CHAPTER- 100

                                    

                                          
Ace POV:
There was a thud beside me, followed by a collective gasp from everyone in the shop. 
I straightened slowly, my hand instinctively moving towards my concealed weapon. 
The man who had been standing beside me was now sprawled on the floor, blood pooling around his head.
In one fluid motion, I gripped Edrick by his collar and started to drag him deeper into the shop.
 "Move!" I hissed, shoving him ahead of me. His eyes were wide with terror, all his earlier bravado evaporating in the face of real danger.
The air erupted with gunfire. Screams filled the shop as customers and staff alike scrambled for cover. 
Bodies fell, some diving for safety, others crumpling lifelessly to the ground. 
The sweet scent of flowers was quickly overpowered by the acrid smell of gunpowder and fear.
We took cover behind a table stacked high with flowers, the blooms now a flimsy barrier between us and whoever was trying to kill us. 
I scanned the shop, looking for any avenue of escape. 
The front was out of the question, but maybe there was a back door, a storage room, anything.
"Shit," Edrick gasped beside me. I glanced over to see blood seeping through the sleeve of his shirt.
I quickly examined his injury, relief washing over me as I realized it wasn't serious. "The bullet just grazed your skin," I shouted over the chaos. "Don't panic!"
Suddenly, the gunfire ceased. An eerie silence fell over the shop, broken only by the soft patter of falling flower petals and dust. I held my breath, straining to hear any movement.
Slowly, I raised my head above our floral barricade. 
A wave of relief washed over me as I spotted my men's outside, taking cover behind cars, their weapons trained towards the opposite side and cars. Backup had arrived.
"We're going to die!" Edrick's panicked cry shattered the moment of relief. I scowled at him, fighting the urge to slap some sense into him.
"Well, living a life like yours is better to die," I snapped, my patience wearing thin. 
His only response was to cry louder, his fear threatening to give away our position to any attackers still in the shop.
Before I could silence him, a deafening explosion rocked the shop. The table behind us shuddered violently, and suddenly we were buried in an avalanche of flowers. 
Instinctively, I lunged forward, trying to escape the falling debris.
I landed hard, the breath knocked out of me. I realized I was sprawled across a lifeless body, the vacant eyes of a stranger staring up at me.
Beside me, Edrick had fared slightly better, landing on a cushion of scattered flowers.
Sitting up, I gripped his collar and started to drag him deeper into the shop, my other hand reaching for my gun.
He stumbled to his feet, but my grip on his collar didn't loosen. He can't die, not yet. 
He was too valuable, too crucial to my plans. His survival was paramount, even if every instinct screamed at me to leave him behind.
Suddenly, a bullet whizzed between us, embedding itself in a nearby flower pot with a sharp crack. Soil and ceramic shards exploded outward. 
We didn't turn back, didn't waste a second. Instead, we ran for the nearest room, our feet slipping on scattered petals and broken stems.