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I saw the despair in Ruby's eyes, saw Lorenzo's twisted grin, saw the whitening pressure of his fingertip.

No.

I couldn't lose her.

Couldn't.

One second before the trigger pulled, I charged.

The gunshot exploded.

I felt a massive impact slam into my back like a truck hit. The Kevlar vest stopped the bullet, but the kinetic energy still rattled my organs.

Something hot and metallic surged up my throat.

But I didn't stop.

As my body lost balance and fell toward the ground, I squeezed my trigger—

Bang!

The bullet tore through the air, spinning, hitting Lorenzo precisely between the eyes.

His head exploded like a watermelon. He collapsed straight back.

I hit the ground hard, ribs screaming under the vest. Throat sweet, I coughed up blood.

"Marcelo!!"

Ruby's agonized scream.

Someone cut the ropes on her wrists. She stumbled over, dropped to her knees beside me, trembling hands cradling my face.

"Don't... don't die... please don't die..." She could barely speak through her sobs.

I raised my blood-stained hand, fingers gently brushing her ashen cheek, forcing a smile. "Idiot... I'm fine..."

My vision blurred.

Tony's voice in my ear. "Don! Don, hang on! Ambulance is coming!"

I tried to speak, but only rasping air came from my throat.

Ruby's face grew more distant, her crying fainter.

Darkness rolled in like a tide, swallowing me whole.

Chapter 34

Ruby

The stench of disinfectant clashed with the thick, metallic tang of blood under the harsh fluorescent lights in the corridor.

My hands, my sweater, even my cheeks and hair—everything was soaked in Marcelo's blood. The liquid in the creases of my fingers had dried and crusted into dark brown flakes. Every time I made a fist, my skin screamed with sharp, cracking pain.

The red surgery-in-progress light above the emergency room door glared like a bleeding eye.

Marcelo was in there. I didn't know if he was alive or dead.