: "my best friend of eight years. the one who took me off of the streets, the one who helped me out of depression, the one who knew what i was thinking without her even looking at me, the one who knew everything about me..." she paused and took a deep breath, "...the one who walked out and didn't bother leaving the door open for her to come back in." she let tears roll down her cheeks.
colby: "come here, my love." i wrapped my arms around her tightly and she melted into my arms. i ran my fingers through her thick hair in hopes that it would calm her down and it worked... it took time, but it worked. she pulled away and wiped her eyes, gazing at me as if she were a lost puppy.
emma: "what am i going to do without her, colby? she's my sister."
colby: "you have me and the others."
emma: "this is different, bub. she basically took care of me since i was fourteen years old. i thought my life was completely over, and then she came along and kissed it all better. she fixed me and then she left. she'd be a damn good doctor, though... i'll tell you that much— take notes, get to know the person, help them... then never speak to them again." she said sadly.
colby: "i know it's hard, but things happen for a reason."
emma: "you're right, i just didn't think she would leave so soon."
colby: "don't stress about it too much, princess. it will all fall into place at some point. whether it be tomorrow, or two years from now. patience is key."