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From the corner of her eye, she detected Aiden and Josh moving closer, taking advantage of Jake's concentrated attention on Lukus. Determined to help the men who loved her, Tiffany locked eyes with Lukus again, this time sending him a silent message.
Time moved in slow motion. Lukus shook his head as if to stop her just as she lifted her free arm, pulling it down and back to land a hard elbow directly into Jake Davenport's ribs. His pained grunt was music to her ears, and his grip loosed on her neck.
Lukus leapt forward, focused on reaching her in time. He was running full out by the time he got to her, tackling her with the velocity of his lunge, and sending them both out of Jake's reach to topple to the floor. Tiffany landed so hard it knocked the wind out of her. Lukus landed heavily on top of her, wringing the last air from her lungs as he covered her body with his, protecting her with his life.
Three loud shots rang out, deafening the occupants of the small, enclosed room. Tiffany held stock still, praying those shots hadn't gone into Lukus. She hadn't felt him flinch in pain—a good sign. He moved off her just enough so that she could see Jake with three holes in the front of his shirt, spilling dark blood. His eyes were filled with incredulous surprise that he'd been bested.
Jake stumbled back until he slammed into the bedroom wall. Long red streaks of blood decorated the paint as he crumpled to the floor. His body shuddered one last time before he died, slumping over.
As her hearing returned, Tiffany could hear Brianna crying. The reality of how close they'd come to being kidnapped by Jake closed in, and Tiffany started to tremble.
Lukus stroked her body, checking her out. "Shhh, baby, I've got you." From the corner of her eye, Tiffany saw her brother stepping closer, to look down on her with a concerned gaze. In that moment, she remembered her recurring nightmare; the one where her brother burst in to save her just as Aiden had done tonight. The only difference was that he was not looking down on her with disgust, as in her dream, but with love and relief.
Aiden holstered his weapon and reached out to pull them both to their feet. Tiffany was close to her brother, and recognized he was struggling with his emotions. He still held Lukus's hand in his own, gripping it hard, as if he didn't want to let it go.
He cleared his throat. "I may not like it, but you've convinced me that you do love my sister… since it appears you're willing to risk your life to save hers. That's all I can ask for."
The men were still shaking hands when Brianna's cry diverted their attention. "Tiffany! Lukus! Untie me. I need to get to Markus."
All occupants of the room grew somber as they remembered they weren't Jake's only victims.
Now that Davenport had been neutralized, Tiffany's fear for her friends returned as she brought the men up to speed. "He shot Markus and Derek. We need to get upstairs right away."
Aiden interjected. "You guys go. I'm gonna stay here until I can turn the scene over to the forensic guys."
Lukus rushed to the bed to release a crying Brianna. He drew out his utility knife and cut the zip-ties to free her. "I can't live without him, Lukus." She clung to him in desperation.
Lukus tried to comfort her. "You won't need to, sweetheart."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Lukus's eyes connected with Tiffany's, looking for reassurance that he wasn't lying. However, despite her earlier assertion to Bri, Tiffany couldn't make a promise that Markus would be okay any more than Lukus could.
Chapter Fifteen
Lukus
Lukus stumbled going up the last flight of stairs leading to his loft. He couldn't see his feet for the crying woman he carried in his arms. Brianna had been too distraught to climb the two flights so he'd scooped her up so they could make faster progress.
He glanced sideways at Tiffany, who was marching up the stairs at his side. A surge of pride coursed through him as he saw the strong set of her jaw. If he hadn't seen what Davenport had done to her with his own eyes, he'd never have known her life had been in danger mere minutes earlier.
She's absolutely the most amazing woman in the world. How the hell did I get so lucky to find her?
He returned his gaze to the shocked Brianna in his arms, who was clinging to him as if her life were over. He understood her fear. If it were Tiffany lying unconscious with a bullet buried in her, he wouldn't be functioning much better.
It was in that moment that the truth of the situation closed in on him. He'd been so focused on saving Tiffany and Brianna that he hadn't allowed the news of Markus and Derek being shot to sink in. He hadn't been able to think about it before. He'd had to focus on destroying Jake.
But now the real possibility of losing his two closest friends had his heart pounding with fear. It was bad enough they were gravely injured. They'd both risked their lives to protect his fiancée. If he'd ever doubted the men's loyalty or dedication to their friendship, it was gone. How would he ever possibly repay them for their sacrifice?
As if she sensed his fear, Tiffany looked his way as they hit the top of the landing. Her smile was bittersweet. It spoke to him. Without words, she knew exactly what he was thinking. Exactly what terrified him.
They'd stopped, both afraid to open the door. Better to stay in the dark with hope than to open the door to get answers they didn't want to know. The three of them collectively held their breath, unsure if they wanted to proceed.
Once again, Tiffany was the bravest of them. "They're going to be okay. We have to believe that."
Brianna wriggled in his arms. "I think I can walk now. Thank you so much for helping me up the stairs, Lukus, but we're out of danger. I need to suck it up and be strong for Markus. He has enough to worry about."
Lukus dropped her legs to the floor, holding her steady until she could hold her own weight. Brianna rushed into Tiffany's arms the second she could. "I don't know how you were so strong, Tiffany, but I know for a fact that I'm alive because of you. Thank you so much for not falling apart like I did."
