Behind me, I hear Roman rush in, his shoes squeaking on the floor as he comes to an abrupt halt.
Panic widens Darcy’s eyes, and she steps away from me, looking between me and my brother.
“Easy,” I warn her, reaching for her again. “I’m going to help you.”
I see the moment she realizes it’s a setup. That icy mask slips back on, and her lip curls, “You lied!” She screams.
I lunge for her as she twists out of my reach, but I’m not quick enough. Her hand snatches my gun off the counter and blindly, she fires it in Juni’s direction.
“No!” I roar.
A piercing scream rips through the air, sending a chill straight down my spine.
Roman fires once, hitting Darcy in her knee, taking her down, but I don’t fucking care about her.
I rush to Juni, seeing the bloodstain swelling at her shoulder. Her breaths are heavy and short, her bodyslumping to the side as the lids of her eyes start to lower.
“No, no, no,” I drop to my knees, ripping at the rope keeping her arms behind her back. “Stay with me, baby.” I beg her.
She blinks up at me silently, her bottom lip wobbling.
“Call a fucking ambulance!” I order as I put pressure on the bullet wound, her blood warm and seeping through my fingers.
I can’t fucking lose her.
I can’t.
Chapter Forty-one
He tried.
He came for me.
Pain tears through my limbs as he slowly lowers me onto the floor, words stuck behind the howls of pain that rip out of my throat.
“I know, baby,” he whispers, his voice shaking, eyes glazed. “I know it hurts. I’ve got you.”
“I love you,” I wheeze.
I feel like I am dying. Maybe I am. Maybe this isit.
“This isn’t goodbye,” Silas presses a cloth that Roman passes him to my shoulder, and the pain flares to an inferno that steals the breath from my lungs. “The ambulance is coming.” He assures me, “Stay awake for me, Honeybee. Don’t leave me.”
“Thank you,” I grind out through the pain, “for showing me what it’s like to be loved properly.”
There’s a thumping inside my ears that’s growing softer, slower.
“Juni, please,” Silas begs, pushing back my hair with his free hand. I feel something wet smear against my skin as he does, but I’m going numb, getting tired.
“If we can’t have forever,” I hiccup, “give me right now.”
His hand cups my face, and he presses his mouth to mine. He kisses me the way I want him to. Kisses me like I am his. Like I am the stars that fall from the sky and the moon that lights up the dark.
All I ever wanted was to be loved. To feel wanted.
He’s given that to me. He gave me a soft place to land.
“Stay with me,” he begs.
