Chapter 25... Sound of Freedom
Leila's POV
After the first shot we heard two officers came out of the house, one had been shot. A flurry of shots were fired in return, then moments of silence. Keith was getting desperate.
Minutes later another shot was fired, only this time I was the target. He was determined to accomplish what he had came here to do. Seek revenge on me for putting his best friend in jail. My heart began beating so fast I thought it was going to explode. Jeff held me close as the tears streamed down my face.
After a few minuted of waiting for something to happen a third shot was fired and a fourth a minute after that. We all looked towards the house. I wondered just how determined Keith might be to get the job done. Would he make his way through the cops inside just to get to me?
Silence took over again. Once of the officers walked over towards us.
"He's dead." The officer said.
The feeling of relief rushed overwhelmed me. No more running. No more hiding. I was...
"I'm free?" I said the words out loud and I felt good.
"Your free baby girl and your safe, here with me." Jeff said engulfing me in a hug.
We all took our turns hugging each other. We were all safe, alive and well. All of us except Kara. The girl sacrificed her life for me and I would never be able to thank her.
"We're going to need you to come down to the station for a few questions. Just a neccesity." The officer said to Jeff, who easily agreed.
We said goodnight to Harley and Shannon and I hugged Matt. We would see him later. We wouldn't be able to stay at the house afterwards, so Matt offered us a room at his.
Getting into the cop car I let out a sigh of relief.
"You okay baby girl?" Jeff asked obviously still worried about me. Only now, he had nothing to worry about.
"Better than ever." I said bringing a smile to his face.
Wrapping his arm around me we made our way to the police station. Once we were there we gave them our statements. Explained who Keith and Kara were and all the events that had happened. I had already signed out of the Witness protection program so I was free to tell them everything. I told them why I had come here and what had happened a few months ago with Paul. It felt good to finally be able to be honest with everyone again. Tell people who I really am.
They assured us that we would be able to return to our lives starting tomorrow. Tonight they would scan the house of any evidence. They will notify us tomorrow when we can go back home.
Jeff's POV
A year later
Since the night of Keith's death Leila seemed like a whole new person suddenly. She no longer shied away from my affection. She could now share herself with me. During my vacation we spend hours upon hours of just talking about her past, the good times and the bad. She contacted her family and friends and let them know she was alive and well.
Leila had a glow about her now. A smile was plastered across her face 24/7 and I couldn't be happier.
Beth is almost ready to have her baby and when she does I will find out if it is mine. Leila has given me more support then I could've ever imagined. No matter what happens with Beth's baby I know I will always have Leila here beside me.
"I love you." Leila says snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I love you too." I respond then kiss her softly.
Shannon and Harley have been spending their free time planning their wedding which is just about a month away now. After everything that's happened recently we all feel so fortunate for what we have.
It took Matt a long time to come to terms with Kara's death. At first he had so much anger in him for what she had been doing he didn't want to admit that on the inside he was hurting about her death. Finally he admitted it. Talking about it helped. We all thank god that we had discovered what was happening ahead of time.
Life is back to normal. Well at least as normal as it gets.
Author's Note: A short little closer. I hope you all enjoyed the story. I will be working on Abyss of Addiction and a new story about Batista. Keep an eye open for that. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! xoxo Melissa