“Come back to me, please. Please, sunshine, please.”
I swear I can feel my heart beginning to crack.No… please, Ayden. Please come back to me.
The second my hands move back to his chest, something hard presses against the back of my head.
It doesn’t stop me from starting my count.
“Guns are so messy, but I’m sure I can get it cleaned up before anyone even notices you are missing.”
Ten, eleven, twelve.
“How about I wait until you’ve got him back, then splatter your brains across him before killing him again?”
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
“Yeah. Real Romeo and Juliet.”
Fucking idiot. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.
My mouth is back on his, pushing air into his mouth. My breath is swallowed instantly, and the sound of Ayden dragging in a lungful of air makes me choke on a laugh of relief.
“Thank god. Thank fucking god.”
He coughs up water, and I turn his head so it spills out. His body trembles as I slip an arm behind his neck and pull him against my chest.
I know I shouldn’t ignore the weapon pressing into the back of my skull. But the terror of almost losing the man I love has left me reckless. I know I need to save us both, but the adrenaline that carried me through saving him has drained away, leaving me useless to do anything but just holding him.
“I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He groans and tucks his head against my neck.
“I love you. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have run away. I’m so sorry.”
Michael tsks. “Ugh. Disgusting.”
The click of metal has me pulling Ayden back to look at him. He’ll be the last thing I see. Although his eyes are weak, seemingly having a difficult time focusing, they’re full of life. His breathing is shallow, but at least he’s doing it.
“Keo… move…”
I let out a breath and start to twist, reaching for Michael’s wrist—when the click of the trigger snaps in my ear. My heart stutters. For a split second, I wonder how long I have left. If I could take Michael with me.
“Goddamn it!” Michael roars. He pulls the trigger again.
Nothing.
“Who the fuck is looking out for you?”
Click. Click. Click.
Then a gun actually goes off.
Ayden
Warm liquid stings my eyes, making me blink hard. I’m still reeling from whatever just happened when I see Keo staring down at me in shock.
My gaze shifts past him to Michael. His hand is dropping slowly, the gun that had been pressed to Keo’s head clattering onto the deck. As my eyes climb to his face, I see a line of blood running down his forehead, across the bridge of his nose, and over his lips.
I wet my own and taste metal.
