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Markos’s eyes raged with fury as the bookstore’s otherwise peaceful ambiance contorted under the weight of the confrontation.

“You know it’s true,” I said, disdain dripping from my lips. “Everyone knows it’s true.”

He sneered. “No, that sounds like something my brother fed you. You lead him around by his cock, and he lets you! It’s pathetic.”

He could insult me all he wanted, but Niko was off-limits.

An all-consuming urge made my hand twitch, desperate to draw the hidden pistol tucked into the holster at my ankle and fire a clean shot between his eyes.

Instead of discharging my weapon, I drawled words like finely sharpened daggers. “Oh, Markos, I assure you, I make it worth his while. It turns out, a well-handled dick is a very satisfied dick.”

I let my eyes roam over his body in exaggerated disgust.

“But I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

For just a heartbeat, his eyes flickered with seething rage before plunging into blind fury. Without a moment’s hesitation, he squeezed the trigger of his gun. The deafening crack sent a forceful jet hurling me violently against a wall lined with shelves.

A searing heat coursed through my veins, each heartbeat echoing the pain.

Lying on the cold floor, I gradually lifted my gaze to the ceiling, my mind a foggy jumble of confusion.

“Layana!” came a desperate cry as Cali rushed to my side. Chaos erupted around us in an instant, filled with frantic voices and clattering sounds.

I blinked up at her, still dazed, shaking my head as her trembling hands pressed against my chest, a gesture that broke my heart.

“No,” I insisted through gritted teeth, pushing her frantic hands away. “I’m fine.”

With every ounce of strength, I fought against the pain pulsating through my body as I struggled to sit up.

“Layana, be still!” Cali ordered with an unhidden edge of worry.

“No, let me up,” I rasped, trying to push myself to my feet. I managed to get onto my knees before the room spun wildly,forcing me back down onto my bruised backside, clutching the cold wall for support.

“Stay down!” Cali barked, shifting from sisterly concern to authoritative firmness.

In that moment, she wasn’t my little sister anymore. She was a commanding force, a grown woman managing the chaos, and the sight of her fierce determination was somehow endearing.

“Somebody help!” she shrieked over her shoulder, her head turning wildly as she called for assistance.

“That fucker, Markos,” I growled, anger flooding every nerve as I gritted my teeth. “Where the hell did he go?”

“I don’t know, just be still, Layana. Please, don’t move,” she pleaded as tears brimmed in her eyes.

I muttered through clenched teeth, “I hate that asshole so much, and his horrid brother too.”

Cali’s wide, wild eyes mirrored her deep worry, and I longed desperately to erase every trace of that terror.

“Just be still, Layana, be still,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she pressed harder against my wound.

“God, Cali, that hurts. Can you please stop?” I managed to say, my breath ragged as the noise throbbed in my head, drowning out everything else around me. My chest tightened, and urgency spilled over the edges of my plea as I struggled to keep my composure, hoping for some relief from the relentless pounding within me.

Before I could continue, the shattering sound of glass ripped through the tension. I tried to push myself upward again, but Cali’s determined grip forced me back down.

“No!” Cali snapped. “If you try to get up one more time, I swear to God, I’ll knock you unconscious, Layana. I love you, and I fucking mean it.”

“Jesus,” I muttered, blinding pain burned through my body, making it hard to think and forcing me to tilt my head to the side in a futile attempt to focus. “Why are you being so damn bossy? I just want to kick that little slimy asshole’s teeth in.”

“Because it’s my turn to step up,” she hissed with frustration. “Look at you…you’re dripping in blood, you idiot! Shot and still mouthing off?”