“Two.”
“Same.” I choke it. “Hatter – that goes for you too.”
He doesn’t say anything behind me, and I close my eyes. I don’t want to see, can’t bear tosee—
But I have to.
Take a breath.
I open my eyes, and I aim.
You were taught by the best.
You don’t fucking miss.
“Three.”
Gunfire sounds around us as I press the trigger.
I don’t move. I stare at Chess, at his face, not daring to breathe as silence falls around us.
Less than a millimeter.
The bullet missed him by a hair’s breadth.
Chess blinks. “Jesus, Lyss.”
And then he’s off his square, his hands on my face as he tilts my head to the side. I yank myself back, twisting around as I shove him away. “Wait.”
Hatter. Buck. “Are they—,”
But Hatter’s gun hangs in his hand as he watches me. His golden skin is waxy and pale… but he’s unharmed.
And behind him – Buck twists, whistling as he checks behind him. “Not bad, gang. Not bad at all.”
He turns back to me with a grin, but it slides off his face. He takes a step, his outstretched hand fisting before he stops. “You’rebleeding, Trouble.”
Chess is swearing under his breath as he pushes back my hair. I raise my hand, probing the burning pain against my ear as my eyes flick to Hatter.
He doesn’t move, doesn’t even look as though he’s breathing. “Alyss—,”
“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “It’s just a scratch.”
Chess makes a noise deep in his chest that sounds a lot like disagreement. Hissing, I slap his hand away. “Leave it.”
“But—,”
“Leave it.” Turning from him, I take a step to the side, staring down the line.
Two bodies lay on the floor. The one that vomited on the ground is one of them, his sightless gaze fixed on the starlit sky above our heads. The other, I don’t know.
Nor do I know why the sight of them makes me feel so…relieved.
Frowning, I slide my eyes over the remaining participants, stiffening when I meet Kayden’s gaze.
He’s staring at me again – I think. But he turns away so quickly that I wonder if I imagined it as I turn back to the men watching me closely. Or my ear, more precisely. “Stop it. It’s not even bleeding anymore.”
“The dripping says otherwise,” Buck says drily. “But you don’t look on the verge of imminent death, so I’d call that a success. Well played, Hat.”
