“Whoever did this,” Kian growls, knuckles white on his gun, “we’ll get them. I swear it, brother.”
“I already know who did it.” I grip the wheel so hard the leather creaks. Rage spears through my ribs, hot and blinding. “Fucking Flanaghan.”
We reach Declan’s mansion, and the place looks like a fortress about to go to war. Guards everywhere. Dogs barking like hellhounds. Every light on. A prison on full alert.
The gate is wide open. I don’t slow; gravel spits under the tyres as I tear down the driveway. The front doors burst open before we even stop. A full medical team waits: doctors, nurses, gloves snapping, carts ready.
I slam the car into the park, engine still running. The back door is yanked open. Nurses reach for Kaden, but Autumn freezes, hands locked on his chest like she’s the only thing keeping him alive.
I sprint around the car. “Autumn—”
She screams when I try to pull her away.
Her fingers claw at Kaden, frantic, desperate, refusing to let go as they lift him onto a stretcher.
“Trouble, they have him; they’ll take care of him.” I grunt, wrapping my arms around her, dragging her back even as she fights like a wild thing. Kian and Connor rush in to help the medics secure Kaden, rolling him toward the clinic inside the mansion.
Autumn stops struggling only when he’s almost out of sight, but her eyes don’t leave him. Not for a second.
“I’ve never seen someone get shot,” she whimpers.
Then she turns, slamming her face into my chest like she’s falling. Her scream breaks. Her body shakes so violently my arms tighten on instinct.
A doctor stops, turns back.
“She’s having a panic attack.”
Her whole body convulses. Her cries are loud, broken, uncontrollable. Her knees buckle, and I drop with her, holding her as she collapses.
Viviana and Declan rush over. Viviana murmurs something to him, and he nods. Kian moves instantly, sprinting toward the cars.
Autumn gasps, pushing at me, clawing at her own chest.
“I can’t—” She can’t finish. She staggers away from me, hands shaking so hard they blur. “I can’t breathe—” Her voice is tiny, strangled.
Her gaze drops to her hands covered in Kaden’s blood, and she chokes.
“He was shot—” Her voice trembles violently, lips turning purple, breaths shallow and fast.
Her wide, bloodshot eyes find mine. There’s nothing behind them but raw terror. She can’t breathe. She can’t think. She’s seconds from passing out or spiralling into something worse.
Kian returns behind her with a syringe.
“Is it safe?” I ask the doctor.
He nods immediately. “Yes. She needs it.”
I trust Declan’s people. They’ve been saving our lives for decades.
My heart cracks, but I nod.
Kian kneels behind her. I cup Autumn’s head, turning her gently but firmly to the side.
She doesn’t even notice the needle until it touches skin.
“You—” Her voice is a broken whisper. Tears flood down her cheeks, unstoppable.
I kiss her forehead. “I’m keeping you safe.”
