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The air around me crackles with tension.
Maggie gasps, stumbling back. Alex curses, his grip on me tightening.
And suddenly, chaos erupts.
27
LILA
More gunshots rip through the air, echoing through the open space.
I gasp, my heart slamming against my ribs as Alex grabs my wrist, pulling me down behind a hedge. Maggie stumbles beside me, her breath ragged and panicked.
Something sharp flares in my side, a shoot of pain that makes me wince. But I ignore it. I don’t have time to focus on myself.
“What the hell is going on?” I demand, whispering harshly, my hands trembling against the grass.
Alex’s jaw clenches, his eyes sweeping the area as he pulls out his own gun. “I can’t explain right now,” he says sharply. “Just stay down and don’t move.”
He glances at Maggie, his expression softer but still deadly serious. “Both of you. Stay here.”
Before I can argue, before I can ask anything else—he’s gone.
Maggie whimpers, clutching my arm. “Leah, what’s happening? Why does Alex have a gun?”
I don’t know.
I don’t know anything anymore.
I open my mouth to tell her that, but before I can, my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I snatch it out with shaking hands, my breath catching when I see the name on the screen.
Mom.
I swipe open the message:
Sweetheart, where are you? I’m at the Inn, and I hear gunshots.
My stomach drops.
I quickly type back:
Mom, where are you?!
Seconds later, my screen lights up again:
In the garden. Come find me.
My pulse roars in my ears. I don’t think. I don’t hesitate. I just move. I push up to my feet, barely feeling the dull pain in my side anymore.
Maggie grabs my wrist. “Leah! Where are you going?”
“Stay here,” I say, my voice low, urgent. “I have to find my mom.”
Maggie’s eyes widen with fear. “Are you insane? You’re pregnant, people are shooting, and you’re just going to?—”
“I don’t have a choice!” I cut her off, yanking my arm free.