Page 55 of Paradise & Vodka

"Who?" She rose, looking around, still trying to wake up.

"Paul." I began pacing so I could be ready to get us out of here when the doors opened.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

"Is that …"

"Gunfire," I confirmed.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop. Pop.

"Oh my God!" Ashleigh stood. "We're saved!"

Pop.

Pop.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

Pop.

Pop!

I jumped when I heard what sounded like a bullet hit the metal door. It was kicked open in a flash, and I thought I would see Paul on the other side, but it wasn't Paul.

It was the leader.

Before I could even blink, he grabbed Ashleigh, spun her around, and held a handgun to her head. Her beautiful brown eyes widened, and she stared back at me with terror in those eyes. "You think you're smarter than me?" the guy asked.

"Whoa!" I held up my hands. "Let her go."

He laughed. "Fuck you! I knew something was off with you two."

Where the fuck was Paul?

I could still hear gunfire above us, and I knew I needed to stall, to bide our time for Paul and his team to come down the stairs and shoot this fucker. But I didn't have time to stall because the leader pulled the trigger.

Click!

I jumped, my eyes going as big as they could while I stared at the man I had fallen in love with in only a week.

The man I had hired to be my date.

The man who wasn't my boyfriend.

The man who made me feel as though he had fallen too.

I wanted to remember his face in the afterlife. Remember the time we shared in paradise and how everything was perfect.

Until it wasn't.