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James moves in front of me but I shove him toward Lili. “Protect Lili at all costs,” I shout.
She scrambles across the floor trying to put something between her and the guns.
She doesn’t see Liam taking aim with a second gun in her direction, but I do.
The gun goes off. Lili cries out and my heart stops beating. A part of me dies in that second. It is an alien feeling. Something I’ve never experienced before. I shove all the emotions creating chaos between my brain and heart into a compartment to unlock later. All I know is I can’t lose her. I refuse to lose her.
My vision narrows and nothing else matters at that moment but stopping Liam from breathing.
I lunge for the man I want to beat to death with my bare hands.
CHAPTER 5
LILI
If this is what getting grazed by a bullet feels like, I would hate to get shot.
Fire blazes across my left shoulder. I swear a red hot poker would feel like ice against my skin in comparison.
“Son of a bitch, this hurts!” I gasp for air and let the burn of pain rip through me. Blood runs down my arm but the water washes it away just as quickly. My heart stutters and trembles in my chest. But I don’t have time to be scared because out of nowhere, Accandis’ men pour into Bastian’s penthouse.
How, I don’t know. But I need a gun and an escape route.
I slap my hand over the ripped flesh and pull back bloody fingers. Behind me, wood cracks as a beast of a man tears through the living room. Behind Bastian, Con, Arthur and James lay waste to men I’ve never seen before. Bodies fly. Male growls carry over the sound of water. Guns go off. Blood turns the water red and my dazed brain can only think about the ruined white carpet for several heartbeats.
A heavy hand comes down on my shoulder and I whirl around ready to put my fist through someone's face.
It takes everything in me not to scream and strike out. Only a familiar set of eyes keeps my heart in my chest and my knuckles out of his teeth. “Get to the elevator. Go to floor twenty-nine and wait for us. Code is nine, seven, twelve.”
Bastians’ nose is touching mine as he shouts. There’s a wildness in his eyes. Behind him, Liam lays face down in the water, dead.
I gulp air. I’ve heard people tell me Bastian is a killer. He has told me himself. But I’ve never seen the mafia man prove he’s as dangerous as everyone describes him as.
Now I know.
“I’ll cover you.”
Nausea churns in my belly at the stench of blood. I’m a lot of bravado in a small package, but I can’t handle blood.
“Come here.” He rips off a piece of my shirt and presses it against my arm. He uses another piece he takes from my other sleeve to tie it in place. I suck in harshly.
“Now get moving.”
I want to make sure he’s behind me, but he’s pushing me so fast through the chaotic madness happening in his living room that I don’t have time to do anything but move.
We get about five steps from the elevator when the doors slide open and two men I have never seen before step out, guns drawn.
My world turns into a blur of motion.
One second I am in front of Bastian and in the next all I see is the back of his head.
He’s in front of me, his weapon drawn. Two sharp pops and the intruding men fall to their knees.
I stumble back, but I don't get far. An overturned couch keeps me from planting on my ass in the river of red ruining Bastian’s carpet. It’s a silly detail to focus on, but my brain latches on and refuses to let go until my step-father is in front of me.
“Hey, baby, look at me. You’re safe now.”
My heart occupies my throat so talking is a no-go for a moment. He pulls me into his arms and I press my cheek against his chest. The heavy thud of his heart in my ear calms my nerves. I close my eyes and give up a prayer of thanks that we are not the ones face down in the water.
