She stares at me. Her eyes search my face. "Who the hell are you?"
I know she recognizes me from the station and the ball. It's written all over her face, but she can't figure out why I am here. She shakes her head slowly from left to right. Then her gaze slides past me. And everything in her changes.
"Pete." She drops the fight instantly and crawls past me, still on her knees. "Pete."
I let her go. There's nothing I could do to stop her anyway. She reaches him and pulls his broken body into her arms. "Pete…"
The sound that comes out of her next isn't a word. It's a wail. Raw. Broken. It cuts straight through my chest. I turn away.
"Boss." Mauro steps up beside me, holding out a small vial.
"What?"
He points at my arm. I follow his finger. Blood is running down my sleeve where Audra's bullet grazed me. Right. That.
I glance back at her. She's rocking Pete's body, clutching him as if she can somehow pull him back from wherever he went. The thought that there is nothing I can do to ease her pain sears through me. There is nothing anyone can do.
With an impatient huff, I shrug out of my jacket and rip the sleeve off my shirt. Mauro pours clotting powder into the wound. It burns like hell.
"That needs stitches," he mutters.
"Later."
"This one's still alive!" Alessio shouts from across the warehouse.
A groan follows.
"Got another one breathing," Damiano calls.
Good. I roll my shoulder once to test the arm. It still works.
"Pack them," I order. "Let's get out of here."
The others drag the two survivors toward the door. One of them is barely conscious, blood smears across the concrete as Damiano hauls him along. Alessio grabs the other one by thecollar like he weighs nothing. They'll talk. We just need to keep them alive long enough.
I walk back toward the center of the warehouse. Toward her. Audra is still on the floor with Pete's body clutched to her chest. Like if she lets go, he'll disappear. I kneel beside her. "Audra."
She doesn't look at me.
"We need to go."
She shakes her head violently, clutching Pete tighter. "No."
Her voice cracks. "No, no, no…"
I reach out slowly and touch her shoulder. "Audra." My voice is softer than I've ever heard it. "He's gone."
The words taste like poison in my mouth. She finally looks up at me. Tears streak down her face. Raw. Endless. They break something inside me. Even though they're for another man. Fuck. If I could bring the idiot back to life for her right now… I would.
Gently, I try to pull her away. She resists for a second. Then suddenly she explodes. "WHY?!"
Her fists slam into my chest.
Again.
Again.
Again.
