“You Kingmakers think you’re so smart.” He steps closer now—ten feet, then eight. Now close enough that I can see the gray in his beard and the tired lines around his eyes.
“Put the gun down,” I order, making his eyes flare. Yeah, I didn’t think he’d take too kindly tomeissuing him an order.
“Fuck you,” he responds, lifting the barrel again.
Grant blindsides him from the side like a freight train.
The shotgun goes off—a deafening crack that cuts through the night. I feel the heat of it whistle past my cheek and the sting of powder and torn skin. I throw myself backward, covering Madeline with my body, shielding her with everything I have.
We hit the ground hard, her breath knocked out in a gasp. My ears are ringing, but I can hear Grant grunting, the scuffle of boots on gravel, and Joe Sr. cursing as Grant wrestles the gun away.
“Clear!” Grant shouts as he comes back to his feet, gun pointed down at Joe Sr.
I roll off Madeline, checking to make sure she’s okay. My hands are everywhere, but I don’t see any wounds.
“Luke.” Her fingers come to my cheek. When she pulls it back, I see the tips covered in blood.
“Just a graze,” I tell her so she doesn’t freak out. “Another scar to add to the collection,” I say, downplaying it. Not that it works.
“Luke!” Madeline’s hands are on my face, her eyes wild. “You’re bleeding, you’re?—”
“I’m fine,” I say, but she’s already pulling me up, checking me over with frantic hands like I did to her. I let her have at it. You’ll never hear me complain about her fussing over me and giving me all of her attention.
“We need to call the cops,” Georgia says, her voice shaking. “Someone should?—”
“Already done.” I hold up my phone, the screen glowing with my brother’s name on it. The call shows it’s been connected for over ten minutes now. “The cops are on their way.”
Madeline nods, taking a deep breath, calming herself. Or so I thought. Instead, she was refocusing.
She hits my chest. “You idiot! You could have been killed! You stood there like a target and?—”
I kiss her, stopping her from saying anything more.
She freezes for half a second, then melts into it, her fingers gripping my shirt, clinging to me. When we break apart, she’s crying and hits my chest a few more times.
“You scared me,” she whispers.
“I know.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I’ll try.”
She looks up at me, moonlight catching the tears on her cheeks, and I see it. Really see it. She truly does love me.
She doesn’t care about Kingmakers or the money or any of that shit. She’d be with me if I had nothing.
She loves me.
I kiss her again, softer this time, while the sirens start to wail in the distance.
Chapter Forty-One
MADELINE
The smell of ice is always a little bit like coming home. I stand behind the boards in my Ice Crew uniform—a navy skirt and a Kingmakers jacket. I’m watching Luke during his warm-ups. I swear it’s as though he was born with a stick in his hand. He’s got a natural talent.
It’s been a week.
