Page 63

“Maybe behind one of the cars in the lot,” Henn says, his lips mashed together as he touches his shoulder and winces. His shirt is soaked through and when he pulls his fingers away, they’re coated in blood and my stomach rolls as tears sting my eyes. My mind is dragged back to that night in the alley in an instant and I grip Diego’s cut tighter as I try to hold back the sob that is fighting to bubble out of me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I can see Luca’s face as he chased me with the knife in his hand, dead set on ending my life and a shudder runs through me. Diego’s hand cradles my face with a reverence that makes my chest ache as he presses his lips to my forehead, breathing me in. It’s a perfect moment of peace amongst the chaos and it snaps me back into reality.

“I’ve got you, baby.”

I nod. “I think I saw Luca behind your truck.”

“Shit,” he hisses, pulling away from me slightly to see if he can peek around the side of the building but he refuses to move far enough away from me to accomplish the task. Henn shakes his shoulders in an effort to drive the pain of his wound from his mind as he presses his back to the brick and holds his gun down in front of him.

“I’m going to try to get a better look.”

I hold my breath, my heart thundering in my ears and my hands shaking violently. Sucking in a breath, Henn turns his body slightly, peeking around the corner and another shot rings out, stabbing the otherwise quiet night and fragments of brick shatter right next to Henn’s head.

“Fuck,” he bites out, jerking back with wide eyes. His chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath and he readjusts his grip on his gun. After a moment, he sends a deadly glare at Maverick.

“Just had to say something, didn’t ya?”

Diego shakes his head. “Now is not the time. We need a plan to get out of here.”

“He’s definitely somewhere in the lot,” Maverick says, shaking his head. “But I can’t get a good visual on him before he fires off another shoot and ducks back down.”

Diego grimaces. “If he’s still behind my truck, that makes this a hell of a lot harder.”

“We could wait for police but we’re sitting ducks here if he decides to make a move on us,” Henn points out. I nod, in favor of any plan that doesn’t include standing here and waiting to be executed.

“Yeah, that’s true. Plus, Luca’s apparently got friends on the force so who knows how helpful they’d be to us,” Diego points out and I close my eyes and grip his cut tighter. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his body and despite the fact that we’re currently being shot at by a psychopath, he still makes me feel safe. Diego pulls away to look down at me, searching my eyes before he turns back to Henn and Maverick.

“How you doing, Henn? You okay to move?”

Henn glances down at the gunshot wound in his shoulder. “Think so. I’m pretty sure the bullet missed everything that could have really fucked up my day.”

“Mav, can you try and see if you can get a visual on him before we start moving?”

Maverick nods, moving to the edge of the building and sucking in a breath before he peeks around the corner. I hold my breath, my heart thrashing in my ears as I wait for the shot but this time, it never comes and Maverick pulls back, shaking his head.

“Hard to tell since he didn’t pop up this time but I think he’s still behind your truck.”

“Okay,” Diego replies, nodding his head. “Let’s start moving around the back. Henn, you go in front of us and, Maverick, you watch our backs. You guys still wearing your vests?”

They both nod and Diego mirrors the gesture before releasing me and peeling off his cut before grabbing the bottom of his shirt. I watch him with wide eyes as he pulls it over his head, revealing the bulletproof vest strapped to his body.

“What are you doing?”

He doesn’t say a word, holding my gaze as he pulls the straps wrapped around his torso to release the Velcro.

“What the hell are you doing?”

He flashes me a look that tells me not to argue. “Making sure you’re safe.”

“Don’t give me that goddamn look, Diego,” I snap. I don’t give a single shit what he wants right now if he’s going to put himself in danger. He tries to put the vest on me but I duck around him, shaking my head. “No. You put it back on.”

“We don’t have time for an argument, Izzy.”

I nod. “I know so put that shit back on your body. Now.”

“Look, this is all very touching,” Henn growls, pain lining his face as he moves to the other side of Diego and me. He raises his gun in front of him and his hand trembles from the effort, his wound affecting him more than he’d like to admit. “But we need to move.”

My stomach twists at the grimace on his face. The fact that he’s hurt, that both of them are even in this situation is all my fault and guilt eats away at me but I can’t allow Diego to get hurt because of my actions either. Turning back to the man in question, I muster every ounce of attitude I can muster and meet his eyes, arching a brow. Doesn’t he know what it would do to me to see him hurt? Especially because of me? He stares back at me for a second before he starts hissing a string of curses and puts the vest back on. Once it’s secure and he has his shirt on again, he grabs my hand and pulls me into his body.

“Fine. You don’t want to wear it?” he snarls, a mixture of heat, anger, and fear in his eyes that I find intoxicating. I’m drowning in the power of his gaze and I don’t even care anymore. “Then, I’ll be your bulletproof vest.”