Four or Dead by G O A

Four or Dead

Emma

"Tony...I'm so sorry." My voice is shaking as I finally let myself feel the loss

Tony is gone. He was the second the Russian pulled the trigger but a part of me had hope that maybe by some miracle he survived

This is my fault. He's dead because of me

My heart aches as I kneel next to him and when I let the sob that I have been holding in I collapse on top of his still form and hold him. 7

Leo

What a shit show. There is a mess all around us, and the heavy silence only makes it hit harder. Zane's men came in like a force out of hell with men clearly trained to be as lethal as possible. We were outnumbered and surrounded when Emma's backup crew arrived literally saving our asses. Zane's men weren't expecting them and that was the moment things turned around. Unfortunately, a few of the Russians got away before we could stop them, but it doesn't matter right

now

What matters is making sure the others are safe. We got separated early on, and I haven't heard anything on coms from the others yet. I pull out my phone while the other guys start to grab our wounded men and

loading them into the SUVs. We lost a lot of good men today, but the others should recover from their injuries

"Leo? You good brother?" Logan asks when he finally answers my call

He's breathing hard just like me. "Yeah, I'm good. Have you heard from the others?"

He chuckles. "Our boy Wyatt came riding in on his white horse and saved my ass. I haven't heard from the others though."

"Okay, I'll call Asher. Have you spoken to Emma?" I ask

"No have you?" He asks and I hear the worry in his voice

"TI call her. You check on the others." I hang up before he can answer and immediately call Emma

The call goes straight to voicemail and my worry starts growing into panic. I call Logan back hoping maybe the others have spoken to her

"Everyone else is accounted for but...." Logan trails off

"What?" I ask impatiently

"Devaro. He was hit....it's not good man." He says and I start to feel lightheaded as everything comes crashing down. "We're taking him back to the office. The doc is going to meet us there but...I don't think it will matter." \"

"Okay...did the others mention hearing from Emma? I couldn't reach her." I ask

"No, but Asher said Tony is with her so I'm sure she's fine." I feel a small sense of relief at his words. "Okay see you back at the office." \*)

I end the call and round up the remainder of our men and we head back to meet with the others. The drive is full of thick silence but we're alive

We won't this battle. I know we aren't out of the woods when it comes to the Russians but this was a win for us..?)

When we finally reach the office I see the guys standing outside the front door yelling. I throw my door open as soon as we pull up and am hit with the panic surrounding them

"Why would they trigger the security like this if something isn't wrong!" Asher yells

Jayden is sitting on the curb with a laptop in his lap. "The logs say they were initiated manually by... Tony. The cameras show him talking to the guys we left before they leave then he sets off the security protocol. The cameras go black on that floor soon after then..." He cuts off as he continues to watch videos from other floors

"No...shit! Goddammit!" Logan growls out before throwing his phone as hard as he can at the nearest wall. \°

I walk around behind Jayden to see Tony being dragged down the hall with a gun to his head and Emma...

"We need to get in there now Jayden. NOW!" I yell

It takes him a second to register my words but as soon as he does his fingers fly across the keyboard faster than anyone I have ever seen

He curses under his breath a few times as it takes him longer to override the system

"Give it to me." I turn to see Devaro stumble out of the back of one of the SUVs. .*

His shirt is soaked through and his forehead is covered in sweat. Asher rushes over and grabs him before he drops and helps him get closer to Jayden. Jayden stands and turns the laptop to Devaro and with red-streaked hands Devaro types something into the system and the alarms blaring inside go silent. Logan pulls the front door open and rushes inside with Wyatt right behind him. I move to help Asher hold Devaro and the rest of us hurry inside

Some of the crew take the stairs while we take the elevator. As soon as we reach the floor where Devaro's office is we move quickly. Logan reaches the office door only to find it locked. He doesn't wait. He pulls out his gun and shoots the lock before kicking the door open

"Emma!" He yells and we turn into the office behind him to find Emma on the ground

She raises her head from Tony's unmoving body and looks up at us with a tear running down her cheeks

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"Emma..." Logan says softly before rushing over to her and pulling her off the ground and away from Tony

She lets out a sob and starts to cry harder while we all take in the room

Asher and I hurry to lay Devaro down on one of the couches. He lets out a sound of pain as we lower him down and that catches Emma's attention

"Oh god. Devaro." She says rushing over. "What...where are you hit?"

He grabs her hand stopping her from fussing. "It's okay." He says but his voice sounds strained

"I'm so sorry. Tony...I couldn't..." She starts to cry softly but Devaro just shakes his head

"He knew the risks, Emma. He was ready to make that sacrifice for you." He explains and that causes a defeated whimper to escape Emma's mouth

I glance back to see some of the guys lifting Tony up and carrying him out of the room. Wyatt is looking over the other man who had been holding Tony's at gunpoint in the video. I walk over to stand beside him and see the wound right in the center of his head

"She's one hell of a shot," Wyatt says with a hint of pride in his voice

"She learned from the best," I say..°

We watch as a few more guys take the guy's body away and I reach out to squeeze Wyatt's shoulder. He looks over at me and gives me a weak smile

"Emma, I have to tell you something..." I hear Devaro say

I walk over and join the others

"Wait...don't okay? I don't want to hear any dieting declarations or something. You'll be fine." She says shaking her head. I'

He laughs but then lets out a hiss and his face tightens in pain. "Will you just listen?" He grumbles in a way that he seems annoyed but without the heat behind it

Emma sighs and nods. "Okay." She says softly and rests her other hand over his

"You need to talk to my lawyer after...he has everything ready so you'll have no trouble getting things back and running." He says and Emma looks at him confused. "It's all yours. All of it. The crew, the properties...everything."

Emma is still watching him in confusion and then her eyes go wide

"What? You mean..."

He nods. "You're going to replace me. You'll be the president of the Angels. All of it is going to you. I knew Asher never wanted to take my place and I don't blame him, but I could see it when Tony started

training you. I could see that strength in you. From that moment I knew the only one with the balls to run this crew was you."

He laughs but it quickly turns into a pained cough

"Devaro...I can't. A few hundred men are one thing but all of this....1 can't." She objects

Devaro smiles and reaches out his hand to touch her face. "You are the only one who can. Even the guys agree."

She laughs. "Took a poll did you?" He chuckles. "I didn't have to. Keep these boys on their toes okay?" "You know I will." She says and they both go silent

Devaro looks at her like he has so many other things he wants to tell her, so I turn to the guys and motion my head to the door. They get the idea and we all leave except for Emma and Asher. We need to give them a chance to say goodbye. I?

"He really left everything to Emma?" Wyatt asks when we are alone outside

I nod. "Yeah. As he said, he knew Asher never wanted to run things. We had plans to save up enough money to leave town..."

"Then Emma crashed all those plans. Well, postponed them." Logan adds

"You planned on taking her with you?" Wyatt asks

I nod. "Yeah, somewhere near a beach where she can relax and live like a queen. We didn't want her a part of all this." Logan adds

"I knew she wouldn't want to run that day her father took her. When she looked at me in the hospital and accepted me after what I did, I knew she was strong enough for this life." Jayden says

"I wish I could have saved her from him sooner. I had plans too, but Zane threatened me and I thought if I was gone then no one would be able to protect her from him. That was before you guys changed though

I'm glad you guys took care of her when I couldn't." Wyatt says and even though we barely know the guy I can tell he belongs with us

We were all brought together for one purpose...to protect and love Emma. Our worlds collided and revolve around her now

Devaro has just been named the Queen of the city and that means we are her Knights in shining armor. Only our girl is no damsel in distress, she is an avenging Angel. \.°

All hail the Queen