Blood.
Everywhere.
I drop to the ground and roll my father onto his front, already knowing what I’m going to find.
My blood turns cold in my veins as I stare at the bullet wound in the side of his skull.
“Call an ambulance!” I roar as all hell breaks loose around us.
More glass shatters as the music cuts off and the guests scamper and scurry, running over each other to get to the exit.
Kieran is at my side in an instant, dropping to his knees and starting chest compressions to try and keep the oxygen circulating while I hold my hands over the wound.
His blood is warm and thick as it coats my skin, but I barely feel it.
“Don’t you fucking dare die,” I grunt as more blood rushes from the wound. “Not like this.”
Lorcan appears beside me. “Jesus Christ.”
“Someone call a fucking ambulance!” I yell to anyone who will listen.
I glance up to see Brennan on the phone.
His eyes lock with mine as all the color drains from his face.
I’m no doctor, and I know the chances of surviving a gunshot wound to the head are slim. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything in my power to give my father a fighting chance.
“Switch,” I order Kieran.
He doesn’t falter before moving to press his hands against the wound so I can continue chest compressions.
Our father’s skin is turning a pale shade of gray and his lips a deep shade of blue.
It’s not looking good.
I pant as I press down so hard on my father’s chest that one of his ribs cracks. “Where the fuck is the ambulance?”
“They’re coming, Ronan,” Lorcan assures me, but I barely hear him over the sounds of the screaming, which has my fear morphing into rage.
“Everyone, get the fuck out!NOW!”
Brennan and Lorcan jump into motion to start shoving the people still inside toward the exit as Kieran and I stay with our father.
Neither one of us speaks as we wait for the paramedics to arrive, but the weight of what’s to come hangs between us in the silence.
This wasn’t just a hit.
This was a message.
And whether I’m ready or not, if my father dies, I’m the one that has to step up and take his place.
Chapter Three
CIARA
The soundof the gunshot still rings in my ears as I grab Mila by the hand and haul her toward the exit. “Mila, we need to move,now.”
Seamus Sullivan is down, so whoever just fired that gun means business.
