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Mack looked around, shock driving the pain away for the moment. “Wally?”
“He’s chasing that man,” Tris said in between giving their location to the operator.
“Shh,” Roe whispered, holding him tightly. “Here, sit down.”
Mack slid onto the backseat of their vehicle, startled when Roe pressed something to his shoulder.
“Are you alright?” he asked, looking over his omega, making sure he hadn’t been hit.
“Am I alright, he asks,” Roe muttered, voice shaky.
“I think I got shot,” Mack said, shoulder beginning to burn as pain settled into him.
“Yeah, you did.” Roe kissed his forehead and pressed harder against his shoulder. “If you die, I’ll hate you forever, Ian McKenzie. Do you understand? What’s your middle name? I need it to properly yell at you, damn it.”
“Don’t want you to hate me,” Mack mumbled, vision dimming.
He woketo muffled voices and the sound of Roe crying. Mack knew that waswrong. Roe should never cry. The familiar smell ofhospitalsent a shiver through him.
“Roe?” he said, voice barely a croak.
“Ian,” Roe took his hand, squeezing it. “You’re awake.”
“What happened?”
“Ned fucking Bollinger shot you.”
“Dad.” Tris sounded scandalized.
“You’re alright?” Mack asked, remembering the sound of the gun and Roe’s scream. His eyes focused on Roe’s face. His omega looked unreasonably pissed.
“Am I alright?” Roe asked, voice barely above a whisper. “The man I adore got shot because of me!”
Mack could stop his smile. “You adore me?”
“I’mgoing to shoot you.” Roe threw his hands up and paced next to the hospital bed.
Wally cleared his throat. “Roe, will you come with me to get some water for Mack? He’s probably thirsty.”
Roe glared at the bodyguard with a scowl. “Of course, he’s thirsty. He had to have surgery because he got shot. By Ned fucking Bollinger.”
Wally gave Mack a sympathetic look and guided Roe from the room.
Mack almost closed his eyes to sleep some more, but Tris’s sniffles drew his attention. “Tris? What’s wrong, son?”
Tris sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. “You saved Dad’s life.”
“He’s alright,” Mack bit back a yawn. “Wally and I will keep him safe. You just worry about getting good grades.”
“I’m not going to school.” Tris shook his head. “I’m not leaving Dad.”
“Think again.” Mack gave him as stern a look as he could muster. “Your dad will be talking about shootingyouif you tell him that. I promise I’ll keep him safe, Tris.”
“What about you?” Tris wiped his eyes. “I’ve never seen Dad as happy as he is with you. He loves us and I know we make him happy, but you make him come alive. If you die, I’m scared that he’ll never smile again.”
Mack wasn’t sure what to say to that. Life was never a certainty. Darren had taught him that. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Tris. You can’t live if you’re worried about death. Whether it’s your own or someone you love. It’s inevitable. Life is the tricky part that you have to work to get right. If you let fear control you now, it’ll make figuring that life out a hell of a lot harder.”
“What if I go to school and Dad dies?” Tris asked, tears falling again. “What if you die? What if I never see you or Dad again?”
