I turn.
Elias sprawls on the floor, a smoking gun slipping out of his grasp. His eyes roll back.
“No!” I scream, diving to him.
Agron wheezes in the background—footsteps pound closer.
Bang! Bang!
The shots stop me in my tracks, and I look up. Tristan stands over the bastard with a grim look on his face, a gun steady in his hand.
I gather Elias’s lifeless body into my arms, his bloodslicking my skin.
“Don’t leave me,” I whisper, kissing his hair. “We haven’t been to Hollow Gardens together yet.”
I look up, unseeing, and scream, “Where’s the doctor?”
Footsteps thunder down the hallway—SWAT teams, stretchers, people in scrubs. Someone unleashes the fire extinguisher, and the hiss of foam devours the flames.
Hands tear at me, yanking me away from the man I love.
The hall is a storm, a shipwreck caught in a tempest.
Alarms, shouts, smell of smoke and iron.
Sprinklers drench my face, streaking my skin.
Ren lies unmoving, blood pooling under him. Beside him, a familiar man in green scrubs, blond hair coated in red.
Visions flash behind my eyelids. Kind smile. Soft eyes.
Blake Amscot, Aria’s fiancé. He got caught in the crossfire.
“No,” I gasp.
The trauma team swarms, barking orders, wheels screeching on flooded tiles as crash carts roll in.
Gunshots still ring in my ears, drowning out the dying beats of my heart and our unending melody, “Für Elise.”
“Elias,” I cry, reaching for him again.
But strong arms restrain me. I thrash, kick, and scream, grief tearing through me like a hurricane.
A small prick.
Then…darkness.
Chapter 60: WHOLE HEARTS
I pace outside hisICU room as the doctors complete their exams.
“Why aren’t you inside?” a quiet voice murmurs.
I glance to my right as Sofia sidles up next to me, her head wrapped in a white bandage. Thankfully, she was only knocked unconscious and wasn’t otherwise injured.
A whiff of vetiver laced with lavender hits my nose. She’s wearing her brother’s cologne.
“I didn’t want to be in the way,” I murmur, motioning to the team of five inside. “There are student doctors and everything. Dr. Hayden will debrief me once he’s done.”
