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Lily had red - rimmed eyes,and Jake was glued to his phone—clearly,they’d fought.
I pretended not to notice,sticking to our plan and heading out.
We arrived at the familiar street.Checking the time,I scanned the crowd,spotting a group of blonde women and their jittery Black companions,just as before.
Jake,streaming live,aimed his camera at strangers’faces,making lewd comments,assuming they couldn’t understand.
Lily,still sulky,said she needed the bathroom,telling us to wait.
One minute left.I gripped my dagger.
As soon as Lily left,Jake’s sleazy nature came out in full force.
He rushed over to the women,holding up his phone and saying in broken English, :“Hi,how much?”
The crude comment made me cringe,and the women immediately got defensive.
As expected,one of their boyfriends,enraged,grabbed Jake by the collar,landing a poowerful punch.
He shouted warnings in English,but Jake,puffed up by his influencer status,kept taunting,yelling“shit.”
He didn’t seem to understand that this was America,where guns don’t discriminate.
The crowd buzzed.Lily returned,panicking at Jake surrounded by angry men,speaking English she couldn’t follow.
Sobbing,she tugged my sleeve.“Emma,what do I do?”
I calmly pulled free.“They said pay up,and it'll be over.It’s your call.”
Lily,desperate,fumbled through her bag.
I slipped into the crowd—the farther away, the safer.
Without thinking,she threw a wad of cash at the man,as if she was throwing scraps to a beggar.
This only made him angrier. He grabbed her, threw her to the ground, and pulled out a gun.
Lily screamed,shaking like a leaf.
Jake,terrified,wet himself,begging for mercy.
In my past life,Lily’s lovesick brain had kicked in.To save Jake,she had pulled me forward as a shield and then run away with him.
This time,fresh from their fight,her loyalty was gone.She dodged Jake,trying to save herself.
Bang!Bang!Gunshots rang out.
Jake’s agonized scream pierced the air.
The man,high and erratic,missed most shots,but blood pooled on the ground.
Lily shrieked,then spotted me in the crowd.“Emma,save me!”
I didn’t budge.She crawled,cursing,“Song Harper,this is your fault!”
I stared at her coldly.In my past life,I’d pleaded with the man despite my fear,only to be dragged out as their human shield.
Now,I wanted them to taste my pain.
Jake,seeing Lily flee,grabbed her arm,hiding behind her.
I sneered—pathetic,hiding behind a woman.
Lily’s facewas contorted with terror.They struggled with each other, both desperately trying to avoid the gun, their so - called “love” in tatters.
Bang!Bang!Two more shots were fired.
Both groaned in pain.
Lily,frantic,pointed at me.“It’s her!She provoked you!Kill her,not me,please!”
My grip tightened.Lily,you snake.I was too nice to you last time.
The ground was covered in blood, and both of them were barely clinging to life.
