and lungs both constricting tighter as I stare, unaware that behind me, just outside, there’s a fire now blazing.
“Say goodbye to your little whore, Fitz!” Sean spits, his mouth full of blood. Julian beat him up so bad that between all of us here, Julian looks otherwise untouched, a god of vengeance who watches me laser focused eyes, trying to tame the fear I can see sneaking into his green eyes.
“Julian!” I scream.
When I blink and things change.
Julian has knocked the gun out of Sean’s grip, and I see it fly across the room as if in slow motion and then, like a sick twist of fate, it lands on the floor with a clutter…. right beside Shane.
I see it.
Julian sees it.
But Shane, splattering and gasping, sees it too and before I can move to snatch it out of his grasp, Shane has the gun in his hand, and I watch helplessly as he flips on his back and points the gun at Julian.
It doesn’t even cross my mind. The decision doesn’t even register. All I know is, there’s no way Julian gets taken from this world. I launch myself in front of the gun.
“Mia! No!”
Everything fades to grey. It all happens in perfect slow motion, with brilliant color and everything.
I see the fear in Julian’s eyes as clear as day. I see his face erupt into a look of stunned anger so intense, I can only stare, committing it to memory.
The fire is raging, I start to feel it all my back. It’s then that I realize Cole must have doused this place with gasoline and struck a match way before he got in to get us.
I blink and the next thing I hear is a gunshot that rings in my head. Then I hear three more shots.
Before I can do anything, or feel anything, I look at Julian, and mouth the only words I’m capable of at the moment, right before another new, intense pain sets in.
“Julian, I love you.”
And thank you for everything.
Chapter Seventeen
Julian
All it takes is three shots.
Three fucking shots to bring my world down to its knees, broken and bleeding.
I’m fucking sure two of those shots were meant for me, but instead the asshole behind me screamed like a little bitch and dropped down to the floor, shot by his own brother.
The last shot should’ve been mine. The fucker was aiming for me and fuck me, I was ready but…
“Mia!” Her name tears out of my lips like a tortured litany, one without hope of absolution. “Mia!”
Nothing.
She doesn’t even make a sound.
The thing in my chest seizes to work, as shock electrifies my system. There’s smoke filling up this fucking warehouse and I just stand there, hardly able to remain standing upright, my eyes wide as fucking saucers as horror mercilessly grips me by the fucking balls and in all that, time suspends into nothing.
I watch her gasp in shock.
I watch her watch me back, a look of pure agony crossing her face as she mouths tacred I read the words she mouths at me and I think I die inside.
I watch, helplessly stunned, as she goes down like a fucking bag of potatoes, blood all over her, the knife she held clutched in her hands cluttering beside her as the blaze of fire grows wilder in the background, getting closer to her.
“Mia!” I roar, as raw, primitive anguish shreds me to unrecognizable pieces. Adrenaline spikes in my veins in a new wave of fury.
No, no, no!
Suddenly, everything is tainted in red. All I see is red. Everything flips in just one breath.
I don’t feel the broken bones in my body or the damage these fucking assholes inflicted. I don’t care that my right arm hangs useless at my side and my fucked-up leg is screaming in pain, I stumble my way to her, shock and rage flushing in my system.
I see the blood pooling on the floor. White hot branding rage rips out of me and without even thinking about it, I charge for Shane but the fucker isn’t there anymore.
Looking around, I see his imbecile of a brother that shot writhing and gurgling on the floor, bleeding out and dying, shot by his own brother, but I’m not even moved.
Smoke is quickly filling the warehouse and I see fire catching at the back wall where Cole found the second exit. There’s no way to get out through there now.
Falling down to my knees, feeling so fucking useless, I hold Mia with my one