I laugh, the sound wet and broken. “We should get your eyesight checked.”
Movement to my left. Logan, being supported by another biker, his face even worse than Kai's. Both eyes nearly swollen shut, blood caked in his hair.
“Logan.” I pull away from Kai just enough to reach for his friend, my hand finding his arm. “Oh God, Logan.”
“I'm fine.” His voice is a rasp, barely recognizable. “Just a scratch.”
“You're a terrible liar.”
“So I've been told.” He manages something that might be a smile. “Good to see you, Sin.”
I squeeze his arm, blinking back fresh tears.
A figure steps forward from the shadows, and I freeze.
He looks like his son. An older, harder version with silver hair. The eyes are different, though. Cold in a way Kai's have never been with me.
Victor Hammond.
He's watching me with an expression I can't read. Assessment, maybe. Curiosity.
“So,” he says, his voice low and measured. “You're Emma.”
Before I can respond, Maddox shoves Helena forward. She stumbles, catching herself against a crate. Cream coat torn and dirty. The leather bag is still clutched to her chest.
Victor's face goes pale. “Helena...”
“Don't.” Helena's voice is a snarl. “Don't you dare look at me like that. Like you're surprised. Like you didn't know exactly what I was capable of.”
“I didn't know you'd go this far.”
“You never knew anything about me!” She's screaming now, all composure gone. “Thirty years, Victor. Thirty years I gaveyou, and you never once saw me. Never once thought I might want more than your scraps.”
Victor takes a step toward her. “Helena, please. It's over. Just?—“
“It's not over.” Her hand moves, fast, reaching into her coat. “It's never over.”
The gun is small, almost delicate. A lady's weapon.
She aims it at me.
“You,” Helena spits. “You think you're so special. You think you can waltz into this family and take what's mine?”
Kai moves, pushing away from Tank, trying to get between us, but his ankle gives out. He stumbles. Tank catches him before he hits the ground.
“Lower the gun!” Victor's voice sharp with panic.
“He's just like you, Victor.” Helena's gaze drifts, something distant and broken in her eyes. “He'll never be faithful. She'll never be enough. There's no point in any of it.”
Everything happens at once.
Kai lunges for me, face twisted with desperation. Victor throws himself between us.
The gun fires. A sharp crack that echoes through the warehouse.
The recoil jerks Helena's arm upward. She stumbles back, face blank with shock. The gun slips from her fingers, clatters against concrete.
Victor's body folds. The impact spins him sideways, hand flying to his shoulder as his knees buckle. He hits the ground hard, a grunt escaping him. Blood spreads dark and wet beneath him.
