I can't move, every muscle locking into place and squeezing tight, like I'm going to snap from the strain. My heart refuses to beat, as if it was me, not her who took the shot. Brooklyn stands in front of her father, upright, eyes fixed wide in shock, as though she can't quite believe it hurts as badly as it does.
And then she folds like a deck of cards, legs sliding out from under her. Calamity catches her before she can hit the floor, his expression mirroring mine. Shock, horror, denial, and pure, unadulterated agony as we watch the crimson stain spread across her torso. It's a chest wound, on her right side, not the left, which is the only reason I haven't turned the gun on myself. There's a chance, however slim.
Gunfire erupts again, and this time Dallas' men have nothing to return fire with. They're cut down with pathetic ease. Only a few make it to the door. Only one manages to duck Ryker and make it out of the house.
I squeeze the trigger mechanically, ending Dallas with one bullet. My ears are ringing as I let him drop to the floor, my body moving sluggishly, out of sync with my racing thoughts. I drop to my knees in front of Calamity, who's doing everything he can to staunch the flow of blood. At this moment, he doesn't look like a monster to me. He's a man. A desperate man who wants nothing more than to save his daughter's life.
"I can help her." I'm shouting, barely able to hear my own voice. "The Spades have a licensed surgeon on our payroll. He can fix this.”
Calamity tugs her closer, tears shining in his normally cold and pitiless eyes. "Get the fuck out."
"Don't let her die because you're a stubborn jackass!"
His jaw flexes and there's unholy fire in his eyes. I'm pretty sure he's going to kill me, let her die, and then eat the muzzle of his own gun before the night is through.
Ryker approaches, steps heavy. "He's right, Gardel. We can help. I have stuff in the car that can help her until we get to our side of town. I'm an EMT, this is what I'm trained for."
Calamity's gaze bobs between our faces, trying to read treachery on either. Then his gaze goes flat and lifeless.
"I'm never going to see her again. Even if she lives, you're going to take her. You Spades take fucking everything from me."
Wetook everything fromhim? God that's rich. But I don't have any time to argue with him.
"If you want her to live, we have to gonow."
The tears fall, and I hate him even more. I hate that he mirrors my grief, hate that he loves her. I want him to be the fucking monster that killed my father. Because I can't kill this man, can't kill someone who loves her as much as I do. He presses her head into the crook of his neck, cradling her like one might a baby. He kisses her forehead, murmurs a goodbye and an I love you. My eyes burn with the effort not to cry.
Then he offers her to me and I take her from his arms, lifting her easily.
"If she dies, I will kill you," he says.
"If she dies, I'll let you.”
16
Brooklyn
My head rings like a struck bell, unpleasant echoes of sound rattling around my ear without pause.
There's a stretch of time where I'm muddled, swimming to consciousness with ineffective paddling strokes. When my head finally does break the surface, the light is too bright. I crack my eyes open and then recoil into the surface beneath me with a groan. It's soft. Not the flat hospital bed I expected, if I was going to wake up at all.
Memory comes back in patchwork pieces. One of Dallas' men–Greer?–was aiming to shoot my father. I'd moved and then...pain. All I remember is pain, and then the mercy of unconsciousness. Maybe Ididn'tsurvive. Maybe I'm gone and this is my eternal reward. Though I can't see that I've done anything that makes me deserving of heaven. And heaven shouldn't contain quite so much swearing.
"I swear to fucking God Kase, if you don't get her the hell out–"
Kase is shouting, sounding more pissed than I've ever heard him, including the recent attempt on my life.
"Open your ears you fucking asshole," he roars back. "I've been trying to explain things to you since we got here. It's not my fault you're too much of a dumb fuck to understand."
"Kase–" A softer, female voice interjects. I don't know this woman. It's definitely not Penny. I'd know that bold, brassy woman anywhere. I liked her, once upon a time, though we only met in person the one time.
"Don't try to defend him, Holly. He's wrong and you know it."
Holly Cruz. I've heard of her. I didn't quite believe that Cruz had settled down when the rumors reached us almost a year ago. He's been as much of a man whore as Kase in recent years, tapping just about any gorgeous woman he could find. I'm a little curious about the mysterious woman who managed to grab him by the balls and make him commit once and for all.
"He has a point. We're all in danger with her here. Maybe it would be wise to–"
"Send her across the line?" Kase demands. "Send her right back to the men who hurt her in the first place?"
