Changing Affection

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Ezra!" Aubrey screamed as Jearon pulled the trigger. She started after him, but a pair of rough hands pulled her back. Everything moved in slow motion as she watched a young boy fly out in front of Ezra and the bullet charged into him. With wide eyes, she watched as another bullet flew through the air and hit Jearon in his shoulder. She didn't know where the bullet came from, but she was grateful that it gave Ezra the chance to knock the gun out of his hands.

Two men grabbed onto Jearon and pulled him back into the crowd, making him disappear from her sight. At least he's injured, she thought. He can't do much harm when he's injured. She hoped that was the case.

Suddenly, Ezra appeared in front of her grabbing her shoulders. Blood was on his hands, but she didn't pull away when he went to touch her face. She knew that blood was smeared over her face and shoulders. "Aubrey, we've got to move. Now." He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the other side of the warehouse and pushing her behind a large stack of boxes and against the wall. "Please, stay here and out of sight." He leaned his forehead against hers. "I can't lose you again." His voice was desperate as he pleaded with her. 

Aubrey squeezed his hand as she watched two men come towards them. Both of them held large guns in their hands. Ezra turned to look at them and nodded at them. She felt her whole body shaking from fear. She clung to Ezra because if she didn't, she was afraid of falling. 

"They're friends of your father, Aubrey," he explained. He turned to give them a sharp look. "Don't let her out of your sight."

Aubrey's hands were shaking as she reached up and turned his face towards hers. She pulled his head down and slammed her lips onto his. She felt his hands reach down to her hips and pulled her closer to him. His hands felt possessive as he gripped her. If the situation was any different, she would be turned on right now at how he was touching her and kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss. 

"Aubrey," he whispered as he pulled away from her. "Your father is somewhere in this building. I'm going to find him and bring him to you." He started to pull his hands away from her before she grabbed onto him as bullets started to sound around them.

"Ezra," her voice shook. She had thought that she was brave. She was brave when she stood up to Jearon down in that room, but now she wasn't. Her ears rang as the loud guns were shooting around them. Her body started to shake. She didn't want him to leave her. "Please, don't leave me."

Ezra gave her a sad smile before leaving another kiss on her lips. "I need to finish this for you. Please, don't leave these men out of your sight." He ripped her hands away from him and ran back towards the fight. She saw one of the men hand Ezra a handgun as he passed them.

Aubrey peeked around the crate. Her eyes widened at the fight between men dressed in all black and the men from the gang. She looked back at the two men on either side of her. They were also dressed all in black. A tight mask hid most of their features besides their eyes. She assumed the rest of the men dressed in black were also friends of her father. She turned back towards the fight and watched as Ezra weaved in and out of the mess of people, going towards a body lying on the floor. Bodies dropped around him, and she felt sick to her stomach watching blood flow out of them. She watched as Ezra dragged the body out of the mess and back towards where Aubrey was sitting.

He dragged the body behind another cluster of large boxes. He wasn't close to her, but he was in perfect view. He leaned over the boy and started to tell him something. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw that he was still breathing. The boy talked back to him and gave Ezra a smile. Ezra smiled back and held onto the boy's hand as his breathing started to slow down. When his chest had stopped moving, Ezra reached up and closed his eyes before standing up.

He must have been close to him, she thought to herself.

Ezra stood up suddenly and turned back towards the fighting. Aubrey yelled after him and started after him again. A pair of hands grabbed her and pushed her down back behind the boxes. A pair of blue eyes pierced hers.

"Stay here, princess," the rough voice calmly told her. He pulled out a pair of headphones and handed them to her. "These will cancel out the sound of the bullets. Close your eyes little one. He'll be back."

Aubrey quickly took the headphones and put them over her ears. She was thankful that they truly worked, and she wasn't able to hear the gunshots anymore. She didn't want to close her eyes, but she obeyed the man kneeling in front of her. She hugged her knees and closed her eyes. 

She wanted everything to end. She wanted her father to come and get both her and Ezra out of this place. She prayed that Ezra wouldn't get shot and wouldn't get any more hurt than he already was. She wished that she was braver in this situation. If she knew how to use a gun, maybe she could have helped.

Aubrey jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She opened her eyes and almost cried when she saw her father standing in front of her. He knelt down and grabbed her in for a much-needed hug. She looked up over his shoulder and saw Ezra standing watch over them. Another cut was on his forehead, but she didn't see any bullet wounds. She let out a breath of relief. After a moment or two, her father pulled away and helped her up. He pushed her behind him and nodded toward Ezra. 

Ezra led them out of the warehouse and into an unmarked white van. More men that were dressed in black flanked them and filed into the van after them. Ezra got into the driver's seat and sped down the road.

She thought that they would head back to her home, but they passed it. Instead, Ezra kept driving back towards the mountains. He looked at her in the rearview mirror and gave her a reassuring smile. She leaned against her father and finally let herself relax.

"Did you finish the job, Ezra?" her father spoke up beside her. There was a tightness in his voice that she didn't understand.

Ezra snapped his eyes back into the rearview mirror and looked at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the road. "I wasn't able to get to him. They took him somewhere."

Her father grunted in response as Aubrey tensed up. Jearon was still alive. Jearon was still out there and wanted her. Technically, no one had won Ezra's challenge. According to those rules, she wasn't Ezra's. But she was. She was going to fight for her life right beside him.