CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO, MY PROBIE

a/n : If you've watched The Rookie, they'll probably be some scenes you recognize from 2x11, Day of Death

━━━━━━━━━━

"No. Absolutely not."

Wren softly scoffs, "Dr. Martin, listen—"

"I have a doctor-patient confidentiality, Wren." Sai crosses his arms. "And that goes for anyone. Whether you're police or not."

Wren's frustration slowly inclines. Romero and Athena didn't find anything new on Tom. They even talked to his parents and they hadn't heard of Tom meeting anyone new recently. They had contacted Wren before she talked to Elijah. He didn't have any idea who Emery could've met. But once he saw the worry across Wren's face, he instantly told her that he would turn the apartment upside down; finding anything that could help.

Wren was left with asking Emery's therapist about any information at all. But he was standing 10 toes down on his doctor-patient confidentiality policy.

And Wren didn't have the time to argue with him anymore.

"Listen, I can either grant a search warrant or you can make this easy for me."

Dr. Martin pulls his brows together from the urgency in Wren's voice. It causes his back to straighten. "What's going on?"

Wren knows she shouldn't tell a lot of people. Of course, they had let Tom and Emery's families know. They didn't want a lot of people to know. Once they gain a crowd over this, they would probably push the Firesnatcher further away with Emery and Tom.

But if this could help her find Emery quicker, Wren was going to do everything she had to for that girl.

"Emery and Thomas were taken while on a call."

"What?"

"Yes, and we figured it would be someone that they had just recently met." Wren runs a hand over her sleek bun, hoping to ease any negative emotions she has. It didn't work.

"Tom hasn't contacted anyone new so the only choice we have is Emery. And Emery has told me how amazing you are at just listening to her and helping her when she needs it. So, I really need your help." Wren's voice shakes. "Dr. Martin, this could be a good lead for us. So, if you have anything—"

"Joe."

Wren stops her plea. "What? Who's Joe?"

"She met him at the bar for Chimney's birthday."

"The bar..." Wren trails off her words. She remembered that night. And she remembers she caught a glimpse of the guy Emery was talking to at the bar for a moment. Wren tangles a hand in her hair, "I saw him." she looks at Dr. Martin. "I know who took--"

Wren's walkie-clicks. "Marshall?"

Wren softly curses, but she grabs her walkie and speaks into it. "This is (WHATEVER HER BADGE NUMBER IS--I HAVE TO GO BACK AND FIND IT FUUUUUCK)."

"We're meeting back at the station for the debriefing. You got anything new?"

Wren glances at Dr. Martin before speaking again. "Yeah, I know who took Emery and Tom. I'm heading back to you guys now."

"That's a copy."

Wren clips her walkie back on her waist and looks at Dr. Martin. "Is there anything else you can tell me about Joe?"

Dr. Martin walks over to his file cabinet and pulls the drawer open. Wren watches over his shoulder as he pulls out a file with 'Emerson Sharpe' labeled on it. Dr. Martin places it on the table and opens it. Wren keeps her arms folded. No matter how nervous and impatient she was feeling, Wren knew that the doctor needed a minute to look over his information. So, she stood there silently.

"Joe Thornton." Dr. Martin speaks.

Wren pushes herself off the wall and walks over to him. She stands beside the doctor with her eyes on the side of his face. "May I?"

Dr. Martin looks down at the file. He nods his head and motions to the file. "Anything to help her."

Wren grabs the file and looks over it. "Even if he said his name was Joe Thornton, he could've been lying."

"True, but there also could be some truth to it."

Wren quickly looks at the counselor. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe he knows someone with the last name Thornton..." Dr. Sai suggests.

Wren keeps her brows pulled together. She slowly nods her head, "or he might've even taken someone's identity." Her eyes connect with his. "Okay, uh...I have to go. But, thank you so much for everything."

"Wren, if you need anything else, let me know." Dr. Martin urges. "And when you find them—"

"I'll call you." Wren nods her head. She then chuckles, "I will add you to the very long list of people I need to call after I get them back to us."

