Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,60
armor but he’s here.
Oh my God, Julian is here! For me!
My knees weaken, watching his powerful muscles bunch in the form fitting black long-sleeved shirt he has on. He’s wearing black from head to toe, beating the shit out of Sean, that is until I see Shane crawling now, groaning on the floor, in the direction of the black bag he bought in with him.
The same one that has a gun in it.
No, no, no.
My head starts throbbing anew. I’m covered in blood but Julian needs help.
“Mia!”
Behind me, I hear whimpering.
Kristine!
“That was foolish of you, we don’t have much time,” Cole chides.
I quickly rush back to her and drop down and do my best to wrap her in the sheet. She’s holding her baby tightly to her chest, but I can see she’s quickly losing consciousness, her face dangerously pale and hair drenched with sweat.
“No,” Kristine mumbles weakly, but her protest drowns with the devastating sound of flesh being pounded, beaten hard, I’m sure the splatters I hear are the sound of blood spraying on the floor. “I won’t make it.”
“Kristine—”
“You go. Take the baby and go with Cole.”
“Kristine, come on stay awake, damn it!” I snap, my hands covered in so much blood, it’s all over me. I ignore it all, spurred on by the urgency to get to Julian and help however I can. “You have to get up.”
“No. They’ll never let me go,” she says and then whimpers in pain. “Leave me here. Take the baby and run.”
Cole’s tense silence is loud, but I think he agrees with Kristine. He looks sharp and alert, ready for anything.
“No,” I shake my head, and the pain starts all over again. First like a pinprick behind the eyes and then in a breath, I feel dizzy as the room spins about me. “There’s no fucking way, this baby needs her mother.”
Holding the little bundle in my arms as tightly as I can. I look down at the baby covered in blood and all sorts of body fluids that I don’t want to examine too closely.
“Take her,” I whisper to Cole in a rush, listening intently to what’s happening on the other side of the old machinery and shelves where I last saw Julian winning and Shane attempt to get to the bag that’s almost all the way across the warehouse. If we rush, I can get to it before he can, seeing as he’s in agony right now.
Kristine’s baby is mewling softly, too tiny and looking sickly. A preemie baby, born in a warzone like beauty in all this glaring ugliness. No one deserves such a rough start to life. They need to go. “Take them both now.”
He’s shaking his head before I can finish, but still helps me to wrap Kristine in the sheets. “I’m not leaving without you.”
He means it, but I can’t leave Julian alone. There’s just no way. I need a plan.
“Where is Liam? Is he safe?” I question, looking around the warehouse as if he’ll magically pop out of somewhere.
“He’s fine, Mia, now let’s go.”
Relief washes over me. Now, for Cole to get out of here…
“You need to get them to a hospital, maybe a clinic, whichever is closest. I have no idea where we are.”
“No, Mia, let’s go together,” Kristine says, her voice is weak. She grabs my arm with a surprisingly firm grip, pulling me closer. “You can’t stay here.”
“And you can’t just lie there, bleeding to death holding a baby who needs immediate medical attention. Now shut up and let this hunk of a hero carry you to the car.”
“But you—”
Fuck, this is going to be a fight. I don’t have time for this.
“I’m right behind you,” I whisper, feeling dizzy all over again. “I need medical attention too. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost a lot of blood, and I’m going to pass out at any moment. And not to forget my head. I might have a fractured skull and I have internal bleeding.”
“Mia,” Cole grits out, his eyes glinting with repressed anger, but still, I catch the warning.
“You’re wasting time, Cole. Let’s go.” I grab the tiny bundle that looks sicker now than she did a few seconds ago. “We need to go. Now!” Cole picks Kristine up bridal style. “How did you get in?”
“This way.”
He leads the way, stealthily moving past the shelves toward the very back where I think Kristine hadn’t checked. Looking over my shoulder, I can see Julian fighting them both, but his right arm now hangs