Page 1 of Protective Love

Prologue

Jaylen

One month ago

Pain bursts through my skull and a ringing sound assaults my ears, along with a coldness that seeps into my legs as my eyes dart around, trying to make sense of where I am and what just happened.

I lift my head, groaning in agony as I take note of the shattered glass surrounding me and the numbness in my arm that's pinned beneath me against the metal of the car roof.

Holy shit, are we upside down?

"Sophia!"

Jericho's bellowing voice breaks through the shrill sound in my head, and the hint of panic in his tone, paired with the fact he's calling my cousin's name has me shooting upright causing my head to swim with dizziness.

Voices filter through my mind and I squint my eyes, shaking my head in an attempt to clear my bleary vision.

I see Jericho trying to squeeze himself between the upside-down seats and I frown in confusion until I hear Sophia's voice.

"I'm fine, but I can't get out. Kaleb's not moving," she whines.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear that she's okay, and I lean back, resting my aching body against the side of the car door behind me, allowing my eyes to drift shut in the hopes that resting for a moment will help the pain in my body subside.

The distinct sound of a gunshot has my eyes pinging back open and I'm suddenly reminded of the fact that we crashed because Alessandro, Jericho and Kaleb's father, was chasing us down and blew out our tyres.

Holding my arm against the throbbing left side of my body, I lean forward and tap Jericho.

"Go," I tell him, watching as he shifts his body backwards and turns to look at me. "I'll get them out. You go and get that bastard."

He watches me for a moment and then hesitantly nods before sliding his body through the gaping hole where the window previously was.

I clench my teeth together as I move, ignoring the searing pain that's shooting through my abdomen and my chest, and I awkwardly squeeze my body between the two seats, pushing myself into the back of the car.

"Jay, are you okay?" Sophia asks, her eyes examining my face and body.

"I'm fine, just got bashed about a bit."

Black dots fill my vision and the icy cold feeling I had earlier starts to travel from my legs up to my chest.

I move towards Sophia, offering her the hand that isn't wrapped around my midsection, and I help her sit up, checking her over for any injuries before I peel my arm away from my body and slide myarms beneath hers, intent on pulling her backwards, but she shakes her head.

"Get him out first," she says, motioning towards Kaleb's limp body strewn across her legs.

"I can drag you out from underneath him, Soph."

"No. Get him out first, Jaylen. He's unconscious, and he's been shot. Get him out and make sure he's okay and then come back to get me out."

"Have I ever told you that I hate how stubborn you are?" I grumble, carefully moving my body over hers so that I can reach for Kaleb.

"Yeah, plenty of times."

I smirk at her remark, but my lips drop a second later, and my eyes screw shut as a stabbing sensation starts up inside my chest.

I take a few deep breaths, struggling to do so because of the tightness of my chest and then I peel my eyes back open, looking down at Kaleb's broad shoulders.

Determination flows through me as I think about getting them both to safety and I move my shaky limbs, lifting Kaleb's body off of Sophia's legs and turning him onto his back.

His shirt is soaked with blood, and I can see the panic in Sophia's eyes when she notices.