...

"His name is Joseph Wright."

Wren pulls her eyes away from the corkboard that was filled with information and looks at the crowd of officers. Once Athena and Wren got as much information and sorted through it, they decided to present a debriefing to the department. Athena insisted on Wren taking the lead on it. Wren thought she was going to be more nervous than she was, but her mind stayed stuck to the search for Emery and Tom. Presenting in front of her peers was the least of her worries.

"Sergeant Grant and I had found information revealing that he had been using an alias when interacting with Firefighter Sharpe. Joe Thornton."

"There was a camera outside of the abandoned warehouse, it didn't give us much. But it showed that Joe has taken Emerson and Tom in a Semi truck."

"That doesn't help minimize the search." One of the officers states.

Wren moves her head from one side to the other. "Very true. That's why we're hoping to get a clearer shot of the license plate. That should take about an hour."

"The process Joe puts his victims through is a bit...graphic." Wren glances at Athena. The Sergeant gives the girl a small encouraging nod. "The first 24 hours, he'll torture his victims," Wren states. "Then the second 24 hours is when he'll find a secluded area to bury the victims." she points at the picture of the barrel. "He seals them in one of these. No way out and just suffering."

"In our past searches for any of the victims, we've never gotten there in time." Wren swipes her tongue across her lower lip. Athena watches as Wren's entire body tenses.

"We have to find them." Wren looks back at Athena. "I don't care if we have to tear this entire city apart sergeant--"

"Wren."

The brunette inhales her worried spew and closes her mouth. Athena's mouth twitches. "We are going to do everything in our power to get them back. I promise you that."

Wren nods her head. Movement catches her eye and she shifts her gaze to the group behind Athena. The officer's jaw goes slack, "What the hell?"

Athena turns her head and she deadpans. "What happened to you guys going back to the station?"

Bobby shrugs, "We went back. But we couldn't pretend like part of our team wasn't in trouble."

"The station isn't unattended, is it?" Athena asks.

Hen shakes her head, "The B-shift volunteered to take over for us until we help get Tom and Emery back."

Wren shifts her eyes to Eddie and Buck. The girl then looks at Athena, "We could use them." she softly speaks. "They could help."

"I've seen him."

Everyone turns their gaze to Buck, who is staring at the corkboard. His storm-blue eyes practically burn holes in the picture of Joe. "He was at the bar that night. Emery was talking to him."

Wren's hands squeeze her arms. Hard. She could feel Buck's anger and guilt begin to grow. He was standing right there next to this guy. He saw Emery and Joe talking that night.

"He's the one who took them?" Buck turns back to the group. "He took her?!"

Wren shifts her eyes to the ground. Athena walks toward Buck, "Yes. That night he met her, he was looking for his next victim." her eyes saddened. "And he took an interest in Emery."

Buck shakes his head and looks away from the group. His eyes trailed back to the corkboard and his heart was racing. All the information about how Joe killed his victims. It made Buck physically ill thinking about Emery in that barrel. And not being able to find her? Stop it, they're going to be okay.

"Wren and I were just going to track down more leads."

"We'll go too."

Athena looks at Buck, "Listen, Buck. Just because you guys are here now, doesn't mean we can have you out there doing our jobs."

"Okay, then what can we do?" Eddie asks.

Wren scratches the side of her neck. She looks around and her eyes land on the corkboard. Her almond brown eyes land on the barrel and a lump forms in her throat. "Did you guys come here in your rig?" she looks at the Captain of 118.

Bobby gives her a nod, "Yeah, and the ambulance."

Wren gnaws on her lower lip. "Okay, well...right now. You guys can't do anything for us."

"Wren--"

"Look. I'm sorry, okay?" Wren genuinely speaks. "Right now, what you guys can do is wait here. But, when we do need you guys," she makes sure she looks at each member of the 118. She wanted them to know that even if she didn't need them now, they would be detrimental to finding Emerson. "and we will need you; we'll let you know."

