Page 52 of Scarred Sins

The security is still behind him, prepared and waiting for instructions.

The night is getting darker and darker, much colder, and soon enough, everything around is vacant. I don’t know how long we spent there, just staring at each other. Not a single soul is to be seen, the cold evening of New York pushing its citizens inside.

“We need to go, butterfly.’’ I raise my voice enough for Blair to hear.

“Arlo,’’ despite her appearance, her voice is calm. “I can’t move.’’

“I know it’s a shock. I didn’t expect you’d–’’

“No. I mean, I quite literally cannot move, Arlo.’’

To shield her from the burning gaze of the motherfucker, I rise to my feet and stand in front of her. She’s looking through me, and no matter how immersed I am in Blair’s appearance and thinking of how to get her out of this place safely, I don’t miss the sudden shift in the air.

The smallest hairs on my neck stand up, the atmosphere and tension getting thicker.

“I’ll carry you,’’ I offer. “May I?”

Instead of verbally responding, she nods.

Softly, I picked her up, bridal style, hugging her body closely to mine. As if sensing something, Arson jumps on Blair’s stomach, and I end up carrying them both.

Something bad is about to go down, and I have to protect her, no matter how it ends for me. She’s someone worth saving, deserving of being someone’s object of protection – and she’s mine. Not a single strand of her hair will be missing, even if it means I’ll end up dying.

For Blair, I’m willing to jump into the lion’s den and never see the light of day again if it means I’ll ensure her safety.

Blair brings her head closer to my chest, shivering in my arms. Her body is stone cold, and she’s barely moving, except for the occasional snuggle into my chest.

How everything else happened, I’m not sure.

Gunshots echo all around us, aiming to take us both down. With everything I have in me, I suppress the need to whip out my gun and kill all of them. If anything’s possible – it’s that I don’t miss. I’ve never missed a target; I haven’t missed since the first time I held a gun, and these pests seem to be begging for me to take their miserable, pathetic lives.

“What’s happening?” Blair asks, her voice cracking.

“Don’t look, and just focus on me.’’

I bring her out of the park, but the gunshots follow us. My bike’s parked too far, and in this state, I’m not going to be able to drive Blair and Arson safely back home. Instead, I pull my phone out and send Dad an SOS text.

Truth be told, I could just leave Blair here, hidden, and go deal with them.

But I don’t want to leave her alone. She’s scared.

Undoubtedly, by morning, all evidence of the shooting will be wiped off the face of the Earth. However, if I were to even fire a single bullet their way, they’d somehow try to pin everything on me, and I can’t risk it.

I shield Blair from the rain of bullets, holding her tightly against me. They don’t follow us, and as soon as we’re out of the park, the shooting stops.

“Are they following us?” Blair’s voice is a mere whisper.

My vision starts getting blurry, and I shake it off. The big car that Dad sent parks right in front of us, and I pull the back door open, gently putting Blair inside, with Arson jumping off and going to the front seat, treating this vehicle as her own.

“No, butterfly,’’ I reassure. “They’re not following us.’’

I sit in the backseat with her, and that’s when the ache of my abdomen starts spreading through my body. Blair’s words are muffled, and black dots appear in my vision. Once the car drives off, I close my eyes. This just proves that this isn’t a situation to be taken lightly and that it could’ve cost me my life had I not moved at the last second.

Blair’s scream follows me into the darkness.

FIFTEEN

Everything happens in slow motion.