I want Lucio to suffer, the others died too quickly for my liking. I shoot his hand and his gun clatters to the ground as he shouts. I throw my head back, unable to control my dark laughter at the sight of his world falling apart.
Caught in my quest for vengeance, I fail to notice the gun hidden in his waistband until I hear a loud bang and a burning pain sears my chest as the bullet slices through me. Emma’s piercing scream rings in my ears as I look down and see red seeping through my white T-shirt at an alarmingly fast rate.
I curse myself for not wearing black. The girls shouldn’t have to see this.
I grunt as the pain grows. I press down on the wound, trying to stem the blood. Luckily, I hear Lucio’s gun jamming. Feeling faint, I do the only good thing I’ve ever done in my life. I empty my magazine into Lucio’s chest as my sight blurs and I feel my body going slack.
My sister’s safe. My girl, my beautiful girl, is safe.
I will gladly bleed out on the cold concrete if it means she will not endure another scratch.
Fourteen
Pain. The overwhelming agony when you lose someone you love is unbearable, unthinkable. No words can express the emotions when your heart is ripped from your chest and stepped on. When a life is cut too short.
Pain, they say, gets better with time. Thank God I won’t have to find out.
Thank God Aiden is okay.
I watch his still body on the hospital bed, connected to beeping machines, with heavy eyes. Their rhythmic beeps echo inside my head as I wait for him to open his eyes. Needles are sunk into his skin and a bandage covers his entire chest.
I hold my breath when I hear a groan.
“Did they touch you?” are the first words out of his lips.
I laugh. I know I shouldn’t, but my heart is filled with so much joy. A weight has been lifted from my chest.
“No.” I make my way to his bedside, running my fingers through his black hair.
“Don’t lie.” He croaks, pushing himself up stubbornly.
I place a gentle hand on his shoulder, pushing lightly to get him to lie back down. He’s been unconscious for three days, massive blood loss and damage to his head will do that. He fell on the hard concrete upon blacking out, it broke my heart that I couldn’t reach him as I fought against my restraints.
He tilts his head, taking in the bandage on his chest, and ignores it. “Please, tell me.” His fingers circle the healing scab on my cheek, like it’s something serious.
I bite my lips, embarrassed. I shake my head. “They didn’t. Ashley and I, we’re kind of in sync.” I gesture to my abdomen.
He shoots me a confused look.
I sigh. “I started my period that morning, so did she...” I blush.
He smiles, gesturing for me to continue.
“We...we both had tampons in. Still intact.” I put my hands in front of me.
“Thank God.” He wraps a heavy arm around my waist and pulls me onto the bed, laying me across his chest.
I gasp, yanking myself away. “Are you crazy?” I exclaim, moving to check his bandage. “I could’ve squished you and opened your stitches!”
He rolls his eyes. “Oh, baby, you can’t even squish a fly.” He pins me with puppy eyes, his voice soft and warm. “Please come here.”
I carefully pillow my head on his chest, sighing as he plays with my hair.
Aiden wasn’t too surprised when the doctor came by to explain what happened the past three days and how lucky he was to be alive. The bullet went through and through, and he passed out from blood loss. He even had stitches on his head from when he hit the concrete. What surprised me most was when the doctor accepted a wad of cash from a guard to keep quiet about everything.
He looks so broken lying on that hospital bed, I want to wrap his massive frame in my small arms and hold him. Thankfully they’ll discharge him in a few days after monitoring the swelling in his brain.
“We need to talk about what’s going on though,” I hedge, feigning a calm expression.
I heard the men inside the warehouse. I know Aiden is doing some shady business. I trust him to keep me safe, but do I want that for the rest of my life? Maybe it’s not as serious as it sounds. Aiden’s a good guy. It probably is a misunderstanding.
He rubs his face. “I know, Em.” He sighs. “It’s a long story. Maybe when we get home?”
My heart flutters when he calls it home, our home.
Which reminds me… “So, I went home to change and found all of mine and Ashley’s stuff in your living room?”
A half-smile creeps up his face. “You’re going to kill me.”
I nod, eyeing him warily. What did he do?
“Your rental is in Ashley’s name. I kind of took the paperwork and broke the contract.”
“You what?” I push myself up and glare down at him. But I can’t stay mad with him looking so broken.
He shrugs. “You live in a shithole, Em. I’m not going to allow it.”
“I think that’s my decision,” I point out.
He shakes his head. “You would never do that to your mom. I know you’re both going broke. It’s only a matter of time.” His eyes plead with me to understand.
I take a deep breath. “Where are you moving us?”
“Well, I had this whole plan.” He laughs a humorless laugh. “I had some houses for the both of you to look at with a realtor once you finished shopping that day. You never got the chance.” He looks down.
I cup his cheek. “Okay, so explain why we never got the chance.”
I can’t be upset with him about the house thing, it isn’t just me living there...it’s his sister too. When
