His Redemption

Chapter Seventeen

Eva's pov

The grocery store was unusually quiet that evening. The store wasn't as busy as it always was.

Rain tapped softly against the windows while the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Evangeline stood near one of the aisles, carefully arranging bottles onto the shelf with her good hand. Her

injured arm rested rested in a sling while a white cast covered her wrist.

Her boss, Mrs hart refused to let her work today, saying she needed to allow her hand to heal but Eva insisted her hand was fine and Mrs hart couldn't find it in her to refuse Eva.

Eva's movements were slower today and

More careful. Mrs Hart told her if she wanted to work today then she had to go slow and not put too much pressure on her injured hand.

"You can take a brake," Brayden said as he approached her with a small smile.

Eva placed the bottle on the shelve and turned around, facing Brayden.

Brayden was Mrs Hart's grandson.

He used to live in Chicago with his parents but decided to move to New York to come live with his grandparents and to continue his studies to become a psychologist.

Brayden's a few years older than Eva. He was tall, with short blond hair and pale gray eyes. At first when he arrived to the store Eva was a little weary of him and tried to keep her distance.

But when she really got to know him and the kind of person he was she started to be more friendly.

I'm fine, Eva signed.

It was a surprise that Brayden could understand sign language and Eva was relieved he could understand her so she didn't have to keep texting on her phone every second.

"No, you're not," Brayden said as he carefully held her good arm and pulled her away from the aisle.

"You look exhausted and in a lot of pain. Why don't you call it a night?" he said softly.

Eva immediately shook her head lifting her hands to sign but before she could Brayden caught her arm gently.

"Fine if you don't want to but I insist you take a brake and have something to eat."

Eva rolled her eyes and nodded. "Wait at the break room I'll go grab you something to eat," he said and started walking.

The break room was tucked behind the stockroom, hidden away from the bright aisles and constant chatter of customers. The room was plain and worn down. A few plastic tables and mismatched chairs filled the cramped space, while an old refrigerator hummed loudly in the corner beside a stained microwave.

Eva sat on the chair and pulled out her phone, she noticed she recived a text from Soren an hour ago, asking her if she was okay and if she needed anything.

She smiled and began typing. After replying to his text and whilst waiting for Brayden to appear she went through her phone and suddenly stopped at Killian’s contact.

She hadn't seen him for the past three days. She was afraid if he was embarrassed of her after the way Bianca and Amanda degraded her infront of him at the diner.

But if he was embarrassed why would he send her a bunch of white roses along with a card?

She pulled out the card from her pocket and glanced at it.

To Evangeline. I sincerely apologize for what happened the other day at the diner and I hope we could meet again.

Killian.

A small faint smile appeared on her lips as her thumb traced the writing on the card.

Meanwhile

For a brief moment, everything seemed normal and peaceful. Then suddenly the front doors of the store burst open.

The sound slammed through the store violently.

Three men stormed inside dressed in dark suits raised their guns in the air.

“Get down!”

The first gunshot exploded through the air.

Eva froze, her eyes wide filled with panic.

What was that sound? She wandered.

Another shot tore through the shelves, cans and bottles exploding onto the floor while alarms began blaring throughout the store.

People dropped to the ground crying and screaming as the armed men fired into the ceiling and displays, sending debris raining everywhere.

"Where's the girl?" one of the men demanded, aiming the gun at Mrs Hart.

"Who are you looking for?" Brayden asked. His eyes were wide with panic.

"Don't act smart with us," the man sneered. "Where's Evangeline?"

"Sh-she's not here," Brayden stammered, he was trembling with fear.

The man smiled coldly at him, yanking Mrs Hart violently to him, locking his arm around her neck and shoved the gun against her forehead.

"You want to try again?" he asked, his fingers hovered against the trigger, twitching slightly.

Mrs Hart shook her head slightly at her grandson. "Don't," she mouthed.

Brayden's hands trembled at his sides while his heart pounded so loudly it drowned out everything else.

"We don't have all f*****g day!" the shorter man snapped.

"It's either you hand over the girl to us or she dies," the larger one threatened, tightening his grip around Mrs Hart's neck.

“Please!” the old woman’s voice cried. "Leave her."

Bang.

The gun exploded with a deafening crack, the sound ripping through the air like thunder.

Mrs Hart let out a sharp cry as she fell hard against the floor.

"She's in the brake room," Brayden said, rushing toward his grandmother.

Eva froze when she heard the door knob rattle. She glanced around the room, looking for a place to hide but she found none.

She jumped, startled when the door slammed against the wall with a violent bang, the hinges rattling from the force.

Her entire body trembled as she saw a man clad in a black suit storm into the brake room with a gun in his hand.

“There she is," he grinned as he grabbed her injured wrist, hauling her to her feet and dragging out onto the aisle.

She struggled, trying to pull away, but the man tightened his grip painfully around her injured wrist.

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Please!” Brayden's voice cried from nearby.

"Please," he begged tears streaming down his face.

"Please don't let her die, she needs help."

"You can do that when we're gone," one of the men said, smirking.

As Eva was dragged to the front of the store she completely froze.

Her eyes widened in horror seeing her boss lay on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. The old woman was unconscious and bleeding profusely on the ground.

Panic rose in her chest as she attempted

To pull free and ran toward the old woman but the man's fingers dug deeper into her skin.

A broken, silent sob escaped her as she stared at the woman lying motionless on the ground.

Brayden appeared infront of them, blocking their way despite the chaos and fear written all over his face.

"Where are you taking her?" he asked with a shaky whisper.

The man holding Eva clenched his jaw as he glared at Brayden.

"Get out of the f*****g way or else I'll put a bullet through your head," he said, his voice cracked like thunder through the store.

Brayden swallowed, quickly moving out of their way.

“Move,” the man barked, yanking Evangeline violently forward.

She stumbled, tears pouring uncontrollably now, her body shaking so hard she could barely stand. The pain in her hand intensified.

The store around her had become a nightmare—broken glass, overturned shelves and frightened screams echoing everywhere.

The men dragged her outside into the pouring rain.

A black SUV waited by the curb.

One of the men shoved her into the backseat while another climbed in beside her, gun pressed against his leg.

The doors slammed shut and the vehicle sped away into the storm.