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"Don't listen to him, kid," Theo insists, pulling at my hand. "We have to go!”
But I barely hear him, because in that instant, I see what he's talking about: my father is on the ground, blood pooling around his shoulder. "Dad!" I cry out in anguish, and my knees start to buckle until I feel Theo pull me up again.
"There's no time, kid," he growls.
That finally gets me moving again. My ears are ringing as Craig waves us through the doorway and we barrel out into the main hall, the sight of my father's motionless body filling my head. "We can't just leave him there," I manage as Theo rushes me toward the front door. "We can’t—”
"We can't help him now, Vivian," Theo says, his voice low and strained. "Not if we're dead, too.”
"Liam and Tristan—”
"They'll be fine." His silver eyes meet mine for a moment, and the look of cool composure in them is the only thing that keeps me from losing it completely. We stagger out onto the darkened lawn and make a break for the Range Rover, seemingly untouched by the chaos inside the house.
"I gotta get Dad," I hear myself say as Theo helps me into the shotgun seat, climbing into the driver's seat moments later and starting the engine. "I can't just walk away without—” I break off when I see Lucas charge out of the house, shouting something, a long rifle in his hands. He points it at us and opens fire, shattering the back window just as the car starts to move. I duck and cover, but my whole body is numb.
“Shit,” Theo is muttering, ducking his head as he speeds down the driveway. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Lucas shot him,I think, feeling like a broken record.He shot Dad. And if he got Dad, then Tristan and Liam…
I damn near have to smack myself to stop the thought from going any further, but as soon as we're down the block and out of Lucas's line of fire, I lose it. Struggling to breathe, I try to stop the sobs that keep clawing their way up my throat.
"It'll be okay, Vivian," Theo promises, but I can hear the hint of doubt in his voice. He's wound so tightly that he's trembling, the color drained from his face.
"How can you say that? He's my father!" I cry, throwing my hands up. "My father! I can't just—”
"We can't just die, either!" Theo says, his voice rising, too—not with anger, but with worry for me. “I’m not going to let you get hurt, Vivian!”
"He might be okay," I whisper as we speed away, as much to convince myself as to convince Theo. "I didn't see where it hit him. Maybe he... he..." But my voice breaks when I think of Tristan and Liam in there, still stuck in a firefight that I helped create, and the fear and grief hit me all over again.
Theo reaches for me from the driver's seat, taking my hand in his, but he doesn't say anything, and judging by the way his jaw is set, I know he's as torn up as I am. I don't know what else he’s thinking, but one thing is perfectly clear: any remaining semblance of the alliance just dissolved before our eyes. And no matter what happens next, we're all in for a world of hurt.
ChapterForty-Seven
"You should eat something," Theo murmurs, taking my head from across the table in the kitchen of the bed and breakfast.
I just shake my head. I couldn't eat even if I wanted to. My eyes are glued to the clock above the counter, watching the seconds turn to minutes and then hours. I've lost track of time since we got back, worry and grief paralyzing me, and not even Theo's steadying presence is enough to make the lump in my throat go away.
"Have you heard anything?" I ask in a soft voice, my eyes not leaving the clock.
Theo glances at his phone and shakes his head. "It's only been a few hours," he replies. "They knew this was the meeting point. They'll be here.”
"How do you know?" I whisper, turning to him as more tears well up in my eyes. "They could still be in Craig's house right now. Dad could still be there. They..." I trail off, unable to let myself finish. I'm ready to jump out of my skin. I can't stand not knowing, and I can't stand being stuck here doing nothing.
"Vivian," Theo says, leaning his head forward and brushing my hair with his lips, "I've known Liam and Tristan for years. They're not going to let a few stray bullets get the better of them.”
"My father did," I reply, and now the tears start in earnest, flowing down my cheeks in big, heavy drops.
"This isn't your fault," he says fiercely, wrapping his arms around me. "None of this is your fault.”
"I should have—”
"You couldn't have known," he cuts me off. "They'll be here. They'll be okay.”
I allow him to hold me, my mind going to my mother, and Violet, and then, inevitably, back to the guys. How did we not predict this? How didInot predict this? I've seen what Lucas is capable of, I've been on the receiving end of it, and that wasn't enough to make me rethink it. Now everyone I love is in danger, and some of them might already be dead.
Eventually, though, it becomes too much to bear, and I try to get up from my seat. "I have to figure out what's happening," I say, half to myself. "I can't just sit here stewing, not with everyone still—"
But Theo's arms tighten around me, keeping me firmly in place. "You're not going anywhere, kid," he tells me, gently but firmly. "It's too dangerous out there.”
