Page 201 of Blackwood

Please be alive. Please be fucking alive.

When I hit 81st and Columbus, I nearly crash the bike. There’s a body on the steps. Blood everywhere. Callum’s slumped against the curb, bleeding. And Bella—

No.

She’s being dragged. Kicking and screaming. He’s got her by the waist, hauling her toward a blacked-out SUV.

Out of nowhere…BANG.

His fucking head explodes. Drops like a sack of bricks. Bella crumples with him.

“MALYSHKA!”

I’m off the bike, sprinting. My knees hit the pavement hard.

She’s shaking. Dazed. But she’s breathing. I grab her. Pull her into me.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

“Lex?”

“Yeah, malyshka. I’m here,” I say as she clutches my jacket.

We hear footsteps as he walks up. Calm. Slow. Like a king surveying a battlefield.

Roman Russo.

She sees him and stiffens. “You?” she breathes. “You followed us?”

He crouches.

I shift, putting myself between them. “Back. The fuck. Off.”

“I’m your father, Isabella. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

Tex and Cade come flying in behind us. Tex sees Roman and loses it. He tackles him. “Get the fuck away from her!”

Roman slams into a car. Tex pulls a gun on him.

“Tex, no!” Bella screams, lurching from my arms. “Don’t shoot him! He saved me!”

He doesn’t move.

“Tex,” she says again. Quieter. “Please. He saved me.”

Slowly, his hand lowers and she collapses back into me. But then Callum groans and Bella spins.

“Cal!” She runs to him, helps him sit up. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”

He winces. “Yeah. I think. Just… What the hell happened?”

Tex steps in. Gun still tight in his grip. “Yeah, Bells. What the hell is this?”

Bella straightens. “It was a trap.”

I stalk closer. “What?”

She meets my eyes. “I got a text. From Laing. He said two kids. Abusive dad. In and out. Clean. We got here, no kids. No anything. Just an ambush. I got the one who hit Cal, but I just wasn’t fast enough for the other one.”