The second he presses the muzzle of his gun to my brow, I swing into action, lifting my leg and kneeing him hard in the balls. “Fuuuck!” he roars, bending over and automatically dropping his arm.
I waste no time, because this might be my only opportunity, darting around him and the dead bodies of my two bodyguards, pushing my limbs faster than I’ve ever pushed them as I race across the parking garage toward the door.
I don’t look back.
I can’t.
I’ve just reached the entrance when a loud pop rings out, the noise ricocheting off the walls, seeming louder. I crash to the floor, slamming face-first into the hard ground, and that’s the last thing I register before I black out.
30
Keanu
Kent pulls up to the curb at the hospital, brakes screeching, drawing the attention of the people loitering outside. “Go! I’ll park,” he says, but I’m already halfway out of the SUV.
Kev’s X5 is parked haphazardly outside the entrance, and a tow truck is in the process of removing it. A trail of blood leads from the car toward the front doors of the hospital, and the most intense pain slices through me, almost rendering me immobile.
But my desire to get to my wife overrides every other emotion, and I push past people as I rush through the entrance, racing up to the hospital desk. “I need to find my wife!” I shout, ignoring the couple already talking with the receptionist.
“Keanu.” A hand lands on my back, and I whip around.
“Come with me,” Keven says. “I know where she is.”
He’s covered in blood.Selena’sblood. There’s so much of it! Tears leak from my eyes. “Is she?”
Keven grips my shoulders firmly. “She’s alive, Keanu. They took her straight into surgery.”
“How bad is it, Kev?”
He takes hold of my arm. “Let’s get up to the waiting room, and I’ll fill you in there,” he says, looking over his shoulder, reminding me we are not alone and there are prying eyes and ears everywhere. I curse the fact we’re so well-known in Boston. That there are several eyeballs glued to us. Some taking pictures they’ll no doubt post on social media. I give it a half hour before the vultures show up.
I let Keven drag me away, and we’ve just stepped into the elevator when Kent comes running along the corridor. Kev holds the elevator for him, and Kent jumps inside. His face is a mask of horror as he rakes his gaze over our older brother. “Jesus Christ.” He drags his hands through his hair.
“Selena’s in surgery,” Keven says, because I’m incapable of saying the words.
“What the fuck happened?” Kent asks, his horror giving way to anger.
“Not here,” Kev snaps, glancing at the three men and one woman sharing the elevator with us.
Kev leads us to a large waiting room in the private section of the hospital. “This feels like déjà vu,” Kent says when we step inside.
Unfortunately, we’ve been in this hospital, in this room, far too many times in recent years.
The room is vacant because it’s a private waiting area. One Mom usually reserves whenever there’s a need. “Mom knows?” I ask in a monotone voice.
“Yes. She’s en route with Dad. And I called the others and Sandrine too. They are all on the way.”
“Have you spoken to any of the doctors?” I ask, spinning around and heading for the door we just came in.
“Yes.” Kev grabs me back. “They can’t tell us anything yet. The nurse said to stay here and someone will come and talk to us as soon as they have some information.”
I pace the floor, yanking fistfuls of my hair. “Who did this, Kev? And how did it happen?”
He takes hold of me, forcing me into a chair. “It was Freddie, Keanu.”
All the color leaches from my face, and my fists clench into balls at my side.
“We’d been planning a big operation, and today was D-day,” he continues. “We discovered a ton of evidence in Lawrence’s vacation home in Hawaii, and we were making several arrests, simultaneously, in different places across the States. Local FBI in Ohio were supposed to be keeping tabs on Freddie Holsworth in the run up to the op. We thought they were,” he says, his voice clipped. “Otherwise, I would’ve put you and Selena on alert, but I didn’t say anything as I thought we had it covered. And I didn’t want to worry either of you unnecessarily. But when they invaded his apartment today, it was clear he hadn’t been there for some time. That he’d run. Someone must have tipped him off.”
