I want to snap at them to stop attacking me for five fucking seconds so I can breathe, but I keep my mouth closed. Mostly because I know if I open it, I’ll scream and cry because my left thigh and butt cheek feel like they’ve been lit on fire.
I can’t believe I got shot in the ass. If I survive, I’m never going to live this down.
Another shotgun explodes in the shadowed woods and hits the tree on my right as I army crawl my way through this nightmare. Bark explodes from the truck and rains down on me like shitty confetti. God, it feels like even the trees are mocking me.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m slowly losing my mind from blood loss.
“Show yourself, asshole!” one of the gang members growls from behind me.
I bite back a snort.Yeah, let me just go do that.I keep on crawling, the edges of my vision darkening as my thigh and ass slowly grow numb. Not a great sign, and I really don’t want to die like this. Even death by zombie is better than bleeding out of my ass.
I blink and find myself lying almost face down in the mud. The sun is going down, dousing the forested area in inky blackness. There are still shouts and gunshots, but they sound distorted and so far away.
Is this it? Am I dying?
My eyelids grow heavy, and I blink. This time, I’m no longer in the woods, but lying near a caravan. It’s completely dark and the gunshots have stopped, replaced by people talking close by to me. I frown and try to lift my head, only for it to flop uselessly back to the ground.
“Theo?” Alex’s face appears in my wavering vision, his brow furrowed in concern and his lips pressed into a grim line. There’s a haunted look in his eyes, and something’s telling me it’s not all because I got shot in the ass.
Something happened.
My heart rate kicks up as panic floods my system, pushing aside the exhaustion for a moment. “What’s wrong? What happened?” My words come out slurred, but he seems to understand what I said.
“Anthony and I found you lying in the mud, bleeding from your gunshot wounds. We carried you out and put you here while we wait for the doc to send back a stretcher to carry you to the med bay.”
I frown. He’s not even going to make fun ofwhereI got shot? Yeah, something isn’t right.
I try to move my head again and have a little more success, but I still don’t find the one person I want—no,need—to see. The panic and dread tightens my chest. “Ollie. Where’s Ollie?”
Alex’s expression turns even grimmer, and he looks like he’s aged ten years as he sighs heavily. There’s a shimmer in his eyes a moment before a tear rolls down his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Theo. I tried to find them, but they aren’t here.” He sucks in a shuddering breath and closes his eyes.
My frown deepens, the pain and exhaustion making it difficult for my brain to process what he’s saying. “Them? What’s going on, Alex?”
He swallows hard and opens his eyes. “It’s Rhys and Ollie. They’re missing.”
That’s the last thing I hear before darkness swallows me whole.
Played
Rhys
Failure is a heavyweight on my chest, suffocating me as the realisation of what’s happening comes crashing down on top of me.
How did they get past the wallsagain? We fixed it. I made sure the routes they took last time were obliterated, and only a few people know about the escape routes we have in place in case of emergency. There’s no way they should have found them.
But they did. And now the innocent people of Haven are paying the price.
I shake myself out of my horrified stupor and shove the thoughts aside. I can dwell on them later. The residents need me more.
Luke is still standing in front of the gate with that smug smirk on his face—the prick—but I ignore him as I turn to Alex. “I need you to find Theo. He’s probably already ran to the fight. Take ten securitypersonnel with you.”
He hesitates, his gaze flicking to Ollie who’s glaring down at Luke with so much hate, it’s a wonder the guy hasn’t keeled over from the force of it. “Sweetheart,” Alex murmurs as he brushes his fingers against her cheek.
Her gaze snaps to his and her eyes soften. It’s a look I’m desperate to have from her, but I shove that longing aside.
Soon. Once this mess has been taken care of.
“I need you to stay safe and listen to Rhys,” Alex says before taking her lips in a sickeningly sweet, intimate kiss.
