Part 29

[Present]

They all watched as he hugged her body and tried to shake her back to life. His voice now hoarse from all the screaming, he whispered gently to her. "Hey Lara, I am here. I love you. Wake up, my love. We will always be together. Nothing can ever keep us apart, right?"

Everyone watched his actions in utter silence. The scene unfolding before them was too painful to watch. Although knowing they were both worse criminals than they'd ever have encountered or heard of - even while thinking of the number of murders these two had committed - none of them could not bring themselves to feel indifferent about this situation.

His eyes teared up and a drop landed on her arm. When he finally realized that her body had gone limp he sat there in shock for a few moments. He did not move but the men still had all their guns poised on him.

"You guys killed her," he whispered and finally turned to face the men in front of him with their guns pointed. "She never did anything to you. She was... She was so nice but... But YOU FUCKING KILLED HER!" his last words came out in so loud a scream that some of the cops in front actually covered their ears. "I will make you pay, all of you."

Lucien felt an eerie sense of calm all of a sudden. He recalled how he had Jack set up bombs all around this place so that when he safely got Lara outside they could blow the place up with Alden inside.

"Ah so this is how it ends?" he turned to face the cops. "She died? Well, since she died... all of you are going to die as well. With us."

It took them all a split second to realize what he meant. But by then, it had been a second too late.

"The place has blown up into flames," Jack informed Lucien who sat in his car, cradling Lara's head in his lap.

Jacks cold black eyes swept once over Luciens form.

"Thank you."

Jacks eyes widened. Lucien doesn't feel gratitude.

Her last words echoed repeatedly in Luciens head. He picked up her body and gently carried it down the flight of stairs.

All she wanted was to save me.

"We will be home in no time," he told her and smiled, knowing she must have heard her in her dreams. After all, she was just sleeping.

He drove her back to his house and carried her into their bedroom. He laid her on the bed and then laid down beside her quietly for sometime.

"You know when I was young, my mother often told me I was different," he chuckled at the distant memory. "She said unlike other kids it was hard for me to get along. And it was hard for me to accept love."

He touched her thin, cold hand and traced his fingers down the side of her face slowly. "You're so cold, Lara. I will warm you up right now." He reached over to the bedside table and took out a matchbox.

He lit a match and threw it towards the door. The match extinguished and he got annoyed. "Not warm enough," he commented aloud to no one in particular and then began lighting up all the matches in the matchbox and throwing them in every direction of the room.

When that didn't work either he got up and went to the kitchen. He took out all the alcohol and carried it throughout his house, spilling them out on the floor, lighting them on fire as he made his way up to the bedroom.

Once in, he did the same thing there.

Within seconds as the curtains and the carpet caught on fire, he smiled, satisfied with his work. "You would be so much warmer now. But wait- I am not cold yet, am I?"

He laid down beside her body once again and then hugged her with one hand while with the other he took out his gun from his pocket. It had only one remaining bullet in it and he knew how to make the best use of it. "Only when I'm as cold as you would I be able to really enjoy the warmth, isn't that right?"

He looked at her one last time, her pale features beautiful in the flames of the burning fire around them.

He closed his eyes and placed the gun on his temple.

He started crying as his hand shook. He was scared. He was so scared, he didn't want to die. "Shh, it will all be okay..." he told himself. "It will be fine... I will see her once again."

He made up his mind as he pulled the trigger.

After all, as scared as he was of death, at least he knew for certain that a world without her was scarier.