Wren scratches the back of her hand. "Emerson and Tom will need medical attention. Not only that, if we need to cover more ground to find where they're buried...we'll need the fire engine."

All the firefighters tense at her words. Wren was so sure that Emery and Tom would be hurt or already in the barrel by the time they found them.

"Wren?"

The brunette turns to Buck. He was holding the picture of Emery in his hands and from how much the picture was shaking, Wren knew that Buck was barely holding on. Buck lifts his head, his teary blue eyes meet her face. "Find them, please."

Wren's jaw clenches and she slightly tilts her chin up. There were so many people counting on her. Including the two firefighters that were in The Firesnatcher's grasp right now. Wren wasn't going to let them down. She couldn't. She wasn't there when Helena died. She wasn't there to help Emery get through that. There was no chance in Hell, she was going to let anyone down this time.

Wren gives Buck a firm nod, "I will."

☆

"How..."

Tom trails off his words. "I mean, I know how he does it," he softly speaks, the fear embedded in his voice. "everyone that keeps up with the news knows how he does it. But..."

Emery pinches the back of her hand, hoping that could distract her from any tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

"How long does it take?"

Emery inhales a breath. Amaya always had a deep fear that Emery would be taken by "The Firesnatcher". Emery never took it seriously, until Amaya wasn't there to remind her to be safe anymore.

"48 hours." Emery exhales. "During the first 24 hours, normally; he's already found a location to start the torture."

"He must be driving to a more far-off location, then..." Tom softly replies.

Emery nods her head, her heart sinking. "Yeah."

Tom could hear the hopelessness in her voice. "I'm sorry for asking."

"You have every right to ask." Emery huffs. "I mean, we're in this mess. We might as well know everything we need to know."

Silence settles in the truck and Emery tilts her head to the ceiling, watching the dim yellow light swing back and forth.

"Are you in love with Buck?"

Emery snaps her eyes over to Tom. He had an entertained smile on his lips and it caused a soft laugh of shock to escape Emery's lips. "I wasn't expecting that..." she wipes her eyes. "Why are you asking me this, right now?"

Tom shrugs, "Distraction."

Emery slightly opens her mouth and nods her head. "Oh...okay." she sucks in a breath and a small smile forms on her lips. "No, I'm not in love with Buck."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously." Emery rolls her eyes playfully. "But...he had the potential for me to be...head over heels in love with him."

Tom pulls his brows together, "Had?"

Emery shrugs, "Yeah. We kind of started becoming friends again after the hostage situation at dispatch." she exhales through her nose. "It's nice being cordial with him."

Tom softly laughs which causes Emery to furrow her brows.

"What?"

Tom continues to laugh and Emery couldn't stop her own laughter this time. "What is it?"

"I just...I can't believe you and Buck ever had anything to begin with." Tom quiets his laughter. "I remember you guys hating each other."

Emery laughs. Just thinking about her past hatred for Buck felt so foreign to her. "You know the reason...I hated him so much was because of how much he reminded me of myself." She shrugs a shoulder. "Before Helena."

"I guess I was...upset I couldn't go back to such an at-ease mindset." Emery inhales. "Because I knew I changed and made everyone's lives more difficult."

Tom slowly nods his head, understanding. "Then the new guy comes in 'stealing the show'."

Emery clicks her tongue and nods her head. "Yeah." She then scoffs. "It didn't help that he flirted with me on his first day."

Tom laughs once again and Emery joins him. "Yeah, that sounds like Buck."

"Buck 1.0." She snorts. "God, only he could say something like that and make it sound appealing."

Emery then pulls her brows together. "You know what? I'm sure you could make it sound appealing too." she looks at Tom. "With your puppy dogness."

Tom softly snorts, "Thank you...I think."

"You're welcome...I think."

Tom looks at the lightbulb hanging above them and his eyes sadden. "Hey, Emery?"

Emery softly hums, letting Tom know she's listening.

