And right before the guns go off, right as Sebastian pulls onto the street and guns for it, I swear I hear him say the words, ever so softly, "I'm sorry."
But I can't be sure.
The only thing I'm sure of in that moment is that something very, very bad is about to go down.
The rest happens in slow motion.
One moment we're driving and I tear my gaze back towards the ten-ish men crouched by the shattered garage, guns trained on us, and the next thing I know several earsplitting cracks fill the air.
It's the worst sound in the world.
I duck down desperately, covering my head with my hands, as the bullets collide with the car, windows shattering everywhere. I scream and scream and glance back at Sebastian, but none of us seem hurt.
"Get down, angel!" he shouts at me as another round of fire goes off, connecting with the sides of the car. Sebastian hits the gas harder, sending us speeding to the end of the street. The sounds of cars starting behind us fill the air. Sebastian jerks the car to the right, turning onto a smaller street, and several black trucks speed after us. My head keeps pounding, my vision zooming in and out, and I glance wildly around the car, my body now covered in millions of pieces of glass. I feel blood trickling from my arm, and I look down and see a shard of glass lodged there. I scream, knowing I need to get out of the car. I jerk at the handcuffs again, but they don’t budge.
Oh god.
Oh god I'm going to freaking die.
"Let me out, Sebastian!" I scream as another bullet hits the back of our car, shattering through the glass and causing us both to duck. "Please let me out of here!"
Sebastian speeds faster down the road, eyes hard, knuckles clenched on the steering wheel, but he doesn't so much as meet my gaze. "I can't do that, angel," he says in a low voice.
Another quick turn. The car jerks to the side, throwing me back against the seat, and then Sebastian hits the gas and we're speeding again, shooting down the road. The sound of the cars behind us keeps getting louder and louder, and more gunshots break out, narrowly missing my head. One bullet even hits the windshield, creating a spider web of cracks throughout it and making my heart race furiously in my chest. I spin around to check our progress and instead see that the trucks are even closer now, the squeal of their tires getting louder and louder.
They're too fast.
"They're gaining on us!" I scream. "Oh fuck, they're gaining us!" My voice cracks and I feel a sob rack through me. This is it, I tell myself. This is how I'm going to die.
Everything trembles. Hurts. Burns. I don't want to die like this. I don’t want to die and not even know why.
Sebastian jerks his gaze to mine for one long moment, and his nostrils flare, eyes burning into mine. "Stop that, angel. I won't let them touch you," he hisses. He speeds down the street, careening past a couple walking their dog on the sidewalk. I see the tension in his forehead, the crease above his eyebrows, as he steps harder and harder on the ignition, jerking onto street after street, but the men are too fast. The three trucks are gaining on us, and quickly. First they're one-hundred feet away. Then seventy. Then fifty. Then thirty.
More gunshots rip from their car, shattering another one of our windows, and I duck, tears rolling down my cheeks, feeling another piece of glass lodge into my arm. More blood trickles out and I look around wildly, trying to figure out how to escape. I pull on the handcuff one last time, but nothing gives.
I'm trapped here.
I'm trapped here and I'm going to die.
"Sebastian!" I scream. "Please, just let me go!"
"If I let you go, they'll find you," he says roughly, eyes trained on the road as he takes another sharp turn, narrowly missing a car driving the other way.
Another shot sounds, and this time it connects with the headrest right above Sebastian's head. He curses and ducks, still trying to speed up, but it's no use. We're outgunned, outnumbered, and not going fast enough. The realization makes my heart plummet.
Then, Sebastian pulls something from the seat beneath him and tosses it to me. It takes me a minute to realize it's gun. "Use this," he growls. I hesitate as soon as I catch it, so he adds, "Fucking now."
Another sharp turn. Another slam on the gas. The car is officially travelling at its maximum speed, but nothing is working. The men are still gaining on us. So I reach for the gun, flip off the safety, and cock it like Sebastian taught me to do, aiming at the broken window in the back of the car where I have a clear shot at the first truck. Then, I narrow my eyes, and I fire.
Everything slows for a second. It's like the whole world is in a slow-mo cam, and I just watch the bullet fly through the air, spiraling toward the first truck's windshield. I hold my breath, ducking down as someone fires in return, but then a scream pierces through the air and the first truck veers off the road.
Just like that, everything is fast again.
Sebastian turns another corner onto a totally deserted road, eyes darting between the space in front of him and his rearview mirror. "One down. Two to go," he says quietly.
As if on cue, another bullet fires at us, this time hitting the windshield and totally cracking it. More glass shatters, shooting every which way, covering me and Sebastian.
I turn back around, reloading my gun. My heart keeps hammering. The other trucks are still gaining on us. Twenty feet now. Nineteen. Eighteen.
Not much time left.
I try to shoot at the next truck, but my hand don't stop shaking and I keep thinking about how this might be the end, how Sebastian might leave my life forever, how I might leave my life forever. Everything aches, and I just can't focus anymore. My shot misses the truck by several feet, and I drop the gun, because it hurts my hand, and I feel myself crying again.
Fifteen feet.
"It's over, Sebastian," I say, shaking, the handcuff biting at the skin on my right hand. "It's fucking over. We're going to die. Oh god we're going to die and that will be the end of everything."
Sebastian jerks the steering wheel to the left, and the car skids across the street, knocking over a mailbox on its way, but we're still going, gunning down another empty street. Another round of gunshots bursts through the car. I keep my head down and so does Sebastian, but the bullets are getting closer and closer, shattering the glass right beside me.
Ten feet.
Sebastian's grip on the steering wheel is steely. His eyes are wild and filled with determination as he shoots down the street, his knuckles whitening with every passing second. "I'm going to save you, angel. I've always told you that. I'll die for you if I have to."
Five feet.
My heart is beating so loud that I can't hear anything anymore, just the roar of the engine and the ringing in my ears from the gunshots. I feel so desperate, so empty and useless, and I reach for the gun and try to fire at the truck again but I only manage to hit its roof. They are so close I could reach out and touch them, and no matter how hard Sebastian hits the ignition, they just keep gaining.
Two feet.
They're right there now. So close that I can taste the end. Every muscle in my body screams in protest, and I look at Sebastian one last time, look at the determination in his eyes, the hardness in his jaw, and I know how much I'm going to miss him, how much I love him despite everything.