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Tiffany hugged her best friend, her relieved gaze meeting Lukus's. He knew her so well. She may have been the bravest woman he'd ever met, but he saw the vulnerability in her ocean blue eyes. The lingering fear that the nightmare might not be over yet.
She needed him to be strong. "Come on, ladies. We can't avoid opening the door forever. Let's go find Markus and Derek," he said briskly.
Lukus input the six-digit code to unlock the door into the foyer of the loft. Barely controlled chaos hit them like a sound wave. Every nook and cranny of the loft was filled. Police. Paramedics. Security. Friends. It was hard to know where to look first.
Lukus quickly scanned the space until relief loosened the hold on his chest. Derek was sitting up on the couch, being checked out by paramedics. He'd removed his tee shirt, and two large bruises had already formed on his muscular chest—right over his heart.
He'd been wearing his bulletproof vest.
He'd be sore as hell for a few days, but Derek would be fine. Davenport's aim had been true. He'd shot to kill. The vest had saved his friend's life.
As they watched, Rachel pushed her way forward until she was sitting on her daddy's lap. Lukus smiled as he watched the paramedics trying to shoo her away so they could continue their examination, and Derek telling them to go to hell.
His scan of the space continued, taking in Dylan sitting in Lukus's favorite chair, his boots up on the ottoman, a pale Hannah wrapped in his lap. Mama Rosa and Connor were nowhere to be seen, which was good. Scenes like this could give a kid lingering nightmares.
Lukus had to move a few more feet into the great room before he finally found Markus. He was on a gurney being treated by paramedics. They were just hanging a bottle of IV solution onto a long pole, which was a good sign. They don't give dead people IV's.
Brianna had already broken free to run to her husband's side while Lukus and Tiffany held hands, following quickly. Markus was pale, his eyes closed. It looked like he was asleep. Brianna reached for his hand, squeezing it as renewed sobs overtook her.
Markus's eyes sprang open, full of panic. It took him a few seconds to focus, but as soon as he saw Brianna next to him, tears came to his eyes.
"Oh, thank God. I thought I'd never see you again, Bri."
Brianna calmed enough to speak. "You just try to get rid of me, buster."
Markus grunted in pain as he tried to tease her back. "That's Master to you, young lady."
"Yes, Master."
Lukus asked for a report from the medics. "So, what's the damage?"
The tallest of the medics answered, "His vital signs are stable, and the bleeding has slowed. We're taking him to Methodist Memorial."
Brianna leaned over her husband to hug him; gently so as to not hurt him more. Silent sobs shook her shoulders.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay," Markus said. Then he looked up at Lukus. The men exchanged knowing glances.
Markus probed, "It's over?"
Lukus smiled. "Yeah. It's over. Davenport is dead. He'll never hurt anyone else again."
Markus sighed with relief. "You do the honors?"
"Nope. The CPD took care of it."
As if they'd timed it, Aiden and Josh pressed into the room, seeking them out. It only took them a few seconds to come up and stand beside Markus. An awkward silence descended on them until Aiden joked, "Lying down on the job again, I see. You'll do anything to get out of Tiffany beating your ass at basketball, won't you?"
Markus smiled weakly. "I hear you got in a bit of target practice. Well done."
Lukus knew how lucky they were that they could be cracking jokes. If he'd timed his arrival from the airport just a few minutes later, they could be having a very different conversation.
We're pretty damn lucky.
* * *
Dylan
Dylan Parker sat silently in the comfortable chair he'd occupied for the last several long hours. Slowly, the crowd in the loft was beginning to thin out.