"If I don't...make it—"

Emery looks down at her nails and a small "MnMn" comes from her. "You can't think like that."

"But, what if—"

"Promise me you won't bring this up again?" Emery whispers. "You're not dying."

Tom falls silent once again. "Okay, Em...I promise."

A breath of relief escapes her lips and she looks back down at her nails once again.

...

Wren and Athena had pulled over a vehicle that was owned by their lead. They couldn't find the person Joe stole his last name from, so they found the next person who knew him.

The brunette quickly leaves the squad car and stalks toward the vehicle with a determination that causes Athena to tense.

The man rolls his car window down. "Problem, officer—"

Wren grabs the back of the man's head and slams his face against the steering wheel. Athena's eyes widen, "Marshall!"

"Listen to every fucking word I say." Wren's tone was low. "Your name is Emmanuel Cortez. You're a low-level moron who is friends with a 'Chandler Thornton'. And that Chandler Thornton knows someone who took two of my friends. And their lives are in jeopardy."

Wren presses his face more against the steering wheel, forcing him to groan. "And I will do whatever I have to in order to save them. You understand?"

"Marshall, stand down." Athena orders.

"Where is Chandler Thornton?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Emmanuel bites.

Wren clenches her jaw, "If you don't, I will make it my life's mission to make yours miserable."

The man's skin falls cold from the threatening fire lacing her voice. She wasn't backing down. Not even her sergeant could pull her back into reality.

"Okay—Okay! I'll tell you where he is."

Wren leans closer to the man which causes his breathing to hitch.

"Talk."

Athena and Wren make their way back to the squad car with the information they have now. "You know, that's not the way to do things, right?"

"Even with our friends in danger?"

"Especially then—Wren, listen to me." Athena stands in front of Wren, stopping the brunette in her tracks. "If you make noise—unnecessary noise. The chief will pull us from this."

Wren tenses and her eyes shift to the ground.

"You've got to get a hold of yourself, all right?"

Wren snaps his eyes back over to Athena and pulls her brows together. "If the chief pulls me, I would still be searching high and low for Emery and Tom."

"Nothing's going to stop me, Sergeant."

Athena squints her eyes. "Get in the car, Marshall." Her tone was firm. She understood Wren's anger and frustration. But it seemed like she was channeling her anger into the wrong things.

The two officers had to make their way to the location where Chandler Thornton was living.

They were rounding a house, following the S.W.A.T. members into the house. S.W.A.T. knocked down the door, scaring the man off his couch. He springs through the house. "Got one!" One of the S.W.A.T. members raises their beanbag shotgun and fires it.

The beanbag hits the man in the back and he crumbles to the ground.

"One down!"

The S.W.A.T. members spread throughout the house, searching for more civilians.

"Clear!"

Wren pulls her gun out of her holster and runs into the house. Athena curses from Wren's sudden reaction. The brunette crouches beside the man. "Get up!" She grabs the man's arm and turns him onto his back. "Where is Joe?!" Wren snaps.

"Wh-what?—Who?"

Wren grits her teeth. "Your name is Chandler Thornton. You know Joseph Wright, correct?!"

"N-No! I don't know a Joseph Wright!"

Athena tilts her head, "Do you work at the tech building on Suncrest Boulevard?"

"No, I've been on disability." Chandler grunts as he sits himself up.

"DOC states otherwise." Wren sneers. Chandler snaps his eyes over to the brunette. "You've been working at that tech building for the last 3 years."

Chandler pulls his brows together. But within a few seconds, his face drops. "My identity was stolen a few years ago."

Wren's eyes widen, she turns her head and makes eye contact with Athena. The brunette shakes her head, "But that makes no sense...he only decided to take your last name?"

"Mixes things up." Athena states. "Makes it a lot harder to figure out who we're tracking down."

Wren's anger grip loosens on Chandler's shirt and a small breath escapes her lips.

Chandler's eyes shift to Wren then Athena. "Wait, is this about those firefighters that were taken?"

