Page 104 of An Eye For Illusion

Dumbass number one exits the driver’s side and motions for dumbass number two to retrieve me like I’m a fucking dog. Tallboy follows his direction while mumbling under his breath. “Yeah sure, I can get him out of the car for you. No problem.” He shakes his head in annoyance as he yanks open the back door.

I’m careful to keep my hands together so he doesn’t notice I’m free. I quickly glance through the windshield and notice Shorty is about twenty feet ahead and heading toward a side entrance of the estate. He isn’t paying any attention to Tallboy or to me.

This is my chance. I need to work quickly because I won’t have much time before Vinny and more of his goons come after me. I’m sure he’s here, and he never travels alone.

There’s just one problem though. I have no fucking clue where they’re holding the ceremony. I don’t know if it’s outside in the garden or inside. I rack my brain to remember if Jade ever mentioned anything that could help me, but I come up empty. She never talked about the wedding details at all. Clearly, she was trying to block the whole thing from her mind.

Whatever direction I go, I have to be deliberate. I only have one chance to save her. I made her a fucking promise, and I plan to keep it. My adrenaline surges now as I prepare for what’s about to come.

My door opens wide, and Tallboy reaches in to grab me. I use his position to my advantage as I rear back and head butt him. The jolt dazes me for a second, but I shake it off and watch as my attack does more damage to him than it did me. He loses his balance a bit sideways, and I quickly reach out and grab his jacket before yanking him toward me.

He lands on me, his back to my front, and I use the perfect positioning to put him in a chokehold. His gasp is cut off as my forearm encircles his neck, and I violently pull back while using my free hand to hold my aching, bleeding wrist tight to apply as much pressure as I can.

My goal isn’t to kill him, but I will if I have to. I just want him to pass out quickly, but he won’t go without a fight. His hands grasp at my forearm, scratching and pulling to relieve the pressure, but it’s no use. I have shit to lose, which makes me desperate. He doesn’t. His legs thrash before he finally goes limp.

The maneuver took almost all the energy I had left, and at this point, I’m running on pure adrenaline. I shove him into the floorboard of the car and quickly look for Shorty. The side door to the estate is still open, but I don’t see him anywhere.

I slide out of the car and scan the area in front of me. I decide to head for the house, assuming it’s my best bet. The ceremony is supposed to be over at this point. My only hope is that Jade was successful in delaying it.

My feet carry me as fast as they can manage on little to no food or water. Right before I reach the doors, I hear cheering from the back of the house, and my heart drops for a moment before it races unrelentingly. She must be there. I’m so damn close.

“Yo! What the fuck is taking you so long?” I hear Shorty’s voice before I look back long enough to see him step out from around the house. His eyes zero in on the car. I left the car door open, and he seems puzzled as he walks toward it.

I creep toward the side of the house, heading for the porch. It’s large and wraps around each side so I hope it’ll lead me to where I think the cheering came from.

Just as I reach the corner, I hear a voice call out. “Stop right there, you fucker!”

I don’t hesitate. I break out into a full-on sprint as I head around the porch, praying the entire way that I’ve made it in time. My feet slide on the grass as I skid to a stop next to the aisle Jade walked down. My eyes dart up the aisle and land on her as she stands at the altar with her hands in Elliott’s. She looks breathtaking, but she’s standing there with the wrong fucking man.

“Jade.” Her name comes out loud and clear.

The sound of bodies shifting in their seats meet my ears as they look toward the sound of my voice in an otherwise silent ceremony. All their gazes land on me standing at the end of the aisle, bloody and bruised, but my eyes are locked on her.

Chapter 36

“Colin.” My voice is barely a whisper. Elliott curses under his breath as he releases my hands suddenly, but I don’t turn to acknowledge him. My eyes are locked on Colin; his face is battered and bloody, and his clothes are stained with dried blood.

I can only imagine what he’s been through, and from the looks of it, it was brutal. My heart and stomach drop at the same time, but he’s alive and here. I’m elated to see him, but that excitement is dampened by his appearance.

Without even thinking about it, I take a step down from the altar to go to him, but I’m quickly halted by the sound of a gunshot ringing out into the open air. The sound vibrates through my body and stills my heart. My body jerks from the sound just before another shot rings out closely behind the first.

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve heard gunshots in person, but this is different. This is jarring and confusing. I don’t understand what’s happening.

In an instant, I fall back, hitting the ground with a hard thud. Undiluted fear runs rampant in my veins. My breath is caught in my throat as my lungs seize. My father throws himself on top of me as the crowd screams and scatters in all directions.

It’s pure chaos.

My head is pushed down into the ground where my father is covering me, making it extremely hard to see anything but I strain my neck around my father’s body and my eyes frantically search for Colin, but I can’t find him anywhere. My heart races because I don’t know who shot at whom. The wedding guests run for safety in all directions, knocking over chairs in the process. There is little coverage for people to find. The ground is covered in debris as people fall over one another left and right. Chairs are broken and scattered all around the once beautiful space.

I finally think I find Colin after several, long, excruciating minutes of searching, but he’s on the ground and I can’t see enough to know if he’s okay. If he’s even moving. I push against my father so I can go to Colin, but my father doesn’t budge. “Daddy, I have to see if he’s okay!”

“No, stay down!” he orders, effectively holding me in place below him. The screams in the crowd ebb and flow as people try to figure out what the hell is actually going on and if there is still danger present.

His eyes scan the area to find the shooter but there’s too much going on to be able to tell. We stay like this for several long moments as my father refuses to move until we know it’s safe. I understand his fear, but mine is that Colin was the one who was shot. That heavily outweighs any fear I have for my own safety. I need to make sure he’s okay.

There is authoritative shouting over the sound of the chaos, but I can’t make out the words over the squeals of my terrified wedding guests. I hold my breath as I try to listen, but everything is still so muffled.

I finally hear clear commands coming from the back of the ceremony, towards where the house is.

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