Prologue
Kellan
Thesecondspassedlikeminutes as Tommaso lifted the gun, yet I was powerless to do anything to stop him from pressing the trigger. Desperation clung to my skin like a sheen of cold sweat. I tried to lunge forward, to get Giana out of the way, to take her place.
The feet between us seemed like miles as my pulse thundered in my ears.
It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Maybe Spade could get to them first.
Tommaso’s stance shifted slightly, but too late did I notice the barrel of his pistol pointed at us instead.
The crack of gunfire reverberated against the walls as icy fear gripped my chest.
I waited for the slice of pain to tear through me, but it didn’t come. Instead, a pained cry echoed from the other side of the room.Tommaso.
But—
An agonized grunt sounded from behind me, jolting me into action.
My feet crashed down upon the marble steps, and I raced back up the few stairs that separated us. Merrick pressed his hand against his chest, attempting to stop the bleeding, but crimson liquid poured out between his fingers. I blocked out everything else as I focused on the wound, doing whatever I could to keep him from bleeding out.
His legs gave out, but Sophia held on to him, desperately trying to stop him from colliding with the unforgiving marble beneath us. I flung off my jacket and pressed it against him, replacing his hand with mine and applying as much pressure as I could muster. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his brow while he bit back a pained gasp.
Good. I could get him out of here while Spade helped—
“No. I can handle this.”
My jaw tightened at her wavering voice, but I did my best to focus on Merrick despite the panic clawing its way out of my chest.
“Don’t you dare,” Merrick growled, attempting to hide his pain despite the way his body shuddered.
We needed to get him medical attention. Now.
I blocked out everything else around me, knowing Spade would protect our devil with his life. I just had to worry about getting Merrick and Sophia to safety.
Sophia didn’t miss a beat as I slung Merrick’s arm over my shoulder. She moved in close to help me support his weight. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, my pulse pumping so hard that I almost missed the heated words leaving Giana’s lips.
“Get them out of here, Spade, or I’ll never forgive you.”
I forced one foot in front of the other, barely keeping us upright as shock struck me like a freight train.
“Giana.” Her name rolled off my tongue, like saying it was as easy as breathing. My questioning plea was all I could muster as my breath came in uneven gasps. Every muscle in my body tightened at the thought of leaving her alone.
She winced as her eyes met mine for the briefest second. I knew her mind was made up the moment she turned her back on us to focus on the monster before her.
“If he dies, I will never forgive any of you.” Her words pierced through my skin as if it were me who had been shot. A hole tore through my chest, so wide that I wasn’t sure if I was still alive until Merrick’s wild thrashing interrupted my thoughts.
“Trust me.”
Trust me.
Hadn’t we just said the same thing to her? Hadn’t we begged her to let us in, to not sneak off on her own and trust that we had a plan to help get her friend back?
How could we not do the same when she asked it?
Spade came to the same realization. He stumbled back, eyes wide and haunted. Arguing would only steal precious time from us, which none of us had.
Determination pushed me forward, my stomach sinking with each step as if I were walking toward my execution. Every fiber of my being told me not to leave the woman I loved here alone, but I knew by the steel coating her words that she would never forgive any of us if we stayed here and Merrick ended up not making it through. A piece of her would die with him, just like it would if it were either Spade or me in his place right now.