Wren looks back at Chandler which causes him to tense. "Yeah...and you were our last chance at finding them." She stands up and stalks out of the house. Athena quickly follows suit, not happy with the way she handled things.

"Shit!" Wren kicks over the trash can.

"Marshall!"

Wren clenches her teeth, forcing her words down. She turns to Athena, "Sergeant, I'm sorry, all right? But I thought he was lying!—"

"You're done."

Wren pulls her brows together, "What?"

"You're off this case." Athena shakes her head.

"N-No—No." Wren wasn't begging. She was telling.

"You are way too close to this," Athena states. "Get back to the station and report all the information you have." She walks toward her squad car.

Wren clenches her jaw harder than before. Her vision starts to blur with suppressed tears. There was no way she was going to stop looking for her friends just because someone told her to. She didn't even care if it was Athena. Wren follows after Athena. As the Sergeant opens her car door, Wren places a hand against it forcing the door to shut.

"With all due respect, Sergeant. But that's bullshit and you know it."

Athena squints her eyes, "Excuse me?"

This was Wren's first time taking a stand and keeping a strong stance on a decision of hers. Wren has always been known as the girl who couldn't commit. So, when she told her friends and family she was moving to LA to become a cop, they gave her 3 months before she got bored and moved onto something else.

But here she was. A year later, now a deputy yelling at her former training officer. Wren had become the woman her family and friends could be proud of. She was proud of herself. And so was Athena.

"Ma'am, we are all too close to this." Wren exhales. "Emery and Tom are our friends—our family. We're all losing our minds not having any leads. You're not admitting it right now, but I know you're worried too."

Athena's jaw clenches.

"And that's okay. I would be mad if you weren't worried." Wren forces a dry chuckle out. "But us being scared, angry, and worried about them. That's what's going to motivate us to keep going. That's what's motivating me." She swallows. "Whether you kick me off this case or not...I'll still be looking for them. With or without you."

Athena stays silent for a moment and keeps her eyes on Wren's determined ones. Wren wasn't going to stop looking for Emerson and Tom. And the woman couldn't even be mad at that. If anything, she was proud of the girl.

"All right, get back in the car—but do not hit any more people." Athena points in the woman's face.

Wren sucks in a breath and holds it. "No promises." She tries to joke it off.

Athena squints her eyes, her expression hard. Wren's body tenses, "Okay—I promise."

☆

The truck's back door opens in a hurry.

It forced Tom and Emery to already have their guards up. Joe rushes into the truck and closes the door shut. The light was already on, so it made the situation move a lot quicker. "The news...did you see?"

Emery and Tom look at each other. Tom softly scoffs, but Emery gives him a look that tells him to keep quiet. The girl shifts her soft eyes over to Joe. "We haven't really...had the chance to do that. What's going on?"

"They sent out an APB on me." Joe lets out a soft chuckle. "Everyone knows who I am now." His soft chuckle then becomes a loud scream of frustration. Emery flinched and Tom tenses.

"This isn't how it's supposed to go..." Joe paced back and forth. "We were supposed to make it to our destination before they revealed my identity to anyone."

"Your behind schedule?" Emery softly asks. "I'm sorry, that must be stressful."

Joe softly scoffs, "You have no idea." He runs a hand through his brown curls.

"Maybe you're not so clever after all..."

Emery tenses from the soft murmur that left Tom's lips.

Joe's neck twitches and a small chuckle escapes his lips. His charm being insulted was one thing. But his intelligence? That's one thing Joe wouldn't stand for. Joe reaches behind his back and pulls the Bowie knife from its sheath. Emery felt her throat go dry to the point she didn't even know if she would be able to speak. He turns to Tom and Emery's heart drops into her stomach. She was going to be sick.

"Listen to me—"

The man points the knife at her probie and Emery shakes her head. "No. No." She quickly stumbled onto her feet and stands in front of Joe.

