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A huge, hulking, beast of a man watches in the shadow of the video arcade, screaming into his cell phone. “Salem Willows! Come quick, it’s gonna fucking blow!”
“Get over here and help me!” I scream. The guy stares at me, petrified. Why the fuck do people freeze in emergencies? Instinctively, I grab my gun from its holster and cock it and I amfullyprepared to shoot. “Get the fuck over here and help or I’ll shoot you!” I scream.
He runs to me and grabs Cain by the arm, just as Skylar reaches us. I’m shoving my gun back in the holster when strong arms grab me from behind. I half-expect police to apprehend me and react by instinct when I see it’s someone I’ve never seen before. I deck his jaw, and his head snaps back.
The second he releases me, I grab my gun again. I have to help Cain, but this guy’s fucking attacking me. He lunges for me. I duck and slide my fingers in place around my gun, satisfied by the heft of it in my palm. “Get anywhere near me again, and I’ll fucking shoot you.”
“Not if I kill you first,” he growls. He spits on the ground beside me, his face contorted with fury, then throws himself bodily at me. I pull the trigger.
I never miss.
He falls to the ground with a thud. I don’t take time to check him. I don’t bother.
The shot I took is deadly…just like every. other. damn. time.
His body lays still in my peripheral vision as I turn back to Cain. He’s been pulled to the curb. I sag in relief.
Someone at the arcade’s shown up with a fire extinguisher. Sirens wail nearby.
The world spins around me, and my ears begin to ring. I slump to the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Cain
“Tell me again.”
I’m sitting propped up in my bed, and Violet’s laying with me, her head on my chest. She doesn’t know it yet, but the door’s locked up here. I kept my guards here just in case, and I’ve commanded the deadbolts be drawn downstairs.
Everyone thinks I’m taking extra precautionary measures now because we’ve been attacked by the Castellanos. I’m not. I don’t fucking fear the Castellanos.
I want Violet to stay here, with me.
Right now, she’s lying on me as if she’s exhausted and I’m her pillow, and I’m not ready for this to end. I’m not ready for the inevitable that happens next.
“Armand came around the corner, pulled out his phone, and I swear he was calling the Castellanos when they blew up our car.”
“I heard it, and didn’t know what it was at first. What a terrible sound.”
I nod. “That’s all I remember. Joe doesn’t remember much more than that, but Henri’s footage is pretty clear. A Castellano blew up the car, likely as a distraction. They saw me get in with Joe. When you came to rescue me, that was their chance. They came to get you.”
She nods. “And dude, that was thewrongtime to try to kidnap me. He’d have been better off trying when I was asleep or something.”
I growl low, making her laugh. “I love it when you go all alpha on me.”
“I know, baby.”
This time, she doesn’t tell me not to call her baby.
There’s scratching and a whimper at the door. Violet grins.
“Let him in!” she shouts to the security guard. Seconds later, a freshly cleaned little Cudgel vaults himself onto the bed, sporting a bright red ribbon. He laps furiously at Violet’s face until she pulls him up to her and rolls him over so she can rub his belly.
“You little rascal,” she says with affection. “You missed mama, huh?”
She gets him busy with a chew toy on the floor. I marvel at her grace, the simple lines of her body like the expert sweep of an artist’s brush. She tucks her hair off her forehead and behind one ear, and when she catches my eye, she gives me a gentle smile.
She sits on the edge of the bed, bends, and kisses my bandaged arm.
