“I object!”
My heart all but leaps out of my chest as my head whips toward the back of the church. It can’t be.
But it is.
It’s Isaak.
I don’t know how he’s here, or how he could have kept believing in us after every horrible thing I said to push him away, but he is.
And he’s in danger.
“Security!” Drew shouts.
I use this moment of distraction to shove away from him. Drew swipes for me, catching a bit of organza that tears away in his grasp as I sprint down the aisle toward the man that I love.
Gasps erupt from all sides, and phones pop out to record us. Which is when I realize… If I pull a runaway bride right now, Isaak and I could be on the run forever.
And we aren’t the ones in the wrong.
Halfway down the aisle, I stop, breathless, and turn back towards the altar with an accusing finger.
“I’ve had a stalker all year and last week I found out it was Drew! He drugged me when I tried to run away from him! And he’s been holding me hostage all week after I tried to call off the wedding. He only wants to marry me to prove to his father he’s a real man!”
Each revelation elicits more surprised gasps and murmurs that get louder and louder.
But even I’m surprised when the crowd suddenly leaps to their feet and starts screaming. I finally hear something that causes my body to freeze. “Gun!”
Gun? Oh shit, Isaak didn’t bring a gun with him, did he? He just got out of jail. He’s not that stupid.
But when I look back at him, he doesn’t have a gun. He’s sprinting toward me, and there’s absolute terror in his eyes.
Oh. He’s not the one I should be worried about.
But by the time I swing my head back around to the front of the church, it’s too late.
Drew is standing there with a gun aimed right at me.
I hear an explosive noise go off, but I don’t feel anything at first.
I’m just on the floor suddenly, a hard blow knocking me down. When I hold my hands in front of my face, all I see is blood coating them.
My ears ring so loud I can barely tell up from down in the chaos of everyone screaming and the pounding feet fleeing to get away.
I’m still waiting to feel the pain. Expecting it. I sit up awkwardly, and the front of my gown is covered in red.
It’s then I see the body slumped in front of me.
“Isaak!”
I turn him on his back and scream to find his face pale and his breathing short as he clutches his side.
“No!” I scream.
He took a bullet for me.
He leaped in front of me and took the bullet.
My hands scramble across his torso, feeling for the wound. He’s wearing a black shirt, so it’s only when I see where his hands are clutching that I find where he was shot.
