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“Do you know who this business partner is?”I asked, my brows furrowed.

“I do,” she said, nodding her head.“He’s not someone you want to mess with, Poppy.He’s very dangerous.From what I heard, he’s known on the streets as Pac—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a bullet pierced through the howling wind, straight through her brain.Her body fell to the ground, blood immediately pooling around it as I shoved the door closed and pulled Poppy against me.

“What the fuck—” Poppy screamed before I clasped a hand over her mouth to stop her.

“Not now.We need to get you somewhere safe,” I said, glancing at the blood pooling under the door as Travis stared at it.“Upstairs.Now.”

Poppy nodded and then rushed upstairs, taking them quickly as I picked up Travis and followed behind her.

Twenty-Four

Patrick

Poppy sat in the showeron a blanket with Travis at her side while I stood by the door with my phone against my ear and gun drawn.

“What the fuck was that sound?”Gage demanded after I answered on the first ring.

“Gunshot.”

“Are you guys—”

“We’re fine,” I answered quickly.“I’ll explain later.Get Julie and Daisy to safety now.”

“On it.”

We hung up, and I looked behind me at Poppy, who was paler than I had seen before.

“Baby, I need you to use my phone and call 911,” I said, stepping back and handing it to her.“You need to call and tell them what happened.”

“The storm...They won’t...She was a victim too...So much blood...”

I looked down, and my heart shattered as I saw Poppy shaking as tears flooded down her face.

“I know, baby.It’s going to be okay.I need you to call 911 for me, okay?”