me down hard against the concrete. My head rebounds off the ground as my elbows and knees are torn to shreds. Nic’s large body holds me down, his arms curling protectively around my head as the deafening shots ring out over and over again.
A low, pained groan is heard behind me and tears instantly spring to my eyes, not knowing which of my boys was hit and despite how much I hate them right now, the thought of one of them being shot makes me sick.
I scream as bullets rain down around us. A second grunt of pain tears through the noise and I scream again, recognizing Eli’s groan anywhere.
Shots ring out from behind me and I peer under Nic’s arm to watch Kai shooting back. With the threat of retaliation, the SUV speeds off and I feel Nic relax on top of me. “Are you alright, Baby? Tell me you’re fucking alright.”
“I’m okay,” I say, feeling woozy from the bump on my head.
Nic pulls off me and as he helps me to my feet, I look over my boys to find Eli holding his shoulder with blood pouring out over his fingers, but that’s not where my attention stops.
Kian lays on his stomach not moving, just two feet away from the door of the compound with blood pooled around him.
Nic races to his father’s aid as the door of the compound is practically pulled off its hinges and Black Widows come pouring out. Nic reaches his father just before them and flips him over to find him barely holding on. “DAD,” he yells, slamming his hands down over the wound but he’s too far gone. Even if he called an ambulance, Kian’s not going to make it.
Sebastian gets on the phone while helping Elijah to keep pressure on his wound as Kairo drops down beside Nic, desperate to help him save his father.
“Who did this?” One of the Widows demands as everyone jumps into action, trying to help where they can.
Nic’s sharp gaze snaps up to the men around him. “Wolves,” he spits. “Black SUV heading west. I want every last one of those fuckers in my compound in five fucking minutes. I'm going to put each of them in a body bag.”
At least ten men run off, climbing onto Harley’s and taking off at the speed of light but when Kian starts sputtering and blood comes trailing out of his mouth, my attention falls back to him as he looks up at his son. “I love you, boy,” he says, choking on the blood building in his throat. “This is all yours now. Don’t let me down.”
Nic shakes his head. “Don’t you dare say goodbye, you hear me? You’re not going anywhere.”
Kian’s eyes start to grow heavy as tears race down my cheeks. “Tell your mother it was always her. Always.”
Nic nods and as tears appear in his eyes, everything inside of me dies. Kian’s eyes close and his body goes heavy in Nic’s arms. “Dad?” he demands, shaking his father, desperate to hear his voice just one more time. “Dad.”
Kai’s hand falls to Nic’s shoulder and he pries him away. “He’s gone,” Kai murmurs. “Let him go.”
Nic cries out, his voice filled with pain. “NOOOO.”
I let out a shaky breath and despite everything we just went through, I find myself moving toward him. I step into his side and as he looks up at me from his position on the bloodied ground, I find a broken man, a version of Nic I’ve never seen before.
His arms curl around me and he pulls me down into his lap, holding me tighter and crushing me with his strength.
There’s nothing but silence as the grief tears through every last person standing around and after five minutes of gut-wrenching pain, all eyes begin to fall on Nic until he finally releases me and gets to his feet.
His chin raises and as he looks around at the Widows before him, every head bows, silently vowing their loyalty, and just like that, a broken, grieving Nic steps up as the rightful leader of the Black Widows.
Chapter 26
I sit at the bar in the compound, avoiding the eyes of the Black Widows as they stare at me. Their boss was just murdered and they know I don’t belong, yet their new king has insisted I stay, in fact, demanded it. They won’t go against him to kick me out, especially considering Kian was Nic’s father, but they’re certainly not happy about it.