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“No-” Her voice breaks and as the tears begin to roll down her face, it fucking guts me. “No, Bash, it’s not.”
“Don’t say that-”
“He said you’ll never be able to stop it. He- He said that if he can’t have me, then neither can you.”
“He’s wrong.”
“Bash!” She lets out a soft sob but pushes forward. “This is what he wants. He knew you would try to stop it. He wants you to try, because then you’ll fail and you’ll-”
“We will stop it, Anya.”
“Please! Bash, please! You can’t stay here. I need you to go. I need you all to go. It’s okay!”
“No!” I roar, anger officially overtaking all other emotions. “I’m not fucking leaving you!”
“Bash-” Her voice is soft and I hone in on the sound of her voice, committing it to memory. “I love you. I just need you to know that. No matter what happens, promise me you know that.”
I don’t care that I’m crying in front of everyone I work with. I don’t care that I’m showing just how fucking weak I am for her, because none of that matters. The only thing that matters at this moment is Anya, and my love for her.
“I know, baby. I know. I love you too. I love you so fucking much.”
“I know you do.” I’m careful not to do anything to jostle her or the chair as I lean forward and press my lips gently against hers. The taste of our tears mixing together with the taste of her lips has my heart breaking into more pieces than I ever believed possible. This is what love is. This feeling of needing someone, needing them to know that you’re theirs no matter what happens in life. This feeling of needing to hold onto every possible second and memory that you can just to carry you to your last breath. This is love. And accepting that this could be it, that this could be the last time you ever get to show them how much they mean to you. How much just knowing them has brought your life meaning. This is heartbreak.
“Anya-” Tanner says gently as I pull away from her. “I need you to listen to us very carefully, okay?”
“Okay.” Her response comes out quiet and broken, but I know they hear her.
“We’re going to have to move fast, so I need everyone out.” Grant says in a commanding tone I’ve never heard from him. No one questions him, not even Alec. He’s slow and hesitant to leave, but he does it.
“Hunter, go.” Anya says softly, but I shake my head.
“I’m not leaving.” I look up at Tanner and Grant, daring them to argue with me, but neither one does.
Tanner just gives me a sharp nod while Grant says, “just be ready.”
“Okay Anya,” I’m going to stall the detonator, then very carefully we’re going to remove the strap. As soon as we say to, you’re going to run out of here.”
“What- what about you guys?” Emotions continue to clog my throat at the fact that she’s so concerned about them as well.
“We’ll be okay. It’ll be easier to shut it down completely without it hooked to you.” Anya seems to accept that answer, I just hope for my woman's sake that they aren’t lying.
I move my hand carefully to Anya’s, and she wraps hers around mine gently. I hold her gaze, silently communicating that I’m here and everything is going to be okay. Mentally, my mind begins ticking off the seconds, just praying that there’s still plenty of time.
“Okay,” Grant says. “Get ready.” There are two soft beeps and my breath stalls in my throat as I wait to see what happens. Tanner comes to Anya’s side, his hands poised over the clip that’s keeping the strap around her body. He doesn’t move, his eyes trained on Grant while he continues to do something I can’t see. Exactly thirteen seconds pass and another beep sounds then Grant gives Tanner the subtlest of nods. Tanner carefully unclips the strap, his hands holding tightly as he pulls it away from Anya’s body.
“Now!” Without another thought, I pull Anya to me, lifting her off the ground, and run out of the building. I don’t stop running until we reach the edge of the parking lot where Jax, Alec, and Wyatt are standing. I set Anya on the ground and Alec immediately gathers her in his arms. He whispers something against her hair, but I don’t hear what it is. Tears are falling down Anya’s beautiful face and if it was for the sunlight causing them to glisten, I may have missed the ones running down Alec’s cheeks as well.
“Where is everyone?” I ask Wyatt and his eyes flick to Anya for only a second before coming back to me.
“To get Hastings.” I don’t know how they figured out where he is, and I really don’t care. I want to end the fucker and that’s all I care about right now.
“Are they going to get out?” Anya’s panicked voice pulls my attention back to the apartment building where Tanner and Grant are still inside. “They have to hurry!” There’s so much pain and fear in her voice, it kills me. I gather her back into my arms as we all watch with bated breath, waiting to see the two men come outside.
Again, my mind begins ticking off the seconds, fear starting to grip me that they won’t get out in time.Nine, ten, eleven, twelve…At sixteen seconds, both of them step out into the sunlight and Anya practically falls to the ground in relief. Just as they reach us, the rest of our men turn the corner from behind the building, and it’s obvious that the body Dent is dragging behind him is Hastings. He throws the practically lifeless man to the ground and if it weren’t for Anya being in my arms, I would be to him in an instant.
“Bash,” she whispers, and I turn my gaze to her. She’s not even looking at the man, which is probably a good thing. “I want to go home.”
I don’t miss the meaning behind her words. She knows what’s going to happen to Hastings. She understands what needs to be done. But she doesn’t want me to do it. I look at Alec, who gives me a quick nod, indicating that they’ll take care of it.
