Prologue
The familiar sound of a gunshot rang in my ears. It was as if things were all in slow motion now. I leaped out, to block him or push him out of the way, but I was too late. The bullet had already embedded itself in his chest. I scream inaudibly. I couldn’t lose him. Not now. I need him. He falls back onto the floor, his expression shocked as I dive for him. I catch his head before it slams on the ground and place it on my lap. Tears are pouring down, blurring my vision, dripping onto his face. I’m screaming his name, but I can barely hear my own voice. I feel as if I’m underwater. I keep screaming his name, my stomach clenching as I pull my hands away, covered in blood. I scream and frantically rip a piece of cloth off my clothes. I then cover his wounds and hope that I can at least hold in the bleeding for a little.
‘Jake, find him.’ His words, clear in my ears when everything else wasn’t. His voice, like the sound of a bell, a wake-up call. Tears still streaming, I place a soft kiss on his lips. This would be the last kiss we would share. I get up, softly placing his head on the ground.
‘I will find him. For you. And when I do, I will make him pay for what he’s done.’ I tell him, but I know that my words will be faint in his ears. I wipe my tears away. I had to be strong. For him. I will kill the person who did this to him. I will torture them and make them scream their throat raw. I will make them pay.
