Hey guys! It's Friday and if you don't know from following me or you haven't figured it out yet, I update this story every Friday.
Before we begin thanks as usual for all the love and support and sticking with me despite my editing mistakes lol. Above is a picture of Gage (finally found someone who I think fits my idea of him. Steven Kelly <3) and down below is THE WONDERFUL cover @boo_boo_lette
made me!! I really love and appreciate it so this chapter is dedicated to her :)
Despite what you see in movies or what you may have expected from someone with a reputation like Ray's, it's pretty much impossible to dodge five different bullets from five different men all at once.
Like a bee flying past his ear, Ray listened to the sting of bullets as they all rained down on him. He wanted to pause and figure out who exactly the men shooting at him where but the screams he could still hear around him and the heavy thumping in his chest reminded him he had no time for that.
He could feel the burn of a bullet on his thigh, stomach, and arm but the pain wasn't crippling and so he moved into action, ducking behind the very table they'd been sitting at and grabbing a gun from the floor by his feet.
Danny, who had managed to crawl to another table closer to the exit, was a complete mess. Freddy was trying with all his might to keep her covered and protected by his own body but despite the fear coursing through her and the tears that welled in her eyes Danny refused to move any closer to the exit than she already was.
She was convinced that she hated Ray. Convinced that he was a liar and a murderer and that they could never be together, but even as she had those thoughts, the idea of him being killed here was more terrifying than any of the bullets raining through the air. She couldn't just leave him.
"Ray!" She screamed, when Freddy tried once again to pull her towards the door. Nobody could have warned her then, but as soon as her scream echoed through the room Ray looked up at the same time the other gunmen did.
"Shit," Freddy swore, fumbling with his own gun. Before he even had time to take the safety off two of the shooters' attention switched to Danny and she screamed when a bullet hit the back of a table she was hiding behind. She felt one graze her shoulder and cried out before turning and ducking further behind the table.
What was going on? Who were these men and why were they shooting at her?!
Minutes passed of nothing but shooting and more screaming from Danny as she cowered on the floor. The restaurant which had once been five star and extremely popular, was now a mess of tipped tables, broken chandeliers, and dead bodies left by Charlie Brown. For Danny, the sounds of shooting never stopped. She didn't notice when a hushed silence fell over the restaurant or that Gage had entered through the back door with reinforcement and he and Ray had eliminated the threat.
She didn't notice Ray was even speaking to her until he touched her on the shoulder and she completely freaked out. For Danny this was all too real and even a breath in the wrong direction had her terrified now. She was crying and muttering words Ray couldn't make out and from an outsider's perspective, she looked to be having yet another panic attack.
"Shh, shh I've got you Danny" Ray whispered as he cradled her in his arms. He felt horrible seeing her like this because he knew undeniably that this was all his fault. He didn't know why those men were shooting at him or Danny. Originally he assumed they were Freddy's men and this had all been a trap but, considering Freddy was in just as much danger and looked equally as stunned, Ray knew he wasn't seeing the bigger picture here.
"Ray, we gotta go man," Gage said, tensing when he heard sirens approaching. He repositioned the machine gun on his hip and swallowed as he watched Ray try to coax Danny to her feet. When she slapped him on the chest and screamed at him not to touch her, Gage winced.
He could see it in his friends eyes that that had hurt.
"Ray," Gage urged again. He understood why this was difficult for the both of them -Danny had no experience with this lifestyle and the first girl ray had ever committed himself too was rejecting him- but they really did need to go.
"I said don't touch me," Danny hissed, hitting at Ray's chest once again. He ignored her this time and instead picked her up into his arms despite her constant struggling and quickly carried her towards the back exit.
There were two cars parked there and Freddy quickly walked to his own where Antonio was standing with his own gun, as if ready for anyone else to suddenly pop up.
"Go take care of your girl Charlie. If you wanna know who gave that order, Daniela knows where I'll be."
Without saying anything else Freddy and Antonio got into their own car and drove off while Ray tucked Danny into the backseat and crawled in after her.
"Can somebody please tell me what the fück is going on now?" Gage grumbled as he sped down the Chicago roads. "I mean I don't mind shooting or nothing but I would like to know the reason why next time."
Ray ignored Gage and instead focused his attention on Danny. She wasn't crying anymore, but instead she just sat there starring ahead and being completely unresponsive. She didn't move when he brushed her hair from her face. She didn't respond when he called her name, and she didn't even blink when he apologized and called her baby girl.
"Shit. Is she going into shock man? Awww fuck that shit is serious! One time my uncle went-"
"Stop talking Gage. Take us to the motel."
"I thought the plan was to go to Rico's?"
"I'll go later tonight. Drop us off first."
Not saying anything else, Gage nodded.
Sighing, Ray held his head in his hands and swore. He looked up at the man starring back at him and blinked slowly. The man had disheveled hair that was a few shades darker now that it was wet. His eyes were a vibrant blue-green but we're sunken in with bags and dark circles. His frame was still strong and well muscled but he was covered in square bandage patches and on the counter in front of him were cotton swabs and needles covered in blood.
For the first time, Ray looked at his reflection and saw two different people. He saw Charlie Brown, the infamous hitman who was supposed to be strong and untouchable, in his stance and the wounds on his arms and stomach. But in his eyes he saw Ray, a man who was not only angered by everything that was going on but also confused and terrified by what the outcome may be.
He had to pull it together but the only one who'd ever made him feel whole was on the other side of that door refusing to talk to him.
Sighing again, Ray cleaned up the shabby motel bathroom before quickly getting dressed into a pair of sweat pants and a wife beater.