Emery wanted to lay low. She didn't want to antagonize Joe. But if Joe had his sights set on Tom. The girl was going to do everything in her power to keep Joe away from him.

Emery keeps her hands up in a nonviolent manner, with her breathing steady.

"You point it at me, all right? Point it at me."

Joe tilts his head and smirks. He was amazed by Emery's bravery.

"Why should I? He's the one pissing me off." Joe's eyes trail behind Emery and land on Tom. "Mr. Firefighter thinks he's so cool..."

"You're not getting out of this, Joe." Emery states.

Joe freezes for a moment and silence settles in the truck.

"What?" Joe looks at Emery his knife now pointed at her.

Emery's entire body was still and her voice was firm. She wasn't going to show that she was terrified. Not when she knew Tom was right behind her.

"Tom...he's a probie. He's a nobody." Emery lets out a chuckle. "But me? I was Captain. And the police that are most likely looking for us? They know me—obviously. And one specifically? She's kind of a big deal in the department." Emery shrugs. "And I'm a big deal to her."

"Plus there's Wren. You remember Wren, right?" Emery tilts her head which causes Joe's jaw to clench. The girl's eyes travel across his tense body and she nods her head. "Yeah, you remember her. She's probably kicking fucking doors down looking for me, right now."

"So, if you want a hostage. If you want to get out of this alive? You're gonna let him go and keep me." Emery holds her arms out. "That's what I'd do."

"And why would I do anything you'd advise?"

Emery squints her eyes, "Because I'm a genius. Obviously."

Joe takes a step closer to the girl. "Are you afraid to die, Emerson?"

Yes.

"No." Her tone was firm.

"Do you want to die?" The knife was now against her chest.

Emery's body constricts from the pressure of the blade against her navy blue work long sleeve. "I don't know." She softly speaks.

Joe keeps his eyes on Emerson's. A silent tension fills the truck. Tom kept his eyes glued to Joe, ready to move if Joe tried to hurt Emery. "That might be the first thing you've said to me all day that was true." He brushes past her and walks toward the truck door.

Emery lets out a quiet breath of relief and her entire body feels like Jell-O.

"You know what?" Joe clicks his tongue. "You're right, Emery..." he reaches behind his back. "As usual you are right." His eyes connect with Emery's and she pulls her brows together from the playful glint in his eyes.

"I do only need just one of you."

It shook her entire body first to the point she fell to the truck floor. Emery hadn't seen when Joe pulled the gun out. She certainly hadn't seen him fire it. Her ears began to ring from the gunshot and her brain caught up to her body and began to rattle against her skull. Her hands were already over her ears had flown over her ears.

Her vision was blurry and all she could see was the blurry lightbulb swaying back and forth. The only thing heard was was a muffled thud. Emery inhales a shaky breath, she squeezes her eyes shut and opens them again. She rubs at her eyes, pushing the blurriness out from them. There was a muffled voice, but she couldn't make it out.

Emery's vision begins to clear and she forces herself to sit up. The firefighter looks around the van and her eyes snap over to the man lying on his back with blood spilling from his body.

"No, no, no, no—No!" Emery presses her hands against the floor of the van and her body starts to feel weak. She crawls over to her Probie with tears of panic blurring her vision.

"T-T..." Emery could barely get out his name. Small gurgles come from Tom. He tried to speak, but it ended up sounding like he was choking on his blood.

"If he lives, he lives." Joe looks down at his gun. "You're a firefighter, right? Save him."

"Tom, hey—"

The truck door slams shut and she curses from being swallowed in the dark. When did he turn the light off? The only light there is for her to use, was the crack from the truck's door. "Come on, Probie. Let me look at you." She hooks her arms underneath Tom's arms and pulls him over to the light. Tom lets out a gurgle scream and Emery's eyes feel teary.

