on him, and in the next he had his hand around Emerson’s wrist, trying to squeeze so hard that the man had no choice but to drop the gun.
But Emerson was stronger than he looked, and the two appeared to be in an evenly matched battle, each struggling to gain dominance over the other.
“Gigi, let’s go. It’s what Sebastian wants,” Hope said in her ear, trying to pull her away out of the range of the gun.
“No. I’m not leaving him.”
“Son of a… all right. I’m not leaving you, either, so let’s do this,” Hope said as she grabbed both of Gigi’s hands and started to chant a ritual designed to manifest rain.
“Rain?” Gigi asked.
“Trust me,” she said and went back to chanting. Gigi immediately joined in, and something strange happened. Her hands started to glow with magic just as they had when she’d been wearing her mother’s ring.
Hope jumped back, wincing in pain just as Gigi lunged at Emerson, unleashing all of her magic on the man who’d spent the last two days torturing her and Sebastian. His body went rigid and the gun fired. Emerson and Sebastian both crumpled to the ground. Gigi went with them, her hands still grasping Emerson. His body twitched, and he tried helplessly to dislodge himself from her grip, but the magic was too powerful.
Gigi got on her knees and stared down into the old man’s eyes, watching as the light slowly drained from them. “You know all those people you fleeced when they were on their death beds? This is for them, you evil piece of garbage.” She unleashed as much of the magic as she could muster, reveling in the act of ending the man who had taken her mother from her.
“Gigi, stop,” Sebastian said, his voice distant to her ears. So distant that she didn’t even acknowledge him.
“Don’t become what he is, love. Please,” Sebastian said. “Look at me. I need you to look at me.” The waning strength in his words were finally what got her to shift her gaze to the man lying a foot away from them.
“Don’t let him make you into something you’re not,” Sebastian said, his breathing haggard and thready.
Gigi finally took a good look at him and spotted Hope trying to staunch a blood stain on his chest. He’d been shot when she’d attacked Emerson. “Oh my god, Sebastian. No. God no.” Tears streamed down her face as she watched his skin go pale in the sunlight.
He reached out and touched her face. “I have always loved you.”
It was a goodbye. He was leaving her. And there was nothing she could do… or was there? Gigi turned her attention back to Emerson’s lifeless body. He was still breathing, but he wasn’t conscious. At least he wouldn’t be putting up a fight. She frantically searched for the ring she knew he kept in his right pocket. It was always the same. Front right pocket. And sure enough, as soon as she stuffed her hand in the right pocket, her fingers closed around it.
Without wasting any time, Gigi shoved the ring on her right ring finger, exactly where her mother had worn it, and then she placed her hands on Sebastian’s chest. She had no idea how to do this, but she would not lose him without a fight.
Gigi closed her eyes, thought of her mother, and prayed for guidance.
Pour your love into the magic, Clarity. It will be all right. Just let the energy flow from you to Sebastian. That’s it. You’ve got it. Now, let go.
Gigi didn’t know she was sobbing until she opened her blurry eyes and saw a fuzzy, but smiling Sebastian right in front of her. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “This shouldn’t have—”
“Shh.” He placed a hand over hers. “No apologies. You saved me. You saved us all.”
“I think it’s the other way around, but we can argue about that later,” she said and bent over to kiss him softly on the lips. “I love you.”
His eyes fluttered closed as he whispered, “I love you, too.”
Sirens wailed in the background, and it was music to her ears. She glanced at Hope. “Will you stay with him? I’m going to go find Grace and Joy.”
“We’re right here, Gigi,” Grace said from behind her. When Gigi twisted her head, she found her two friends with a man who looked just as haggard at they did. “We found Gage, Sebastian’s PI, too. They had him locked up in a shitty room with nothing,