Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,51

plummets.

Things just went from bad to a million times worse.

“This kid’s gonna be a—” Karma stops mid-sentence and quickly pushes Lindsey behind him.

Oh God. Now we’re all here. Six of us held hostage by a man who’s obviously tweaking and has a loaded gun.

“Well, who do we have here?” Henry smiles when he notices Lindsey. I watch in horror as every drop of blood drains from Lindsey’s face when Henry reaches for her.

“Leave her alone,” Karma growls. “She’s pregnant.”

Karma moves to intercept Henry, and that’s when the loudest sound I’ve ever heard blasts through the room, leaving my ears ringing.

For a moment, I don’t understand what’s happened or where that sound had come from, but as a red circle blossoms and grows on the front of Karma’s T-shirt, I know. My screams mix with those of Lindsey’s and the kids’ as Karma gapes at Eugene. Dropping to his knees, he falls forward, landing directly on his face.

“Nobody move!” Henry roars, now pointing the gun at Lindsey as he yanks at his hair with his free hand, moaning as if in agony. “Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, God.”

I stare at Karma’s motionless body, and send a silent prayer out into the universe, begging for him to be okay. Everyone’s sobbing except for Eugene, who looks ready to throw himself into battle, gun or no gun.

“You killed him,” Lindsey cries. “You fucking killed him, you son of a bitch!” Tears stream down her face, but she looks heartbroken. She leans forward, as if to check on Karma, but then she’s on the ground before the sound of another gunshot even registers in my mind.

“No!” I scream. “Please, stop!”

Lindsey wails, clutching her stomach, and Karma’s words from just a few seconds ago repeat over and over in my mind. She’s pregnant. She’s pregnant. Lindsey’s pregnant.

No, no, no! This can’t be happening.

Kevin and Natalie stare down at her, their faces frozen in shock, their eyes glistening with tears.

“Kevin?” Henry asks, his voice going from psychopath to sweet as sugar. “Natalie? Remember me? I’m your father.”

Kevin looks back down at Lindsey and Karma, both of them lying in their own puddles of blood getting bigger by the second.

“Natalie?” he asks again, this time reaching out and stroking her hair. “Baby, I’m your daddy.” Natalie sobs and shrinks away from his touch.

Whatever hold Eugene had been keeping on his temper disappears in that instant. A growl of rage ripping from his throat, he moves toward Henry once again, but Henry is fast. Inhumanly fast.

I’ve seen it before when someone’s high on meth or something similar. They become extremely fast and incredibly strong. But I’ve never seen anyone move as fast as Henry.

“Henry, no!” I scream as he brings the butt of his gun down on Eugene’s skull. Grabbing onto the children, I shove them behind me, unable to believe what I’m seeing.

My mind races for a way out of this at the same time my heart stutters in my chest as Eugene crumbles like an accordion and falls into a heap onto the floor.

“Oh my God, Eugene,” I sob. “Please, say something.” I watch helplessly as a single drop of blood falls from his temple and onto the hardwood floor.

I want to go to him. I want to make sure he’s okay, but I can’t. I can’t because I’m the only thing standing in the way of Henry Tucker and his kids. I have to keep my shit together before I end up like the others. All I can do is watch and pray. Pray for all of us. Pray that I can find a way out of this.

My body trembles uncontrollably while I stare at his chest, desperate to be sure he’s still breathing. Seconds feel like years until his chest heaves once. Twice. It’s labored, but he’s alive. Eugene is still with me.

Henry turns away from him with a sick, satisfied smile.

“It’s just me and you now, Grace,” he slurs, stepping closer to me. “You and me. You and me,” he mutters to himself. “This didn’t have to happen, you know. All you had to do was give me my kids. My kids. Not yours. Not his.” He points his handgun in Eugene’s direction. “All I want is my kids!” Rubbing the gun against the side of his face, Eugene’s blood drips from the butt of it and onto his skin. Wiping it away with his other hand, he looks down with a sickening smile.

He steps toward me, and Natalie presses tighter against my