When he walked back into the bedroom Danny was in the same position on the bed she had been for the past hour. She wore one of his shirts and nothing else and as tempting as she looked, he knew now wasn't the time to be sexually attracted to her.
"Danny," Ray whispered, his voice soft as he crouched down in front of her. She was still wet from the shower she'd taken earlier and her skin was still flushed lightly from the hot water. His eyes followed the lines of her face and the curves of her lips before they landed on her eyes, which were still puffy from crying.
"You need to eat," Ray whispered again, this time taking a chance and reaching up, if only to caress her cheek.
She was beautiful. Whether she was still in the black dress or nothing but a t-shirt she was still the most stunning woman Ray had ever seen.
And he'd been the one responsible for breaking her.
When she didn't respond, Ray had no choice but to get up. He couldn't risk ordering any food and having someone as simple as the pizza guy recognizing their faces. So instead he went to the vending machine down the hall and bought ten dollars worth of snacks and drinks that he hoped Danny would like.
When he came back he was surprised to see the bed empty and Danny gone. Immediately he feared the worst and reached for the gun he'd left sitting on the nightstand.
"Daniela?" He called, his voice urgent and his shoulders tense. He was ready to leave the room and search the hall when he heard a sniffled sob from the bathroom and he sighed in relief.
Setting the gun back down, he walked over to the door and pushed it open. Inside Danny was standing over the sink scrubbing her hands as if her life depended on it. She was crying fresh tears and her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her sobs.
Ray grimaced.
"I can't get it off," Danny whimpered after a minute of Ray simply standing there and watching her. As if fed up with the sink, Danny screamed and slapped the counter before turning and flicking on the shower water. Without even stripping her t-shirt she jumped inside and Ray frowned.
He knew this was going to be hard for Danny to take but he couldn't have expected this and, to be honest, he was getting concerned. It seemed like Danny only had two reactions: to be unresponsive, or to have a complete meltdown.
"Danny, please calm down. There's no more blood on you-"
"It's not blood Ray!" Danny screamed, finally looking up at him as the water from the shower submerged her. Her shirt was see through now and clung to her chest but all Ray could focus on was the pain and fear in those brown eyes that were usually filled with hope and happiness.
"It's you," she sobbed, her tears blending with the water. "I can't get the feel of you off of me and it's driving me crazy."
Ray swallowed, trying his hardest to keep his face blank. Did she really hate him that much?
"I hate you so much. I hate all of you. I hate that you are what you are and that you can kill people so easily. I hate that we ever met."
"Baby girl, please," Ray begged. He was so desperate now, his own eyes blurred with tears as his chest physically ached, that he stepped into the shower as well. As if being close to her could make her see just how much she was hurting him. "Please don't say that."
"Why not? It's what I'm supposed to feel. I'm supposed to hate you like that," Danny cried, "but I can't. No matter how much I keep saying it, how many times I say it out loud or push you away it's never true. And I want it to be true. I want to erase you from my life and erase the feel of you holding me but I fücking can't Ray and it's killing me. You could have died today. Any of those men could have killed you and if you die-"
A sob cut her off and Rays arms opened as Danny fell forward and clutched at his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair as she cried and the warm water of the shower soaked them both.
"Please don't die Ray," Danny sobbed, hanging onto him so much that Ray could feel her nails digging into his sides. "Even if I say it, even if I loose my mind and go crazy, please don't leave me."
"I so sorry Daniela. I'm so so sorry for putting you through this," Ray said, pulling back just enough that he could tilt her head up and look into her eyes. He could only pray that the water had blended well with his own tears, tears that he had never cried before. "I'm gonna fix this and you can go home and start over. You can have that plan you've always dreamed of."
"Why won't you say it? Why won't you say you won't leave me?"
Ray frowned, his thumb caressing her wet cheek as he tried to force a smile. He wanted to say it, he wanted to promise her he'd never leave her and that everything would be okay, but how many men had made that same promise to their significant other before Ray put a bullet in their head?
"Because I don't want to lie to you anymore. I don't know what's gonna happen, baby girl, but I'm gonna fix it. And if that means I have to leave you then-"
"Ray please! I-I can't handle this. This isn't me and I don't know what to do or who to trust but I know I need you. I need you Ray......Can you at least promise me tonight?"
"Then you've got me baby girl. For tonight, I promise you've got me."
Not being able to take it anymore, Ray leaned down and captured Danny's lips in a wet kiss. "You've got me," he repeated, his lips against hers as she threw her arms around his shoulders and held him there. He kissed her like his life depended on it and he was positive it most likely did.
Ray needed Danny just as much as she needed him but more than anything he needed her to be safe, and he wasn't sure that could be accomplished with him still in the picture.
After tonight, whether he left on his own or it was a bullet that did the separating for him, he couldn't continue to be with her and put her in danger.
But that was for a different day.
When the water began to run cold but Danny wasn't showing any urgency to stop, Ray reached behind her and turned the water off before bending down and wrapping his hands around her lower thighs. Danny gasped as she was lifted into the air and her legs were wrapped around his waist.
Their lips parted just long enough for Danny to look down into those blue-green eyes she loved as he carried her towards the bedroom and laid her wet frame down on the mattress. He hovered over her for a moment more and looked down, as if asking for permission for what they both knew was about to happen.
Her mind was a mess of emotions and there was a lot she was still confused about, but she knew there was no turning back after tonight.
She didn't care though. Because as uncertain as the future was and as bad as Ray's past may have been, she knew without a doubt that she was still in love with him.
<3
Just for the record, they do in fact make love. Originally I had the scene in the chapter but then I took it out but what do you guys think? Should I make a detailed chapter or leave it how it is? Happy Friday!