My mind drifted to Collin, and I found myself scanning the thousands of empty seats for him, but I stopped cold when I saw men emerging from the darkness. Those weren’t Col’s men or my uncles.
Seriously, how many men did the old mafia have?
Romano started laughing weakly once he noticed them descending the steps. He looked back at Sullie. “Did you honestly think I wouldn’t have back up?”
The smile that spread across my uncle’s face was downright sinister, and for the first time in my life, I caught a glimpse ofthe old Sullie. “Did you honestly think I would let you have this city?” he asked, raising his arms out wide.
Car engines roared all around the stadium, and people emerged from all levels, one man in particular leading the masses.
My brother.
A tear slipped from my eye and down my cheek. Dom emerged from the Cardinals’ dugout, weapons covering him from head to toe as he aimed his semi-automatic at the line of fifteen or so men. Dean yanked the fallen king off the ground and turned him to see the people, hundreds of people, yelling and cheering. The evil man’s dark eyes were wide once more as he tried to comprehend the scene around him.
“This city is our city!” Sullie roared. FBI agents filed out onto the field as people—innocent citizens—began chanting.
“Our city! Our city! Our city!”
“You never had it to begin with,” Dom yelled before ordering the mafia goons to stand down.
Gunshots fired, and screams echoed across the space.
James dove for me, knocking me to the ground.
Twisting under him and craning my neck, I saw two of the goons go down, but Dom wasn’t the one firing. Another shot ran out, slicing through the air and landing in the chest of another man. The bullet came from above. Spinning around slowly, I looked for him.
My demon. He was helping from above, watching over me high in the shadows. My secret blessing.
“Get him the fuck out of here!” James ordered Dean from above me, his arms wrapped around my head. The baseball player was on the ground covering Gwen, shielding her from the bullets with his body despite the vest she wore. Romano was trying—failing—to crawl away, but a gun was pointed to the devil’s temple in the next second.
My brother’s gun.
Jer’s jaw was tight, his nostrils flared as he looked down at the man responsible for Ty's death. Everything always led back to the Romano family. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear the words.
My ears were ringing, and my body should have been on high alert, but I knew those bullets were being fired to protect me—my family.
My soul felt like it was trying to extend out of my body, stretching and reaching out for his darkness, my light shining like a beacon in the chaos for him. I looked up to the shadows just in time to see the gun firing and then my demon stepped into the light.
Just for a moment, I saw the hard lines and curves of his face, his head turned down to me and a shiver went down my spine when his eyes found me.
Could I see them? Not clearly, but my body knew.
I love you, Col. I’m coming back to you. Hang on.
The gunshots finally ceased, and my demon stepped back into the shadows. I tried to push James off me, but he stopped me. “Hang on,” he ordered, his eyes darting all around. “The shooter is probably reloading,” the agent above me said as he looked down at me. “Are you alright?”
“James, the shooter isn’t reloading.”
His face twisted in confusion. “How could you—” Realization dawned, and his dark eyes flared. “Stevens?”
There was hate laced in his voice, disgust masking his features. My chest felt heavy, and my bottom lip began to tremble. “Please, don’t hurt him,” I whispered.
His jaw flexed as he stared down at me. “Karina, I have a job to do.”
“He saved Haley,” I reminded him gently as fear peaked over my shoulder, sporting a nasty smile. How many things did AgentJames Garner let slide? For Gwen? For Dean? How about a broken man raised by darkness, who did what he had to do to survive?
“One right doesn’t erase a lifetime of wrongs, Karina,” he said, his voice softer now. “You and I both know that.” My eyes burned with tears. I’d been so blind.
I was blinded by the hope that they would be able to accept him, just as I had. My love for Collin would be the cause of my world flipping upside down. Nothing would be the same, but everything would be better because I knew he loved me too. We would fight for each other, for the right to love each other as James loved Haley and Dean loved Gwen.
