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William’s finger moved toward the trigger, and I locked my eyes with his.
I tightened my grip on the tie of the man I’d beaten into unconsciousness as I prepared for what was coming and curled my lip into a sneer. “I’ll be waiting for you in hell.”
Two shots sounded, and I flinched as I stupidly, involuntarily, braced myself to die.
But then a second passed, and then another, and I forced my eyes open to see William sitting slack in his wheelchair, with blood rapidly pooling onto his white button-down shirt.
I turned my head to the side and saw the most beautiful angel on her knees with a gun still aimed at William.
“Briar,” I said numbly, and her head whipped around to face me.
Wide-eyed and terrified, her chest moving roughly from her too-fast breaths.
“Briar,” I repeated, trying to get my mind to realize she was alive.
“Do I—do I do it again?” she asked shakily, and she started sobbing the second I pulled her into my arms. “Do I have to—?”
“It’s okay,” I crooned as I pressed a rough kiss to her forehead and then her lips. “Shh, Blackbird. It’s okay.”
She dropped her arms and let the gun slip from her fingers, and then she was gripping me with one of her arms as tightly as I was gripping her. Her other hand slipped to her stomach protectively, and the same thoughts and fears from earlier built inside me, but before I could ask, her entire body began shaking so hard. She was going to go into shock.
“You said—you said to do it again. To be sure. You said—”
I cupped her face in one of my hands, pressed my forehead to hers, and tried to speak as gently as possible when all I wanted to do was beg her to forgive me for not being fast enough, to beg her to assure me she was really here in my arms. “He’s gone, Blackbird. He’s gone; it’s okay. You’re okay,” I whispered, then brushed my lips against hers. “You’re okay.”
“Everybody on the ground,” a deep voice boomed from above me, and Briar recoiled from the sound, but I didn’t release her and I didn’t move.
I looked up at the man in the bull
etproof vest, and demanded, “Take us to David Criley.”
“I said ever—”
“Take us to David Criley,” I ground out, and when it looked like he would argue, I said low enough that my voice wouldn’t carry, “You’re only here because I made this possible. She’s going into shock. Tell Criley that Trent Cruz is demanding to leave. Now.”
He stared at me with confusion and apprehension, but something registered when I said my name, and he hurried to speak into the mic clipped to him. After a few moments of silence, he jerked his head toward the front of the hall, and I stood with Briar in my arms to follow him—not once looking back at William, or the two men we’d left bleeding on the floor.
As soon as we were outside, my handler came jogging over to us, already talking about whatever was happening inside the hall, but I wasn’t listening, and I didn’t wait for him as I took off for an ambulance at the end of a long line of police and SWAT vehicles.
David caught up to us, his tone warning me that he wasn’t happy. “What happened?”
“He was stabbed,” Briar said immediately.
“I’m fine,” I growled as I caught the EMT’s attention and waited until they were surrounding us. “She needs to be checked out. She’s been blacking out and close to fainting all night. Someone put a needle in her arm about five minutes ago, I don’t know what it was filled with.”
I stepped up into the back of the ambulance and reluctantly placed Briar onto the gurney.
“Lucas, please!” she said frantically and sat up, reaching for me when I stepped back.
I pressed my mouth roughly to hers, leaving it there when I said, “Let them make sure you’re okay. I’m not going anywhere; I’ll be right here.”
Once she released me, I stepped out of the ambulance and watched her. Again, one of her hands fell protectively to her stomach, and I felt anxious and fucking terrified as I waited for something that I wasn’t even positive was happening.
“You were stabbed?” David asked once the EMTs were looking her over.
“Right shoulder. I’ll get it checked later.”
I thought he was going to argue, but after a moment, he sighed and said, “Someone reported as soon as we entered. Were you near there? Do you—?”
