Page 22 of Blood in the Water

The Irishman!

“Cas! He’s been shot!” I yanked open the door and tried to pull Cas inside. He wasnotgoing to die on me. He promised we’d get through this together.

“Get down!” Colin yelled one more time before firing.

Suddenly, the SUV exploded into a giant fireball. I covered Cas’s body with my own as little bits of flaming debris showered down around us. Embers settled on my head, and the smell of burned hair wafted around us.

I was going to puke.

“Help! He’s too heavy!” Focus, Leona. Save Cas. I couldn’t get him inside by myself. We had to get out of here. We had to get moving. Get Cas to the hospital.

Colin jumped out of the car, I climbed into the back seat, and the two of us yanked his dead weight into the vehicle.

“We need a hospital!” I pulled the knife from my boot and cut his shirt right down the middle. Blood gushed from the wounds on his abdomen, so much so that it made my fingers slick.Shit. Fuck.

Colin leaped back into the front seat and threw the car into drive. “We can’t. The Italians will find ya immediately if ya go to a hospital.”

“No hospital,” Cas groaned, semi-conscious. “Stay safe.”

“Shhh, it’s okay, Cas.”

I swallowed, my brain searching for any possible answer to the double gunshot wounds bleeding out right in front of me.

In the frenzy, I caught sight of Colin’s getaway bag by my feet where I’d tossed it in. I yanked it up and rifled through the firstaid kit for gauze, alcohol, bandages, painkillers, Dermabond, whatever I could find. My fingers shook.

“What do I do?” I whispered to myself, tears streaming down my face. Everything in my vision was going blurry. My hands were soaked. Cas looked so fucking pale. “Where are we supposed to go if not a hospital?”

Colin gripped the steering wheel even tighter. “I’ll take him to our doctor. It’ll be fine.”

“I’m so proud of you, princess,” Cas murmured, eyes heavy-lidded. He reached up to grab hold of my hand. “So damn proud.”

“Don’t you fucking dare die on me,” I warned, squeezing his fingers.Jesus,he was already cold. “Don’t even think about it.”

He smirked, then winced in pain. “Don’t know that I have a choice, but I’m doing my best.”

I dumped the antiseptic all over his chest and started cleaning it up with the gauze. Then, I applied the Dermabond before pressing the bandages on the wounds.

“You do not have permission to die on me, Caspian Di Salvo. I can’t do this without you. One breath at a fucking time, asshole.”

“Yes, you can,” he whispered, cupping my cheek. He wiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb. “You have tolive. You have to keep fighting. You can’t let him win.”

A sob wracked my chest. My vision blurred. “Don’t. Don’t do this.”

“I’m so sorry,” he gasped. His eyes started to close.

“No, Cas!” I screamed, practically shaking him. “Colin, drive fucking faster!”

I grabbed Cas’s cheeks like I could willingly transfer some of my life force to him. “You have to stay alive. Please.Please.”

His breaths became fast and shallow. I could barely feel his pulse under my fingertips.

I couldn’t survive this twice. I couldn’t do this alone.

Everything came crashing down all at once.

I fractured. I didn’t think I could be any more shattered, but it turned out I had way more to lose. Now that I was losing it, I could finally see the truth. See what I needed to do to survive.

All I had done the last twenty-four hours was feel sorry for myself and wallow in despair. But that despair was morphing into something so much different. So much stronger.