Emily’s POV
“Jason?”
His name rolled from my lips like forbidden words, like a prayer I should not utter, like a curse that should never pass my tongue. My voice cracked slightly, a betraying tremor that revealed the storm swirling inside me. I did not know how to feel in that moment. Relief and terror twisted together inside me like barbed wire. I was glad he was alive, but also horrified that he was standing here, in this room, at this exact moment, holding a gun to Chris’s head.
My heart thumped so violently against my ribs that I thought it might c***k them. Each beat echoed in my ears like a drum, drowning out every other sound. My body refused to move, frozen between flight and surrender. Chris’s eyes stayed fixed on me, wide with confusion and fear, yet his gaze lacked the depth
