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“Where’d they go?” Karen waves her gun at me again, but I’m already falling to the floor.
Ciara and Lucas are gone now, too. I can’t see them anymore, but they’d been there. I saw them.
The window. The window is closed. They had to have gotten out.
“No matter,” Karen snarls down at me. “You’re going to die. That’s good enough.”
She walks away, and I hear the door open and slam against the wall again as she flees.
I don’t take my eyes away from the window, though. Screams fill the air all around me, but I don’t even blink. I can’t. My fingers are soaked in blood, and every second takes more of my life away. But none of that matters.
They are safe.
The window.
The window is closed.
My students, my kids are safe.
Lucas is safe.
Nothing else matters.
I think everything is done, gone. Until someone presses on my stomach and all of the numbness vanishes in a roar of searing pain that tears through my body.
“No,” I groan as I begin to shiver uncontrollably.
I open my eyes, not realizing I’d closed them, to see Lucas there. Tears stream down his cheeks and his hands press down as hard as he can.
“Google says to put pressure on gunshot wounds,” he states as calmly as he can. “I’m going to keep you here, Miss James. Because you promised me I could have a sleepover. And I don’t get to have one if you die, right?”
I try to answer him, but I can’t speak. I can’t even keep my eyes open anymore.
“I’m right, I know I am.” He sniffles but doesn’t move his hands. “You’re not allowed to die. Because then I’ll be stuck with only Carter. And you haven’t talked to him yet. You have to hold on, Miss James. You have to hold on for us.”
I try. I really do, but I think I die somewhere along the way.
23
CARTER
Cameron has a better line of sight on the situation than I do. Hell, I don’t even have my uniform on, and I barely had time to grab my bulletproof vest from the back seat of my truck before the chaos broke out.
“Where’s Lucas?” I grab Chris by the shoulder as he rushes by following the orders of a cop who is directing everyone where to go. “Where’s Avery?”
“It’s Karen Zucker,” he gasps for air. “She had a gun and she ran straight for Avery’s class.”
Less than five minutes have passed from the time the call came in. Two minutes since I’ve gotten to the school. Both of my brothers stand at my side. Cameron is wearing a SWAT vest and has a sniper rifle hanging around his chest. Casey, wearing a black shirt and jeans, looks like he belongs even if he technically doesn’t.
“How’d you get through?” Casey just shrugs and looks around. “I think they knew who I was. I dunno.” Yet, the fire in his eyes and the way his jaw ticks tells a different story. Probably one where he bullied his way through, and I find myself beyond thankful that he did.
I push by another uniformed cop and walk straight up to my chief, ready to do whatever I have to.
“You can’t go in.” He turns to my brother and shakes his head. “None of you can.”
“I’m not going in,” Cam snorts. “I’ll be on that rooftop. My men are gonna go in.” Cam, who technically works for the Birch Police Department, doesn’t even blink or hesitate in challenging his boss. “You might be able to convince Carter not to go into that building, but we’re wasting time.”
He walks away without another word, but he does whistle sharply, and the rest of his men fall into step with him. For about a second, I watch as Cam and the others discuss a plan, but then everything flies into motion all at once.
