Page 120 of After All The Wreckage

A fierce grip on my leg had me shoving Rory behind me and pressing the stun gun I was still grasping into the person’s arm. West’s entire body spasmed, and the pistol in his hand clattered to the concrete. Rory kicked it away from him as we both scrambled to our feet.

Her eyes focused on a movement behind me, and I shifted, attempting once again to put myself between her and whoever this new threat was when her words stopped me. “Thank you for taking the shot, Dad.”

My gaze found Sutton Bishop’s before drifting back to Chanel’s body. Rory’s dad had saved her life. Chills flooded me.

How he’d known, how he’d gotten there, I wasn’t sure, but he’d saved her.

He joined us, looking down at the bodies on the ground with a grimace. My heart thudded loudly as I took in the awful reality of the vision my brother had been seeing for days in his head. Bile rose in my throat.

Demi… Fuck.

I took two unsteady steps toward the heap, unsure of what I’d find. Unsure of which of Monte’s visions had finally forged itself into reality when the warehouse doors rolled up. Rory and her dad shifted their weapons in that direction as men and women with FBI emblazoned on their vests came streaming in with more guns drawn.

“FBI, freeze!”

For several tense seconds, everything in the room went still.

“At ease, everyone. These three are with me,” a tall woman in an FBI windbreaker said, striding toward us.

I turned back to the pile of bodies. Dunn was clearly dead. I couldn’t even be sorry for it, but God, there was so much blood covering Demi’s ragged clothes I was almost sure she hadn’t made it either. I knelt beside her and a soft, whispered groan left her lips. A tsunami-sized wave of relief flooded me.

“Mom?!”

I pulled Demi up and away from the chaos, sweeping her into my arms.

She felt like nothing. Like a piece of paper easily crushed. For so long I’d thought I’d hated her, but I barely held back tears at the thought of her almost dying. At the shape she was in.

“H-how are you here?” she whispered.

“That’s a long story, but Monte is part of the answer,” I told her. She met my eyes with a glassy look.

“We have an ambulance on its way,” the agent said. “But I’d suggest having her sit down.”

I eased Mom onto the bottom step and squatted in front of her.

“How long have they been holding you? How did you even get involved with Dunn?”

She frowned, confused by the conversation. “I… don’t know.”

Rory slid a hand over my shoulder, squeezing gently. I settled my palm over hers and squeezed back. I wanted to wrap the woman I loved in my arms and get her away from here—get both women away from this ugliness. But with FBI agents swarming the place, I doubted we’d be able to leave without answering their questions.

I didn’t know what I’d say or how I’d keep the truth of my brother’s abilities from them.

Monte. I needed to call him. I needed him to know that while his vision had partially come true, Rory and her father had prevented the worst from happening.

My finger hovered over the call button as I really took in the scene that my brother had seen over and over again. Bodies strewn. Blood. The stench of death. Sadness filled me for the things Monte had lived through in his dreams.

Next to me, Demi’s eyes closed, and she seemed to slip away. I couldn’t help but feel sad for her too. Because she might be able to see the good in people’s futures—she might have told me that she only shared the positive because there was enough ugly in the world—but it hadn’t prevented her from seeing the worst.

My throat bobbed.

“Where are the men who took Monte?” I asked Rory, but it was the FBI agent who responded.

“We detained three men in a box truck down the street.”

It wasn’t quite relief that hit me, but something along those lines.

Rory rubbed a hand on my cheek, drawing my attention back to her. “Call Monte, Gage.”