Natalie ~
Pierce snatched a knife off of the table and readied it with his left hand, pulling her into his right side, to conceal her and to help steady her on her feet.
Natalie was surprised how easily she was getting around with the stab wound in her side. Sure she couldn't stand up completely straight and it hurt like hell, but she was able to walk which was surprising.
Maybe I'm not as hurt as I thought.
She willed her unsteady wobbly legs to keep up with Pierce's pace as they moved slowly through the house.
"Why don't we just run?" she whispered.
"So someone could see us from a window and shoot us in the back - not a chance."
He held her behind him, acting as a human shield as they made their way from the front of the house to the back, checking each room as they passed it.
"No one else here." Pierce said, finally relaxing his body slightly once they reached the back door in the kitchen.
Oh thank God.
Pierce grabbed a gun off of the table and checked the magazine before shoving it in his waistband. She watched him move through the kitchen, rifling through the cabinets and drawers until he found a towel to replace the blood soaked cloth she was still holding against her side.
Tenderly lowering herself into a chair, she let him doctor her wound and replace the fabric that was now completely soaked through, with a fresh towel.
"Sit back and look at the ceiling for me sweetheart." he said in a comforting voice, taking the bloody fabric from her hand.
He gently moved the fabric and sucked air through his teeth at the sight of her wound. The sound pulled her eyes down to his and she gave him a panicked look, hoping it wasn't as bad as it felt. She should have known that he would pick up on her fear and try to smother it, because as soon as their eyes connected, his pained expression softened and he flashed her a smile.
"Doesn't look bad at all." he lied and she knew it.
Pierce pressing the clean towel against her side sent shooting pains through her abdomen, causing her to let out a yelp and dig her nails into his arm.
"I'm sorry baby, but we've gotta get the bleeding to stop."
His expression was pained and pinched as he pressed the towel into her side and watched her writhe in pain beneath the force of his hand. She tried to hide how painful the pressure was for his sake, attempting to safeguard his feelings, but she was failing miserably.
"Can you walk?" he asked, helping her rise from the chair, letting her hand replace his on the towel at her side.
"I can walk. I'll do whatever you need me to do."
Her words earned her a sweet genuine smile and a kiss on the top of the head before they moved toward the back door. The pain in her side was unbearable and she honestly didn't think she could walk, but she willed her body to move for Pierce because she knew he needed his hands free to protect them once they got out the door.
Just breathe and keep moving, don't think about the pain.
Making it as far as the tree line, she was able to force her body to limp alongside Pierce, looking down at his feet, trying to focus on and follow his every step, but she had pushed her body to the limit. Her vision started to blur and her body felt heavy and uncoordinated.
"Pierce..." Her woozy voice caused Pierce's head to whip around and extend his arm out, wrapping it around her before her knees buckled.
"I got you." he said, scooping her up into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way up the hill until they had disappeared into the vegetation around them.
"I know you're hurting, but we've gotta keep moving. It's not safe to stop here."
She nodded against his chest, just thankful for an opportunity to rest her broken body in his arms, clutching his shirt and squeezing her eyes shut to fight her way through the pain in her side.
Pierce had only taken a few steps when the sound of a car echoed from the distance. Crouching down with Natalie still in his arms, he watched Estrada and Damion pull up to the house with three to four other men.
"We've gotta move. Now." he said in a low commanding voice.
The clock had officially started ticking and it was only a matter of minutes before Estrada realized they were gone and were going to send his men for them. The bravery that had fueled her before was dwindling and as much as she hated to admit it, she was terrified.
Please don't let them catch us. I can't go back to that room.
"Look at me Nat. I'm going to get us out of here, okay? You trust me?"
"I trust you." she said in a weak voice, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
Holding her effortlessly in his arms, Pierce trudged through the dense vegetation, taking careful steps and maneuvering around branches to make it more difficult for them to be tracked by Estrada and his men. Looking up at him, she was in constant awe of his tactical mind and how he was able to take control and command almost any situation, knowing just what to do. If only she had that same ability and mental focus at Luxe, they could have avoided this situation all together.
"I'm sorry that we're here." she whimpered.
"Ah it's not so bad, just think of it as some kind of fucked up nature walk." he said, looking down and shooting her a playful smile, trying to coax one out of her in return. She gave him the satisfaction of a half smile and appreciated that he was still himself even after all that they had been through.
"I'm serious Pierce. If it wasn't for me..." he cut her off immediately and stalled his movement briefly.
"Don't you dare do that. If it wasn't for you, we'd still be chained in that godforsaken room." he corrected her in a voice that was meant to be obeyed, but gentled his voice with his next words.
"You are so damn brave Nat. Don't you dare blame yourself for any of this."
