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But that was where I wanted to live forever. I would live there in our future, and if it never happened, at least I knew it was possible.
Three gunshots were followed by silence…then a fourth cracked in the air.
Chapter 54
Kai
The world slowed. The cold metal at my side weighed me down. Jeffery struggled to hold on, an easy person to take. The only thing preventing me was Audry in the way. Steven laid on top of her, struggling against her fighting tooth and nail.
Her dark eyes landed on me, finding the glimmer of metal. I saw the realization stretch across her face. Audry nodded slowly at me, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.
A small breath of relief released from between her lips, her body relaxing.
Peace.
I aimed the gun, firing three shots…back…to back. I shouldn’t have looked away. At the last second, I turned my head and prayed. I prayed for the first time in a long time—to a god that I doubted existed. But that was all I had at that moment.
Angel…my sweet angel. She struggled against the attacker, but once I opened my eyes, there she was, no longer moving.
Carson screamed, her throat straining at the volume. Maddie rushed to Angel’s side, shoving the man off of her. Her mouth moved, but there was no sound.
I watched everything in slow motion. Maddie’s brows drooping, her jaw dropping open. Blood drained from her face as she lifted her hands stained in ruby.
I shook my head, the gun falling from my hands. “No,” was the only sound I could make.
My body froze. My skin crept with a nauseating sensation. This couldn’t be happening.
“Call 911,” Maddie yelled as the world threw itself back into drive.
Logan came bounding around the corner, stopping at my side before running to Carson. He crashed into her, pulling her into his arms. He glanced down at Maddie, who shook her head at him, tears falling down her cheeks.
“Call 911,” she said again. “Please.” She pressed against Angel’s wound, but there was no saving her.
My sister, dead by my hand…by my gun…by my bullet.
My hands shook as I slowly lifted the weapon from my belt, kicking myself for not practicing at some point in the years I had.
Those sweet years. The ones with my brothers—we grew closer after Angel’s death.
Her death granted me so much…allowed me to be there for Audry.
I aimed the gun, the world barely moving. Audry’s face shifted to Angel, her blonde hair and icy blue eyes staring at me. There was an understanding there.
The hallucination mouthed the words I needed. “Save her.”
It sounds like two young girls, including one downstairs, are still alive because of you, Audry’s voice echoed in my mind as I squeezed the trigger.I don’t think Angel, by the sounds of it, would have wanted it to change.
I am sorry,I said to her. I prayed that she could hear my thoughts from the beyond—wherever that was. If she couldn’t, Ihoped that some Reaper out there, some Guardian Angel, would bring her the message.
The shots rang out, three back-to-back. The world came crashing in on me again, just like before. I didn’t take a second more before I twisted onto my back, ignoring the pain, and laid a single shot in the center of Jeffery’s chest.
I groaned as I moved back to my belly, crawling over to Audry—who laid too still.
Steven’s shirt soaked red. One of the bullets was visible at his side, the other on the back of his head.
But the third.
My eyes stung as I continued to move closer to her, ignoring my lungs screaming at me and my eyes blurring from the pain. I would not pass out, not till I knew she was okay.
