AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A bullet whizzes past my head just as I dart to the side, shoving Cole into Zeke. Firing back, I miss several times before I hit one in the gut and he drops to the ground. Glass shatters and I think I hear Cole screaming, but I shake the thoughts and sounds from my head, focusing on the two men left standing.
Quickly I dip to the side and duck behind the front end of Zeke’s Chevy. A bullet pierces the passenger side window just as I pop up and pull the trigger, firing off three more shots.
One at a time, the remaining men drop to their knees. The driver moves to pull away, and as the tires of the SUV squeal across the ice, the fog in my brain lifts and I hear Cole sobbing frantically.
“Zeke! Oh my god Zeke, wake up. Look at me please!”
Turning to my side, I home in on Cole. He’s on his knees in his t-shirt, shaking as he holds his hoodie against Zeke’s stomach. Zeke chokes on red liquid seeping from the corners of his lips, and it finally registers in my head that the snow beneath him is no longer white. Slowly changing color, the snow shifts from white to pink to the deepest shade of red.
“No!” I cry as I run and drop to my knees, scrambling to Zeke’s side. “Wh-where’s he hit?!”
“H-h-his back, stomach I think… he’s, there’s a lot of blood. Call 911, Riot!” Cole cries, tears streaming down his face.
“No, we... we can’t. No hospitals,” I yank my phone from my back pocket and quickly shoot off a text to Dr. G.
Me: My place. Now. Life or death.
Doc: OMW.
“Cole,” I exhale. “Cole, look at me baby.” Trembling, I tilt his head with my fingertips, turning his face toward mine, and my heart shatters. Splintering into tiny shards that pierce my insides. I’m 16 all over again, and my fucked up world is bleeding onto someone I love, ripping them apart. Blinking my eyes, I shake away the guilt and focus on Cole.
“You’re doing good Cole. Really good. I need your help though. We gotta get Zeke in the truck, can you do that?”
Pupils blown, wide as saucers he stares at me, nodding his head.
“Words, Cole.”
“Y-yes,” he stammers quickly.
“Good. That’s really good,” I say as I scramble to my feet and yank the back door of Zeke’s truck open. Squatting back down, I hover above Zeke’s head and slide my hands beneath his shoulders and arms. “Grab his legs ok?”
Cole moves into position between Zeke’s legs and slips his arms beneath his knees. I count to three and we lift, sliding him into the backseat of the truck. Without me even having to ask, Cole jumps into the back with him, going back to holding pressure to the gunshot wound.
Slamming the door shut, I send off one last string of text messages as I climb into the driver’s seat.
Me: Arsenal, man. Cleanup at your club. I’ll explain later.
Arsenal: What the fuck kid?
Me: Ambush.
“He’s really lucky, Riot,” Dr. G mumbles under his breath as he works to cleanse the gaping wound. “The bullet was through and through, no vital organs, but I’m fairly certain he has a couple cracked ribs. Just let me get him patched up.”
Cole’s body visibly relaxes as he drops his head back against the wall and slumps down to the ground, resting his forearms on his knees. It hits me that this is probably the most violent thing Cole has ever witnessed, and the way his body is quivering makes my insides twist and turn.
Walking over to where he sits, I slide down to the floor beside him. Pressing my head against the wall, I tilt my face to the side to look at him. “You ok?”
“Yeah,” he exhales emphatically. “Surprisingly, yeah. Only because he’s gonna be ok though.”
Guilt wracks heavily on my soul as Cole reaches out and takes my hand in his. All of this is my fault. It’s no coincidence that this went down in Reaper territory. I’d bet anything the shootout had to do with Dante Knight. When Pete stopped showing up for cash drops, and Johnny disappeared, he must have realized someone was onto him.
Now the man I’m in love with is being stitched back together on my living room floor, while the man I’m falling in love with had to bear witness to it all, irreparably wounding him.
“Hey, don’t do that,” Cole whispers as he slides an arm around me and pulls me into his chest. “I’m sorry I panicked. I’m okay though, really.”
“I, I didn’t mean to bring this into your life,” I mutter as he rests his chin on the top of my head, holding me close.
“Riot, it’s not your fault. I know what kind of world I’m living in. Being in Spencer’s life, I’m already in the line of fire anyway. So don’t go there. Please,” he presses his lips to the top of my head.
