Page 21 of Blood in the Water

“Exactly. I’ve got this side, and you’ve got that side.” He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. “I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine. We’re not fucking dying here, okay? Say it.”

“We’re not dying here.”

“That’s right. Now, when you see movement, just point and shoot.”

I did as he instructed, pointing the gun at the other side of the building, my back to his. He was so much bigger than me; his entire body acted like a shield. But if any bullets got past me, they’d slam right into his back. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Just point and shoot,” I murmured to myself. All the practice, even half-assed,hadto help. I took three slow, deep breaths to keep myself from shaking. “I can do this.”

“Fuck yeah, you can, princess.”

Two seconds later, he fired two shots, and another body collapsed to the ground. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to turn around and look, but I stayed steady. I waited. And then I saw movement.

My finger squeezed the trigger, and within an instant, the body in front of me fell to the ground with a groan. I wasn’t even sure where the first bullet landed, but I aimed again and shot. The person went silent.

Did I just… kill someone?

I didn’t have time to process before Cas was firing three more times and then grunting in pain.

“Cas?” I shrieked, once again displaying a Herculean effortnotto turn around. I couldn’t expose my side.

“I’m fine,” he grunted, but his voice stuttered in pain. Oh God.

“Were you shot?” I might actually become hysterical. He couldnotget shot right now. He was not going to leave me here alone. “You better not fucking die on me.”

“Never, princess. Did you get your guy?”

“Yeah.” I looked down at the pooling blood underneath the motionless body and was surprised to find I felt nothing. Still empty.

“Then, I think we’re good.”

I timidly turned around to see a huge splotch of red coating his stomach. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it started to bleed, but it was the only thing keeping me from screaming.

“We have to get on that plane,” he hissed through gritted teeth. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Are they all dead?” I whispered, gripping my gun so hard my fingers were going numb. “Out there?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he said. “I only saw five headed this way, and we got five. There could be more hiding behind the SUV. But we have to keep moving.”

I nodded. “We’re not fucking dying here.”

“That’s my girl.”

He peeked around the wall again before gesturing for me to follow him. With guns trained on our attackers, we dashed out from behind the building. No immediate gunfire tore us to shreds, so I kept going, moving as fast as I could.

But Cas lagged, hand on his stomach. That paired with the wound that wasdefinitely not just a scratch,and he was in pretty rough shape.

Out of the corner of my eye, a head popped up from behind the SUV. I watched in slow motion as he trained his gun on Cas. I saw the blood spurt as the bullet slammed into Cas’s side.

He collapsed to the ground right in front of me, and this time, I couldn’t keep it in. The scream tore from my throat.

As if possessed by someone else, still screaming bloody fucking murder, I aimed my gun and fired. The bullet tore through the side of his throat in the most lucky shot of my life.Dead.

Two more people poked around the car. A strange sense of calm washed over me as I realized this was where we died.

Out of nowhere, a car screeched next to us, effectively blocking us from sight of the SUV. Bullets peppered the sideof the car before more gunshots rang out, and the tarmac went silent.

“Lass!” Colin yelled from inside the car. “Caspian! You both alright?”