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“But Adrian. That… that guy!” My stomach clenches, threatening to spill the treats I had earlier. “He-he…” I stammer, reaching for the words desperate to escape my lips. “No. No. Not you…”
“Killed himself? I know. It was so tragic. But someone had to take the fall. Your little agent friends were getting too close. I had to throw you off the trail. And my poor cousin needed to die.” He scrunches his nose at the thought, turning my stomach more. “They took you away from me! You should have stayed in East Point. You should never have run from me! I can’t believe you didn’t like my gift.”
Red blood flashes in my mind. My pictures splayed across my front porch. Dripping. Red. Lyric’s screams. It all scrambles in my mind.
“It was always you?”
Hopefully, someone with a gun will get here soon before someone gets hurt. It’s the only thing holding me together.
“When they left, he promised me I could have you! He said you’d run right into my arms like they never existed!” His shouts reverberate off the walls again when he yanks the gun from me and points it in Asher’s direction with a snarl. “But you didn’t. And I was sent the fuck away by my father. An internship. Like I fucking wanted anything to do with my father’s career.” He rolls his eyes, scoffing at the idea.
“I never promised you anything,” Asher says with a fake calm, taking a step forward. His wide, hazel eyes dart to Ly, checking her over as she stands still in Van’s grasp. “I never said she’d be yours. I said she might come running to you for support. But that’s it.” He swallows a lump in his throat, his eyes darting to me as if he’s trying to convey a silent message meant for the two of us. “But I know now that I made a mistake that night. I should never have come to you for help.” He shakes his head. “I never should have done what I did.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Van howls, stiffening his arm. “You’re a goddamn liar. You all used River.”
“Like you did?” Asher retorts, cocking his head with confidence.
“I didn’t use her!” Van shouts manically, waving the gun around. “I didn’t do anything! She was mine!”
“Yours?” Asher scoffs, continuing to step even closer to us despite my silent protests.
No. No. Please. Step back. Don’t come any closer. I’ve got this.
“Yes,” Van growls, gritting his teeth. “I put my claim on her a long time ago. You had no fucking right to touch what was mine.” He shakes his head back and forth, squeezing his eyes shut.
My heart drops into my ass when Asher lurches forward, grabbing Ly by her other arm and yanking her out of Van’s death grip. She stumbles forward into Asher’s arms with a frantic yelp, knocking her out of her stupor. It’s a small reprieve from the craziness going on around us, like time stands still.
“Go,” Asher yells. “Get help, baby!”He urges her, throwing her toward the door with tears in his eyes. “Please!” He begs, stepping toward her, frantically hurrying her along and herding her toward the opening.
Tears stream down Lyric’s face when she stumbles away from us. Her eyes dart back and forth with uncertainty. Trembles roll through her tiny, frozen body, shaking every inch of her.
“Mommy,” she sniffles, taking a step toward me with wide eyes, staring straight at the barrel of the gun, pointing at her tiny chest.
“No!” I shout, gluing my eyes to Van and his movements. Something depraved brews behind his dark eyes as he calculates his next moves. Lyric was his leverage. And now, she’s out of his grasp. Will he harm her, too?
“If I can’t have her, then no one will,” he says, staring directly into my eyes. A void opens in his dark eyes. There are no emotions resting behind them. Just a black hole of nothingness. “No one touches what is mine, again,” he says with a deadly calm—the calm before the shit storm about to rain on all of us.
An ache pangs across my chest when he cocks the gun and fucking fires it. No hesitation. No second thoughts. Like this was all a part of his plan. A small smirk pulls at his lips when my body flinches back and my gaze darts to my helpless child, standing stock still.
The bullet careens in Lyric’s direction, like a fucking missile aiming straight at her little chest, which heaves out of control as sobs flow from her throat.
I can’t fucking move to protect her from harm’s way. I can’t stop the bullet from speeding toward her little body. Everything is spiraling out of fucking control, and I can’t stop any of it from happening.
“No!” I shout as the loud bang reverberates off the stone walls. My fucking ears ring as the noise from the blast blocks everything out. I cry out, covering my ears from the closeness of the sound, deafening everything.
My eyes dart to Lyric, checking her for injuries. I make a move to run to her, despite the gun still hanging in the air, but a strong grip grabs the back of my neck, halting my retreat. Helplessly, I watch from a distance, cataloging her body inch by inch. Her shrill, frantic screams fill the room, penetrating through the static in my ears.
“Go!” Asher shouts, jumping directly in front of her with a fierce expression, pushing her once again and knocking her back.
All the color drains from my face. With an umph, he gasps out, grabbing at his calf. Those wide, hazel eyes connect with mine, darkening as he shouts out in pain, and hops around.
“Again,” Van chuckles, pulling the hammer back and firing directly into Asher’s thigh.
The blast deafens me further, and I wince, trying to focus on Asher. I pull. I yank. I try to break free. I’m ten seconds away from kneeing Van in the nuts to flee, but he pulls me against him with a satisfied hum.
Asher’s eyes widen, rolling into the back of his head when the pain takes him down to his knees.
“I’m sorry,” he gasps out, barely audible for me to hear him.
