I tried to cradle her head during the fall, slamming my wrist into the concrete floor with a curse. My body covered hers, trying to shield her from the gunfire and chaos.
Her wild eyes couldn’t seem to focus as she stiffened beneath me. She was so fucking scared. I didn’t blame her, but I also wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.
“Hey, darlin’, no worries. I’ve got you.”
No sooner had I said the words than her eyes locked with mine. I swear only a single heartbeat passed between us before something bit into my right abdomen. Pain seared my brain as I sucked in a breath, worried Rachel would also be shot. I tried not to move as I felt hot blood oozing from the wound.
Fuck!I was hit, and the bullet hadn’t exited my back, which meant it was lodged inside me, probably causing further damage. I groaned as Rachel pressed her hand against my side. It fucking hurt like a bitch as she applied pressure to the wound.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll be okay,” I lied, gritting my teeth.
Holy fuck.I had to bite down on my lip to avoid yelling from the pain. I tasted the coppery tang of blood as I swallowed, hoping I remained conscious. I couldn’t protect Rachel from the inmates if I passed out.
She would never survive what they would do to her.
Men in prison were fucking animals. Sometimes, you could meet a guy who wasn’t one, but most became beasts, resorting to base levels of survival. It wore away at our sanity, and only the strong resisted the urges that followed.
“You’re not okay. You’re bleeding all over my dress,” Rachel hissed.
Well, shit.
Men were fighting by the doors, and I noticed two of the guards on the ground. Neither moved. One was fucking Phil.
The inmates were almost inside the visiting room. Only another two guards prevented them from rushing us and heading outside. I wasn’t sure how all the security measures up to this point failed, but there was a fucking riot at Ely State right now.
I spotted a gun not too far from our position. It must belong to one of the guards. “Hey, sweetheart, I need you to stay put for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“What?”
“Stay low. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Okay?”
She nodded. Fear seized her features as I began to move off of her and toward the gun.
Her hand found mine and snatched it. “Are you coming back?”
“Yeah.” I stared into her eyes to show her I meant to keep this promise.
She must have believed me because she released my fingers and remained flat, shaking as I slid away from her and began to inch my way toward the gun. It was fucking agony. It felt like someone had shoved a red-hot poker into my side and decided to twist it around the flesh, both burning and scraping at the same time.
Blood smeared the floor as I moved as quickly as possible, trying to stay conscious and not pass out. I slid my palm around the gun as two inmates pushed through the guards. The first one ran straight for the exit. I didn’t care about him.
The second man found Rachel. He sneered at her on the ground, skirt shoved way too high up her legs, exposing her panties. She probably never thought to tug it back down after I tackled her. He took three steps in her direction before I fired and hit him in the back of the head.
He wasn’t the only one to run toward her.
I fired three more shots, taking out every threat before it reached her. They were the last shots fired in the room.
More guards rushed inside as the only one who survived the riot leaned against the wall a few feet from where I rested.
“Dad!” Rachel shouted as she slid on the slippery, bloody floor and rushed to Hannibal’s side.
His eyes blinked and slowly opened, pinning her with a frown. “Shit. Baby girl, you okay?”
“I think so.” She pointed at me. “He saved me.” I heard her voice quiver. “He took a bullet for me.”
Hannibal appeared surprised.
