“Maybe they won’t come after last night—” Christian mutters.
“They want their guns,” I answer. “Or the money. They’ll come.”
“Cars,” Kaden snaps.
Two black SUVs tear around the corner doing sixty in a thirty zone, headlights off.
Kaden’s already moving. “Too fast—”
The first muzzle flash is blinding.
“DOWN!” I roar, slamming into Kaden, driving him face-first into the concrete.
The world explodes.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Bullets spark off metal, shatter glass, punch through flesh like it’s paper. Kian takes the first burst centre-mass; blood erupts from his chest in a red cloud, bright as paint under the floodlights.
Declan screams something inhuman and lurches upright, reaching for his little brother. Two rounds catch him high in the shoulder, spin him, drop him hard. Blood blooms dark across his white shirt.
I lunge for cover, and fire rips across my back. Lungs seize instantly; every breath tastes like copper and smoke.
My legs fold. I hit the ground hard enough to rattle teeth.
Christian’s voice fractures the night. “NO—FLYNN! DECLAN!”
I roll, trying to crawl, trying to breathe. Blood pours hot down my spine, soaks my waistband in seconds. Vision tunnels.
Kaden drops beside me, hands pressing the wound, already slick red. “Breathe, Flynn, come on.”
“Dec—” It comes out as a wet whisper.
Kaden’s eyes flick up. I follow them. Declan’s on his back ten feet away, chest unmoving, a dark lake spreading beneath him.
“Stay with me, mate.” Kaden’s voice cracks for the first time since I’ve known him.
Gunfire echoes, tyres scream, our remaining men return fire from the warehouses, muzzle flashes strobing like hell’s disco. Someone’s shouting for ambulances that won’t make it in time.
“Autumn—” Her name tears out of me, raw.
“I got her,” Kaden swears, pressing harder, blood oozing between his fingers. “I got you both; just stay—”
Black creeps in from the edges.
Through the open door I see John Flanagan step into the light. He looks straight at me—at the bodies—at the blood painting the concrete and smiles. Slow and satisfied.
Motherfu—
Darkness swallows everything.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Autumn
Ican’t stop pacing. The carpet is wearing thin under my bare feet, but I can’t feel it. Viviana stands at the window, arms wrapped around herself like the glass might shatter first.
“It’s taking too long,” she whispers, voice cracking on the last word.
