California Love

Chapter 44: Forever and Ever

"Are you calling the police?" They ask and I shake my head furiously but they don't believe me. The main guy dumps the money on the floor and pulls out a gun.

I freeze as I hear the barrel of the gun click into place and I slowly take two steps backwards. "Please." I beg and the man holding the gun chuckles. "You were going to call the police on us, weren't you?" He growls and I shake my head frantically. "No, I wasn't, I swear." I shake and I hear loud footsteps coming from out the back.

Thresh doesn't even freeze when he sees the men holding me at gunpoint. He must have known they were here and told Clove to stay out the back. Thresh moves to stand in front of me, shielding me from the men. He turns his head slightly in my direction. "I've called Peeta. Johanna and Annie have Adrian." He murmurs and I feel myself shaking. Why did he call Peeta? Now Peeta is going to come down and he'll be in danger.

I can't keep my thoughts from Peeta's safety as Thresh tries to talk to the gunmen. That's when I see Peeta outside the shop window. I stare at him, wide-eyed, trying to signal for him to leave and not worry about me.

The man notices my distraction and follows my line of eyesight. His lips curl up in an evil grin when he sees Peeta and he nudges the other man. I can feel my hands shaking and my eyes wide with fear.

"Please, leave him alone." I say and the man holding the gun grins an ugly smirk at me. "He your boyfriend?" He asks and he walks up towards me and pushes Thresh aside. I can smell his horrid breath and I try not to look him in the eye.

"Get away from her." I hear Peeta say and I turn around quickly and shake my head at him. "Peeta, no, leave!" I say but he just ignores me and takes three large strides over to us and pushes me behind him. I grip his t-shirt in my hands, holding him tight.

"Thresh, go make sure Clove is alright." Peeta says, and I see Thresh nod curtly. He slowly backs away, towards the back room. "Please, just leave her alone. You can have anything, just not her." Peeta begs the guys as they move the gun closer towards us.

"Not a chance." He smirks before he pulls the trigger. It's so fast I don't even know what's happening until after. Peeta turns and pushes us both to the ground behind the counter as gun shots ring out through the shop. I can hear glass smashing as stray bullets pierce the windows.

"Stay down." Peeta hisses and I grip his arm tightly. "Don't you dare leave me, Peeta. Let's run for it." I say because I won't be able to deal with it if Peeta were to die.

"Okay, on three, run through the back door." Peeta whispers and I look towards the door which is only a couple of metres away.

I nod and then freeze as I see the smirking face of the man with the gun round the corner, his body towering over us as we lay on the ground. "Run!" Peeta yells and I don't wait for him to count to three, I just stand up and run through the back door, covering my eyes from the exploding shots that are aimed at me.

It's only once I am outside in the back street that I realise Peeta didnt follow me. "Peeta!" I scream and go to run back through the door again and find him when it shoots open and Peeta comes sprinting out of it. "Let's go." He says as he grabs my hand and pulls me away, and we sprint towards where he left the car when he got here.

We jump in and Peeta speeds off. I let out a sigh as I turn around in my seat and look behind me to make sure the men aren't following us, but they must have let it go.

I sigh and hold Peeta's hand tightly. "You shouldn't have come." I say and he shakes his head. "I had to." He whispers and I can tell he is still scared of seeing me with a gun pointed at my head.

"Peeta, it's alright. It's over." I say and he nods, and kisses the back of my hand. "Can we go get Adrian?" I ask and he nods again. "I'm going there now. I love you." He says and I smile and rest my head against the seat. "Love you too."

We sit in silence for the rest of the ride. As soon as we reach Johanna's apartment, I am out of the car and walking quickly up to her apartment. I open the door without bothering to knock and I see Adrian sitting on the floor giggling as Annie tickles his tummy. I can hear Johanna in the kitchen doing God knows what.

I run forward, scoop Adrian into my arms and shower him with kisses. I feel Peeta wrap his arms around both of us.

"So you're alive then, I guess." I hear Johanna say from the kitchen doorway and I glare at her as I hold Adrian close to me. Annie is smiling up at us from the floor. "I'm glad you're okay, guys." She says and I smile as I lean back into Peeta's chest.

Later that night, once I have finally gotten Adrian to stop crying and fall asleep, I slowly creep out of his bedroom and walk back into the living room where Peeta is flopped on the couch.

"Finally went to sleep?" He asks and I yawn as I collapse onto the couch into his arms. His fingers find the hair tie at the end of my braid and he slowly weaves his fingers through my hair, untangling it.

I yawn again as he pulls me even closer to him and kisses my forehead. "I love you. Thank God you're safe." He says and I hug him tightly. "I love you, too. Forever and ever."

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Edited by SunshineRainbow7

Hey, so there's only one more chapter and then the epilogue!! So sad. And the next chapter will be up tomorrow, I hope!

But I'm sorry for being away for so long! I've been really busy with exams and stuff.