Chapter 23

Sportacus stared at Gemma, who was laying motionless on the floor in front of him. He tried getting to her, but the two men on either side would pull him back if he inched forward.

Kim kept smirking. "Give me what I want and I will spare her life."

Sportacus gawked at Gemma hopelessly and Kim motioned for one man to do something. The man that was holding her kicked her in the stomach, making her cough and roll over onto her back.

"Stop!" Sportacus yelled.

Gemma coughed and looked at him with a tiny, weak smile. "Don't tell her anything."

Kim walked up to her and kicked Gemma herself, causing the poor woman to roll on her side in pain. Sportacus squirmed and tried to free himself.

"If you tell me what I want to know, I will let her go," Kim said, kicking Gemma again.

As Kim and her goon continued to beat up Gemma, there was one thing the wicked woman didn't know; Sportacus was filming the entire thing, and he had already notified the police.

Finally having enough, Sportacus made his move and slipped out of the two men's grip with an acrobatic move above their heads, using their bodies as leverage. The men were too shocked to respond fast enough to stop him from landing behind them. Sportacus grabbed their heads and slammed them together, knocking them out.

Kim ran behind her in fear he would do the same to her. Gemma rolled onto her stomach and raised herself up on all fours. Blood trickled down her temple and onto the floor. Sportacus knelt beside her and helped her stand.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking her face over.

She smiled a little and nodded. Her eyes suddenly grew wide, and it looked like she was looking through him. Everything that happened next happened so fast.

"Look out!" Gemma yelled, maneuvering in front of him as a loud pop went off.

When Gemma hit the floor, Sportacus saw Kim holding a gun, smoke rising from the barrel. He grabbed the nearest object and threw it at her, making the gun fly into the air and landing away from her. As Kim was about to make a move to grab it, fully armed officers filed in, holding up their guns and pointing it at Kim.

"You're under arrest!" one officer yelled, cuffing Kim's hands behind her back.

"I won't stop until you're dead, Sportacus!" she was yelling.

Just then, Stefan ran in, stopping halfway as Sportacus held Gemma's limp body in his arms.

"Sportacus?" Stefan asked, now kneeling next to his friend. "Is she…?"

He moved the hair from her face and brushed a tear off her cheek with shaky hands. She had her eyes tightly closed and her breathing was heavy.

"Gemma," Sportacus whispered. "Please be okay…"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him with glossy eyes. "You didn't tell her anything, did you?"

Sportacus shook his head. "I didn't tell her anything. I was recording everything and the police have arrested her."

Gemma sighed with a smile. "I'm glad… are you okay?"

Sportacus sniffed with a grin. "I will be if I know you're alright."

She nodded and sat up, but fell back down. Gemma coughed. The pain in her back made it hard for her to breathe. It felt as though a thousand needles had been shoved into her lower back and twisted around.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Stefan said.

Gemma's eyes watered. "Sportacus… I… I can't feel my legs."

He and Stefan exchanged glances. Fear and panic set in as Gemma just laid there in Sportacus' arms, unable to move. Everyone had a serious expression on their face.

"Calm down, Gemma," Stefan said, rubbing her arm. "We'll get this figured out."

An officer approached them curiously and was informed of what had happened. He immediately spoke into his radio that was attached to his chest and asked for an ambulance as soon as possible. Difficult emotions just flooded Gemma all at once as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. There was nothing she, or anyone there, could do to help her calm down.

Her breathing was rapid, her eyes glossy as tears leaked down her cheeks. She stared up at the ceiling, Stefan, Sportacus, and the police office hovering over her. The voice of Sportacus could faintly be heard.

"Calm down, Gemma. You're going to be okay," Sportacus was saying as paramedics swarmed trying to get her onto a gurney.

This was it. This was the day I'm going to die. At least his secret is safe. Gemma thought as her vision became blurry.

She coughed and took in shaky breathes. Her thought felt dry and her body felt cold. Death row. She never thought she'd go like this. With a bullet in her back. Tears trickled down her face as she felt the air looking for Sportacus' hands. If she was to die right now, she wanted him to hold her.

I feel so cold, Magnús… so cold.

"I'm here, Gemma," Sportacus said, grabbing her small cold hands as he sat next to her in the ambulance. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I-I'm scared… Sportacus," she admitted shakily. "I don't want to die… I have so much to do in life… so much to say to you…"

Sportacus forced a smile from underneath the worry. "Tell me everything when you get out of surgery."

He stroked her hair and made circles with his thumb on her hand. Fear tugged at his heart. Even though he was telling her she would be fine, he feared the worst. There was no exit wound from the bullet but where the entrance wound was, there was a lot of blood.

If he lost her, he didn't know what he would do. His heart was beating rapidly and his hands were shaky. He felt tears tickling his eyes as he watched the woman he loved lay there in pain and scared. And there wasn't anything he could do to help her.

He thought about this first time he had met her. She had seemed to have just arrived in Iceland and he was driving home from work when he saw a figure wandering around in the snow. Sportacus remembered he miserable state and how freezing she was so he had brought her to his house.

A part of him knew who she was in the first place. He just wanted to see if she'd be honest about it. This was also the first moment he started falling in love with her.

He felt a cold hand on his cheek after a tear had slipped down his face. He regained his focus and locked eyes with Gemma.

"Am I going to be okay?" she asked, a catch in her throat.

He managed a smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I'm sure the doctors will do everything they can to help you, Gemma."

"I'm glad you're safe," she whispered. "There's something I really need to tell you…"

"Please, tell me after…" he began but she caressed his cheek.

"N-no, I need to tell you now."

Gemma motioned for him to come closer and whispered in his ear. The words she said brought shivers up his spine and he grinned, planting a kiss on her cheek.