His hand slams into my chest.
I lose my balance.
I grab Autumn and shove her down, hard.
She yelps, confused, breath knocked out.
Two gunshots crack through the cold air.
I pull my gun out before I even finish hitting the ground, scanning the shadows, lights, and dark stretch by the dumpsters. My heartbeat is violent. The ringing in my ears swallows everything.
Declan and his brothers shout our names from somewhere behind the SUVs.
A speeding motorbike tears past the back gate, engine screaming as it disappears into the night. The sound leaves a trail of dread thick enough to choke on.
I stand, gun aimed, searching for the shooter. My blood is ice. My vision tunnels, ready to shoot the next thing that breathes wrong.
Declan appears beside me, breathing hard, gun in hand. “Where? Where did it come from?”
“I—” The word catches in my throat.
“FLYNN!”
My heart stops.
A dead, hollow pause in my chest.
I spin so fast the ground tilts. I don’t see her. I don’t see anything except headlights, shadows, breath in the air. Then Kian darts around the SUV, his face draining.
I move, sprinting, nearly slipping on the pavement. My gun shakes in my hand. Every worst-case scenario hits me like body blows.
Is it her?
Is she bleeding?
Did the bullet—
Autumn comes into view. She’s on the ground, but she’s not bleeding; she’s holding Kaden.
Kaden isbleeding.
His head rests on her lap, her hands pressed desperately to his left side. Blood spills between her fingers, pooling fast, too bright under the parking lot lights.
“Call someone!” she sobs, her voice breaking so hard it slices through my ribs. “He’s shot—he’s shot—hurry!”
“Kaden,” I breathe, dropping to my knees beside him. “Fuck. Kaden.”
He tries to laugh, but it comes out as a gasp. “You okay, boss?”
“You worry about yourself,” I snap, pressing my palm over Autumn’s hands, adding pressure. The warmth of the blood surges against my skin. Too much. Too fast.
Declan grabs his phone, barking orders.
Kian shouts for Connor.
Their SUV roars to life, someone moving it closer, the headlights washing over us.
Autumn leans over Kaden, trembling so hard she can barely stay upright. My jacket is half off her shoulders, sliding down her arms, soaked through with blood at the cuffs. Tears streak her cheeks, her breath coming in fast, broken pulls of air as she keeps pressing her hands into the wound, hands that are far too small to stop that much blood.
