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“Who are you?” she asked, warily studying Tyrone. She appeared a lot less malicious and more panicky now that the ball had fallen out of her court.
He pulled on the gun’s slide to arm it. “Release her and you won’t come to any harm.” Eyeing me, he took a step forward.
“Don’t f**king move! Tell me who the hell you are.”
“Her driver.”
She snorted, “What the f**k is a stupid driver doing here?”
“And her professional bodyguard.”
That stopped her from being condescending. She pulled her face back together. “Hired by the Crawford brothers?”
“Yes.”
Kelly narrowed her eyes. “Well, tell your f**king bosses that I’m not going to let her go until they deposit fifty thousand dollars into my bank account by tomorrow.”
“I can’t do that.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” Swiftly, she pointed the gun at me instead. “I’ve shot her once. I can shoot again.”
He didn’t answer. I observed the two of them as my pulse quickened. With both of them fully equipped, this could play out any way. They were at an uncomfortable standstill. I didn’t think it’d last very long, or anyone was going to walk out of this uninjured.
And Tyrone was outnumbered. I caught sight of Damien walking out of the shadows wearing a nervous look. He was creeping up to Tyrone, a sharp, glinting knife gripped in his fist.
“Behind you!” I shouted to my driver. Damien jumped toward him as soon as he heard me. Luckily, Tyrone was agile and quick. He whipped around, caught my ex-boyfriend’s arm and threw him over. The knife swung across the room, stopping right next to my hand—my chance to free myself.
A gunshot rang as I tried to cut my ropes away. It was Kelly. She had tried to shoot Tyrone, but the stupid bitch wasn’t as experienced at using a gun as she’d like to think, and in the heat of the moment, missed. As soon as he heard her gunshot, he leapt toward her before giving her a chance to take another aim. I nearly stopped trying to cut the ropes away as I watched them, fearing for Tyrone’s life. He had jumped straight toward the gun.
Finally, I was free, but I sat there, paralyzed by fear and confusion.
Attempting to disarm her, Tyrone fought to get her hands in his grip. Their movements blended together into a blur.
The third gunshot of the day sounded.
And then another.
It took some time for me to get past the shock and numbness. My lower lip quivering, I bent my head down to look at my stomach. A gaping hole was torn through my clothes. Red was spreading across my shirt, getting everywhere. My hand shivered as I brought it to the wound. Dazed, and unable to grasp what had happened, I looked at my bloodstained fingers, speechless.
Kelly had shot me again. This time, in my stomach.
My child, please let it be okay.
The background noise turned into a buzz. I heard Kelly shouting, but I couldn’t decipher her words. Damien’s voice soon echoed beside my ear. What is he saying?
My eyelids fluttered down. They were getting too heavy to keep up. My life was slowly fading away and the slithering tendrils of death got closer.
The last thing I remembered were two strong arms lifting my body up. All I could think about was how they weren’t Ryan or Riley’s.
The unpleasant smell of medicine and disinfectants hit me before I even lifted my eyelids. My head swirled around. Was this the scent of heaven? If so, heaven wasn’t leaving a good impression.
As my eyes fluttered open, it soon became clear that I’d woken up in a hospital. It took me some time to recall how I’d landed here, but not long. My mind was still functioning well—a good sign. I shifted my gaze left and right, until they came into view. The twins. Ryan was sleeping in a corner, while Riley laid at my bedside, one of my hands in his.
“You’re awake,” Riley said.
For a brief second, seeing him pleased me. Then I recalled our unresolved misunderstanding. “Hi.”
“Thank God.” He rested his forehead onto my hand. “We thought we might have lost you.”
“I thought the both of you were mad.”
“We’re sorry.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but after some silence, I realized that was it.
Then, it suddenly occurred to my mind—I was shot in the stomach. My baby! “How is it? Is the baby safe? Please tell me it’s okay.” I’d been so excited for it to arrive. I didn’t want to lose my child.
Putting a hand onto my shoulder to try and calm me down, Riley replied, “It’s fine. It was a close call. The bullet missed your womb, but we’re not sure how the blood loss is going to affect it. We need to visit the gynecologist.”