The sincerity in his voice was comforting and she knew he didn't blame her for what happened, even if she did. His strength and faith was contagious and she drew from it as she clung to his chest, trying to focus through the black spots that were encroaching in the corners of her eyes as her heart rate and breathing suddenly picked up.
Something feels wrong.
After a few more steps she felt the damp fabric of Pierce's shirt rubbing against her skin in what she thought was sweat, but as she looked down at the gray cotton that separated them, she realized his shirt wasn't sweat soaked, it was blood soaked - with her blood.
"Pierce..." she said in a shaky breathless voice as she looked down at the blood stain that was slowly creeping up the front of his shirt.
"Shit." he muttered under his breath, stopping and setting her down with her back against a tree.
The towel he had given her had become completely soaked and he discarded it on the ground next to them.
He examined her wound carefully, then grabbed her hand and held her fingers up to inspect them with a less than satisfied look on his face. During their long walk through the wilderness she had failed to notice how pale her hands had become, but sitting there looking at them with her own eyes, she almost didn't recognize them without their color.
She looked at Pierce for reassurance that it was normal and okay, but instead she found something else behind his deep blue eyes - he was scared, which meant it was bad.
He stood up and laced his fingers behind his head, visibly regrouping and recalculating, trying to find a solution that was obviously difficult to find within that tactical mind of his. Looking down at her, he opened his mouth to speak, but the whizzing sound of a bullet interrupted him and the bark of the tree to his right exploded, sending wood and dirt flying around him.
Throwing his body on top of hers, he used the tree as cover and pulled the gun he had taken from his waistband.
"Don't move okay sweetheart." he said in her ear, covering her body with his own.
This cannot be happening.
Pierce lifted his head with hatred burning in his eyes and leaned his muscular body around the other side of the tree, firing three shots before return gunfire rained down around them on all sides.
"Fuck!" Pierce screamed.
As soon as the gunfire subsided, Pierce took another shot, then another, before more return fire peppered the trees and bushes all around them.
"I picked off at least two, but I don't know how many more there are."
She wasn't sure if he was speaking to her or if he was talking to himself trying to formulate a plan.
The gunshots were getting louder, closer, and clearly coming from multiple gunmen. They were trapped behind that tree, outnumbered with Estrada's ruthless men closing in on them and she could see the writing on the wall that they probably weren't going to make it out of there alive.
"I love you Pierce," she said into his ear.
"I love you too Nat, but you're not dying here. You hear me? I got big plans for us and they don't end here behind this damn tree," he growled bracing himself against her as more bark and dirt exploded around them.
Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse she saw the brush behind them rustling in several different places.
No, no, no, no.
"Pierce there are more behind us," she said into his ear as he covered her behind the tree.
We are surrounded...this is it.
He whipped around, pinning her between his back and the tree, trying to give her protection from all sides with his gun drawn and aimed.
"Make yourself as small as you can behind me," he commanded.
She did as he asked, but she knew that if Estrada's men were coming at them from both sides, there was no chance they were going to walk out of there. Doing as he asked she hunched over, but could only move so much before the pain in her side stopped her.
She could still see around Pierce's side and her eyes grew wide when she saw figures emerge from the tall grass.
She took in fistfuls of Pierce's shirt, preparing herself to be riddled with bullets in the next few seconds when she noticed that the figures that had appeared were dressed in all black tactical gear and fanned out in a perfect line, moving in perfect sync with their guns drawn...not at them, but past them. Just before her mind made the connection on its own she watched them open fire, shooting at Estrada's men, which was the final piece of evidence she needed to know that Pierce's team had come for them.
"Hollywood, you good?" Declan's voice echoed.
"Natalie needs Doc right fucking now." Pierce's thunderous voice boomed from beside her.
"Mac, lay down some cover." Declan said to Marcus who instantly started firing his weapon.
Caleb appeared at her side in seconds with a comforting smile.
"Hey there Darlin, let's get you outta here."
She nodded, because speaking was now out of the question, her body was starting to shut down and a nod was about all she could muster.
"Hollywood can you lift her or do you need me to take her? I've got full med supplies in the truck just past that tree line." Caleb said as he motioned behind them.
"Nah I got her. But we need to move now." Pierce said as he stood and readied himself to pick her up.
"Your blood or hers?" Caleb asked, eyeing Pierce's shirt.
"Hers."
Pierce reached down and picked her up as gently as he could, but to her surprise it wasn't as painful as it was before. In fact her pain level was pretty low as compared to a few minutes ago. The thought started out comforting, but quickly became terrifying the more she thought about what that meant.
Oh God. That's not good. Feeling no pain is not good.
"Don't worry Nat, I got you. Everything's going to be okay."
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