Dad finishes his coughing fit and lifts his head, but before he can speak Falco suddenly places his hand on my shoulder and limps forward.
“We could stand here all day and debate this,” he croaks, his voice rough. “But he’s getting away and I’m going after him.”
“No!” I spin to face Falco and grab the shredded remains of his shirt. “You can’t! Look at you, Falco, you’re far too?—”
Gunshots suddenly ring out deeper in the warehouse and Falco clutches my face, drags me in for a hard, wet kiss then he’s sprinting away as fast as a hobbled man can. Out through the door Bullet raced through only minutes ago, and toward the gunshots.
“Falco!”
“Aerin!” Dad barks, pushing his guard out of the way. “You need to tell me everything.”
I hesitate for a moment and lock eyes with my father, then I turn and chase after Falco. Thundering footsteps behind tell me thatmy father and his men are following, but I don’t have time to look.
Panic fuels me, mingling with the adrenaline surging through me and numbing any pain of exhaustion that threatens to slow me down. With my eyes locked on Falco’s retreating back, I race after him.
We head down a long corridor, around a corner, through two doors and up a set of stairs that set my thighs ablaze. The path takes us back out onto the warehouse floor where Bullet lies flat on the ground with Giacomo standing over him, panting. Blood pours from a split on his brow, indicating that Bullet got a few licks in before he went down.
“Bullet!” I scream, horrified that his motionless form is another death I’ve caused just by association.
My scream makes my brother jolt in fright and he lifts his head, his eyes widening as he spots Falco sprinting toward him like a crazed bull.
“What the fuck?” He raises his gun but doesn’t have time to get a shot off as Falco collides with him with all the force of a runaway boulder and the two of them crash to the ground.
“Bullet!” As the fistfight between Falco and my brother rolls away from Bullet, I sprint toward his body and collapse down to my knees beside him. The pain of landing doesn’t even register as I grab his shoulder and roll him over.
Blood pools on the ground beneath his body. His eyes are closed and a dark crimson stain spreads across his chest.
I gasp. “Damn it all.” Abandoning my gun, I raise my hand and press my fingers to his neck and my stomach somersaults into knots.
Please don’t be dead. Please don’t tell me I got someone else killed.
A sluggish, weak pulse flutters against my fingertips and relief momentarily pours through me. He’s still alive. Thank god.
Relief is short-lived as a cry of utter agony rises from Falco, and I look up in time to see him crashing to the ground as Giacomo cruelly twists on his broken fingers.
On any given day, a fight between them would be over in a matter of seconds. Falco is bigger and much stronger, but he’s so terribly injured that every punch from my brother is worth ten. Every blow is amplified and his weak state drags him back down to the floor again and again.
But Falco keeps getting back up.
No matter how many times Giacomo’s fist or boot crashes into his body, he keeps getting back up.
But he’s slower.
I can’t stand by.
Snatching my gun up from the floor just as Rex sprints through the door, I point to Bullet and run toward Falco.
“Help him!” I yell to Rex. As my gaze lingers momentarily on him, Rex looks utterly torn over who to help, but in the end he follows my request and runs toward Bullet.
“Giacomo!” I yell as Falco crashes down to the floor again. “Stop! You have to stop!”
Falco doesn’t get back up this time and Giacomo stands over him, panting furiously with both fists clenched. He raises his fist and I raise my gun as I trip to a halt. “Stop!”
Giacomo hesitates and his narrow eyes slide to me. “You wouldn’t shoot me.”
“Wouldn’t I?”
“You’d shoot your own brother?”
