For a moment, I thought those were my words, they came from Casey. She was staring at Jer’s back as he spoke on the phone with Sullie. We looked back to her, and her honey eyes had tears in them. “He saved me,” she repeated, her voice a whisper.
“Of course, he did,” Haley said softly. The power shut off, and the only light that remained was from the soft glow of city lights outside.
“Son of a bitch,” Dean muttered.
Kay pushed past us and darted for Collin. The three of us, Casey, Haley, and I, watched as his shadow pushed off the wall and clashed against her. His arm banded around her waist, and his free hand went to cup the back of her head. She kissed him, holding his face. James was still barking orders, Jeremy was still on the phone, and Dean—
He was watching with them, a strange expression on his face.
The two broke apart, and he took a step back from her, shaking his head slightly. My brow furrowed, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight. Why was he backing away? Was he rejecting her? He wanted her. She wanted him.
Why did I want this all to work out in the end? For all of us—including the man who betrayed me.
Collin wasn’t the villain, Gwen.
We were so caught up in the moment that when Romano rose up to full height, a gun—my gun—in hand, it didn’t register when Haley screamed their names. My hand went to my hip to find an empty gun holster. My stomach sank as I looked at the scene in front of me. There was a snarl on the devil’s face as his dark eyes landed on Kay, the gun aimed at her.
“You took my kingdom. I am taking your love,” he growled.
Time slowed once more.
Oh. God.
He fired. People around me scattered.
I couldn’t take my eyes away from the blue-eyed man. The baseball player whose eyes only softened for my blonde friend, who secretly watched over her and protected her. His blue eyes always bounced to her when I sat next to her in the stands…it was the only game I went to, and I knew it then, but I was too blinded by my own pain to see it.
Collin was in love with Kay.
He reacted immediately, and it was all a blur. He—hejumpedin front of Kay.
My ears were ringing from the gunshot, but there was no mistaking that grunt of pain. Collin had been shot. He slammed into Kay as she screamed, wrapping her arms around him as they went down to the ground together, her back against the wall.
The men next to us had their guns pointed at the madman with wide, dark eyes. Those eyes were on me. “Your turn,” he hissed.
“Drop the gun, Romano. You're surrounded. This won’t end well for you,” James shouted as the three men fanned out. Kay was crying as she frantically tried to stop the bleeding. Dean came in front of me, and Romano started shouting.
“Run, baby girl.”
When I tell you to run, you run. You run for our son.
I couldn’t run.
Not like this.
I would be abandoning not just Dean, but everyone else. Casey had her gun pulled out too, standing in front of Haley. Her green eyes met mine, and I unsheathed my dagger and stepped up to stand beside Dean, ignoring his demand.
“I can hit him,” I said to the man who owned my heart.
“No.” His voice was firm, and he shoved me behind him again. “Run. Out the fucking door. Now!” he barked over James' and Jer’s shouting. Romano was screaming in Italian, a pitiful man facing a dead end, wanting to reap as many souls as he could before he met his fate.
“All of you will die! See you all in hell!” the devil laughed.
Gunshots rang out, and I was pushed to the floor by Dean. Haley pulled Casey behind the bar while James and Jer ducked behind the furniture. The men started firing at Romano as he ran across the room, firingmygun in every direction.
Kay shouted, and I twisted my neck to see Collin snapping up, launching something in the air.
The door busted open, and a man dressed for war stepped through. He didn’t waste time, throwing Kay over his shoulder and supporting Collin. Through the gunfire, the three of them exited to the room in a rush.