"I know, I know—I'm sorry." Emery shakily whispers. She gently lays him back on the floor and rips the hem of her shirt off. She rolls Tom's shirt up, revealing the gunshot wound in his abdomen. Her heart drops into her stomach and she presses the shirt against the wound, which makes him scream.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm gonna try the best I can, all right?" Despite the shakiness in her voice, Emery lets out a reassuring chuckle. "I'm not Hen and Chimney. But I can...I can do this, all right?"

Even though it was dark, Tom could make out the silhouette of Emery's face. It still made him feel warm.

"Em—"

"Don't talk. You've gotta conserve your energy." Emery states.

"Emerson."

Emery's jaw clenches, "What?"

"I don't think—"

"Whatever you're going to say. Don't say it." Emery snaps. "You are—you're going to make it." She nods her head. "You have someone to get back to. You've got your mom, dad—Dylan. You've got to fight."

"You're not a paramedic."

Emery then softly huffs, "Way to rub it in." She sniffles. "I have enough experience on the job to save you. I'm gonna...I'm gonna save you—"

"I have things to say—"

"No, Probie." She growls. The blood bleeds through the piece of fabric and soaks her hands. Emery's breathing quickens.

"That sick son of a bitch..." Emery could feel her desperation and anger crawling through her body and embedding in her brain. "He knows who we are. He knows that you have a kid and he still—YOU SON OF A BITCH—"

"Emerson, just shut for a second!"

Emery forces her words short and she looks back down at Tom.

"My kid, Dylan. He deserves to be happy." Tom says, his voice begins to shake.

Emery looks off to the side. Tom takes her hand, the feeling of his blood on both of their hands. "That's all I want for him."

"I know." Emery whispers.

Tom would always spend any second he could talking about Dylan. It was something Emery admired so much about him. His love for others.

"And that's...that's with you."

Emery pulls her brows together and she looks back at him. "What?—No, Tom. You can't do that."

"I don't know anybody else who could give him that happiness, Em." Tom weakly speaks, his words blending together.

"His grandparents."

Tom forces out a laugh and begins to cough. "My parents would never give him what would make him feel free. Just things that'll make him...perfect."

Emery's chest tightens. Tom knew that Emery knew what kind of life that was. Which is exactly why he used that word.

Emery inhales a shaky breath and tears slip out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is a lot for you." Tom whispers. "And after Amaya and your dad—"

"Don't worry about that." Emery gently squeezes his hand. "You just focus on giving me your wishes." Her tone was shaky but firm.

Tom manages a small smile. "You...you were always so kind to me. Even when you didn't have to be."

Emery sniffles, "I told you, you're my soft spot...you're my probie." She touches his hair and softly chuckles.

Tom weakly laughs, "I was...I am in love with you."

Emery's heart jumps into her throat and her stomach turns. Tom was in love with...her? And she didn't notice? The only reason he confessed was because he knew he wasn't going to make it. Her heart begins to sink with guilt. Emery shakes her head and tears roll down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Thomas. I'm sorry, I didn't notice."

Tom chuckles, "Don't apologize...I kind of knew it was never going to happen." His eyes start to grow heavy.

Like he knew his words would have a double meaning, he spoke with tears in his eyes and that damn puppy dog smile that did make anyone's heart melt. But right now, all it did was make Emery cry harder.

"It's not your fault."

Emery pinches her brows together. For a moment, Emery thought she could save him. She thought she could get Thomas back home to his life—to his son. Then she remembered where they were. And she felt her heart breathing fall short. I can't save him.

My probie.

She leans forward and gently presses her lips against Tom's forehead. "I'm so sorry, Tom." She whispers against his head. She pulled her face away from his and noticed his chest wasn't rising or falling. She cups his face with shaky hands and a choked sob escapes her lips. She lowers her forehead against his chest and her sobs quickly turn into an anguished wail. "I'm s-sorry—I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

I know I say this a lot, but I am so sorry 😭🫶

Tom is a major part of Emery and killing him off wasn't just some shock factor. His death will add to the plot; I promise.

And if it makes anyone feel even slightly better, Emery is going to be kicking Joe's ass next chapter :)

words : 5571