The Hitman's Guide to Tying the Knot Without Getting Shot - Alice Winters Page 0,21

own phone.

“This is Henry.”

“Henry, it’s Leland. I don’t know if anything is actually wrong, but Jackson sent me a text asking for help and I’m not sure what’s going on. I’m heading to the office now. I can’t get ahold of him, and I’m terrified something happened.”

“I’ll be there in ten,” he says.

“Thank you.”

“It’ll be okay. I’m sure he’s fine,” he says, voice soothing.

I nod because he’s right. Henry’s always right. I’m being foolish. Everything’s fine. Everything has to be fine.

I pull up in front of the agency, parking illegally and not giving a shit. “Stay here. Do not move,” I say as I shove a gun into Ava’s hands. “I’m not kidding. If something’s going on, you could get killed or end up getting one of us hurt.”

She nods as I get out of the car, gun ready. I run for the front door and grab the handle, finding it locked. I swiftly unlock it and push the door open, but nothing looks disturbed. Since it’s locked, Jackson could have locked it and already left. I’ll have to see if his car is gone. If his car’s gone… I won’t know where he is. I won’t know how to help him.

I turn to the alleyway and quickly start moving down it while scanning high and low. My gun is ready and I’m so wound tight that I’m afraid I’m going to shoot the first thing that moves whether or not it needs to be shot.

That’s when I hear Jackson’s phone ringing.

He’s still here. He’s here. I just need to find him. I turn into the back parking lot and that’s when I see the blood splattered across the ground.

My stomach sinks and I lose focus as I rush toward it.

“Jackson?” I call, not even caring that I’m giving away my position. I care about nothing at this moment and I know I’m being reckless.

I run for the noise of his phone, slipping past a car, and that’s when I see him lying on the ground, legs sticking out from under a truck, a pool of blood surrounding him.

“Jackson! Jackson,” I cry as I drop to the ground and pull him out from under the truck.

He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. I can’t lose him.

I’m grabbing for him, desperate to feel something, desperate for him to wake up and tell me he’s fine, he’s going to be fine. I grab onto him, pressing my fingers against his neck, but find that I’m shaking so much I can’t even feel for his pulse.

I need to calm down. I need to calm down.

He’s warm. He’s still warm and the blood is still oozing. The dead don’t bleed. I check his pulse again and this time, I finally feel it as I hear something behind me and jump to my feet, aiming my gun at them before realizing it’s Ava.

“I told you to stay in the fucking car!” I yell as I realize how delirious I sound. “Go, Ava. Call an ambulance. Go now.”

I drop back to my knees, knowing she doesn’t need to see this. She needs to call for an ambulance.

I pull my knife out as Ava comes around the corner and makes a choked sound that’s between a cry and a sob. I don’t know if the man who shot him is still here. I need to focus. I can do this. I can focus. Focusing will help. Losing my mind won’t.

I cut his shirt open and tear the fabric, balling it tightly. I press it against the wound, holding it tightly as I shred more of his shirt and wrap it around his midsection. I tie it over the compress as I hear Ava frantically order the ambulance to get here sooner. I put the sheath back on the knife and slide it between the cloth and his stomach and turn it, winding it in the cloth to tighten the compress harder than I could get it with my hands.

Lewis is behind me before I realize it, so I grab his arm and tear him to the ground beside me. “Hold that tightly and stay down,” I say. “Ava, get down here.”

While between the cars isn’t the best spot, it’s less open than where she’s standing. She drops down next to Jackson and sobs. “He’s dying,” she says. “This is your fault. You dragged him into this dangerous world.”

I jerk back as her words sink in and I shake my head, but I can’t tell her she’s