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A body collided with mine and we both tumbled to the floor. It was only as my arms closed around the body that I put all the pieces together.
Cait had just jumped in front of a bullet for me…
Time seemed to speed into a blur as I sat up and frantically turned her in my arms.
“Cait!” I yelled, gripping her face. Her eyes were wide, blinking up at me with shock. “Cait, are you hurt?”
“I… I don’t think so,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
I ran my hands over her. She was okay. The bullet missed.
Now that I knew she wasn’t in immediate danger, fury pummeled through my veins.
“What the fuck were you thinking!” I growled, standing and pulling her to her feet. Over her shoulder I spotted Salvatore’s body. It had more holes in it than a block of Swiss cheese.
When she didn’t answer, I looked back at her. She was pale and swaying.
“Cait?”
“I don’t feel so good,” she said, and then sagged in my arms.
“Cait? What’s wrong?” I laid her back down on the carpet as the rest of the group surrounded us. She was wearing black, so the blood was practically invisible.
Bree dropped to her knees next to me and started running her hands over her best friend. “There,” she yelled, pulling at the dress fabric to reveal a hole. Blood pumped from a small wound in her abdomen, and I swear my heart stopped beating.
“No, no, no.” This couldn’t be happening. “Cait!” Her eyes were closed now, her face deathly pale.
“Call an ambulance,” someone yelled.
“No, there’s no time. Brady get the car!”
Voices filled the church, but I could barely hear them. I reached for the hem of her dress, ripping a long wad of fabric from the bottom of it, I pressed it against the hole to try and stem the blood flow.
Bree got to her feet and jogged over to Ella who I realized was coming toward us with a first aid kit. Bree threw all the gauze and bandages at me.
As I pressed them down, the pain seemed to wake Cait up. Her eyes fluttered open. She was still here.
“It hurts,” she gasped, her lips bright red against her ice white skin.
“I know, Clover. I know,” I sobbed. “I’m gonna get you out of here.”
“Brady brought the car round,” Enzo yelled.
Thank God.
“Cait, look at me,” I demanded, using my free hand to smooth her hair back off of her face. “I’m going to pick you up. It’s going to hurt, but I need you to be brave for me, okay?”
She nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“I love you, Cait.”
Her eyes drooped.
No, no, no.
“C’mon, stay awake. Clover. Stay awake for me.” I knew it was going to hurt her, but there was no time to waste. I needed to get her to the hospital. Now.
She gasped again as I swept her into my arms and dashed towards the exit. There were still a few people from the service milling around outside, but I didn’t have time to worry about them calling the police.
