Havoc at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #1) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,151
to have set all of this up.
Aaron finally finds his feet, panting and covered in blood. Our eyes meet, and his go wide.
“Bernadette!” he shouts, and I turn just in time to see Danny Ensbrook lift a revolver up and point it at my face. His finger clenches on the trigger, and my heart stops in my chest.
Callum’s bat hits him hard in the side of the neck, knocking him over and sending the shot wide. Danny stumbles, falling hard to the ground, the nails from the bat raking through the side of his throat. And then there’s blood, so much fucking blood.
The fight doesn’t stop though, the remaining members of Mitch’s gang throwing themselves at Havoc in one, last frenzied attack. Even Billie gets back to her feet, coming at me again. You’d think she’d have enough sense to get the hell out of there, but she must really want to prove herself. She throws her body into me again, knife point forward, but I knock the thrust aside and then hit her right in the throat.
She stumbles back as several more skeletons appear from the fog, tying up the loose ends and quieting the last of the dissenters. A few of the clowns take off when they realize this is over, that they’ve lost, abandoning their comrades in a way that Havoc never would.
“Everybody out,” Oscar says, nodding at Mitch Charter, groaning and passed out on the floor by Vic’s feet. “And take everyone but Danny with you.”
The unnamed Havoc Boys scramble to follow Oscar’s orders, leaving us alone with Danny Ensbrook. It takes me a minute to figure out why he’d be the exception to the rule. But then I look down and notice that my sneakers are standing in a pool of ruby red.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Cal says, kneeling down and putting his hands on the side of Danny’s neck. “He’s bleeding everywhere; I think I hit an artery.”
“Femoral artery, more like,” Vic says as Oscar drops down next to Danny’s body.
“And Cal,” Oscar says, pulling his friend’s hand away from Danny’s neck. “He’s not bleeding anymore; the nails tore right through his neck.” Oscar looks at up at the leader of the Havoc Boys with an expression that says it’s already too late for Danny. “He’s dead,” Oscar confirms coolly, rising to his feet and giving Vic another look.
“Are you serious?” Hael asks, cursing under his breath as he moves over to stand beside the … body. I have to admit, my mind’s gone completely blank at that word. Dead. Danny is dead? Despite the guns and the bravado tonight, I don’t think anyone was supposed to die. If they were, Victor would’ve put a hole in Mitch Charter’s head.
“Unfortunately,” Oscar says on the end of a long sigh, staring down at Danny’s slumped form.
Callum stands up and stumbles against the wall, hands over his face. There’s fucking blood everywhere. The metallic smell of it is making me sick; I feel like I might throw up.
“I’ve screwed myself, haven’t I?” he whispers, shaking all over. But all I can think is you did it to save me. I move over to Callum and put my hand on his arm. He stiffens up, but he doesn’t push me away.
“It was self-defense,” I say, and then pause. “Well, defense of me anyway. He was going to shoot me, and I don’t think he cared where that bullet hit. It didn’t look like a warning shot to me.”
“We should’ve made her wear the fucking Kevlar,” Aaron grinds out, giving Vic a look.
“A vest wouldn’t have protected her head,” Vic replies calmly, sighing and swiping a hand over his face. “Okay, we can deal with this. Aaron,” he says, and my ex raises his head a bit, looking like death warmed-up. “Take Bernadette back to your place.” Aaron manages a nod as Hael helps him to his feet. I cling to Cal’s arm, shaking from the rush of adrenaline, marveling at the fact that I almost died here tonight.
I’ve been waiting for death for a long time, almost praying for it. But now that I’ve gotten a glimpse, I’m not so sure I like what I see.
Before I get a chance to delve too far into the darkness of my thoughts, Vic is grabbing me and putting his arms around me, hugging me so close that I can smell the musk and amber scent of him, even through the sharp copper smell of blood.