Page 25

TWENTY-FOUR

The bang takeseveryone by surprise. Even Alonzo is stunned into inaction for a few seconds. He didn’t think Logan would actually shoot the guy. To be honest, I didn’t think he would either.

Most civilians in this kind of situation will freeze up. They’ll forget how to squeeze the trigger or they’re too afraid to do it. Even if they do get off a shot, they usually miss.

But Logan didn’t. He fired. Hit the target right in the chest. Pride surges through me at Logan’s ability to defend himself. It’s not easy. It takes a fuckton of guts. And Logan’s got plenty to spare.

A couple beats pass in silence before there’s a scrambling sound. It must be Logan, trying to get out from under the table. Before I can react, Alonzo’s got his hands on me.

My shoulder screams in pain. My thigh does too. The first bullet wound tore open when I dove from the table to the couch. I felt a twinge, but didn’t realize what it was until I was crawling on my stomach toward the window. Now there’s blood pouring out of a hole in my leg and more blood leaking from the new hole in my shoulder.

My head spins as Alonzo hauls me upright. He’s got me from behind, arm wrapped around my neck, using me as a shield. The sudden loss of blood makes me woozy and weak. I stumble, almost a dead weight in his arms, but Alonzo’s hold doesn’t budge. However thin he’s become while in prison, he’s more than made up for in strength.

Where in the goddamn world is backup? We had a dozen agents stationed all over the fucking place. How the hell did Alonzo make it past all of them undetected?

He must have taken out communications somehow. A powerful jamming signal could interfere with all wireless transmissions across a large area. But even then, the perimeter teams should’ve had eyes on the cabin. The second they saw Alonzo pull up—or at least when the guns started shooting—they should’ve hightailed it in our direction.

There is another possible explanation. It’s been sitting at the back of my mind, irritating like a pebble in my shoe, but I refuse to entertain it. There’s no way he could have murdered all of them. There were so many, spread out over a huge area. Alonzo only brought three gunmen with him. They would’ve been no match for a dozen highly trained FBI agents.

Logan emerges from the rubble. He’s disheveled and dusty, with wood chips in his hair and dirt smeared across his face. His focus is on the dead gunman at first, backing away until he hits a wall. He looks horrified. Disgusted. He clamps a hand over his mouth as a whimper escapes.

Dread and loathing, directed at myself, eat their way through me. I did this to him. He’s a bright, shining ball of happiness and I’ve tarnished him, defiled him, and dragged him into the filth of my world.

He’s seen things he should never have seen. He’s done things he should never have done. And it’s all because of me.

“Bravo.” Alonzo’s voice is much too close to my ear for comfort.

I struggle against him, but he’s stronger than he looks. He has no trouble holding me against my will. I go stock still when he lifts his gun and presses the barrel to my temple.

Logan’s head snaps around when Alonzo speaks. His eyes grow even wider as he takes in the scene. I know I’m not a pretty sight. Covered in blood and at the mercy of my worst enemy.

“Run!” I try to shout, but it comes out strangled. “Get out of here!” He can still escape. He isn’t the one Alonzo wants.

But Logan doesn’t run. He lifts his hand, the one still holding the gun, and wraps the other around the butt just like Victoria taught him to do. He widens his stance, one foot slightly in front of the other. Textbook perfect.

He points the gun at me—at Alonzo—but his arms aren’t steady. He’s shaking badly, trembling all over. His breathing is fast and shallow and his shoulders are up by his ears. He’s scared, but he’s trying, and I hate myself that much more.

“Logan, go. Get as far away from here as you can.”

Fear slithers through me. This is too dangerous. It’s too much to ask of him. It isn’t what I had intended when I agreed to let Victoria teach him how to shoot. I wanted to prepare Logan in case he needed to defend himself. I never meant for him to have to save me. I’m the one who’s supposed to save him.

Breathe. Stay calm. Stay in control.

Or at least I try to. I dig my fingers into Alonzo’s forearm where it’s pressed threateningly against my throat. I can’t get a full breath, I can barely get a partial one.

“Ah ah, not so fast, little firecracker. You’re not going anywhere.” Alonzo points the gun toward Logan. It chills me to the bone.

“You’re right, I’m not going anywhere without Jared. Let him go. Let him go or I’ll shoot.” Logan’s words are defiant, but his voice is just sort of sobbing.

“Such brave words, little one.” I can’t see Alonzo’s face, but I can imagine his expression. Disbelief. Amusement. Seething.

“Logan, leave me. Go find help.”

Alonzo tightens his hold around my neck, cutting off my airway, and I scrabble helplessly at his arm.

“Do you really think you can hit me?” Alonzo says to Logan. “Or are you more likely to hit your lover?”

Logan flinches at the word “lover” and his aim wavers. But then his frown deepens and his jaw clenches tighter. He’s concentrating, focusing. I can see the unerring resolve in his eyes.

If I didn’t already love him with every fiber of my being, this moment would have solidified it. Logan is the best, most perfect man on earth. I’ve brought nothing but disaster and destruction into his life, and yet he’s fighting and putting everything on the line for me.

“I said, let him go,” he demands again, voice steadier. He takes a half-step forward.

Alonzo chuckles. “How quaint. Your little firecracker thinks he can intimidate me. He has no idea what I’m capable of, is he?”

I let out a choked sound. It’s all I can manage with his arm still pressed firmly against my throat.

“You’re a monster. A villain. You’re despicable.” Logan’s voice gets stronger, firmer, louder.

“Oh, such kind words. I’ll have you know, it’s rather challenging to be as evil as I am. It’s nice when all my hard work is appreciated.”

“You’re delusional.” Logan’s disgust is unmistakable.

“Yes, I’m aware,” Alonzo says with a maniacal laugh. “I’m also a lunatic and a psychopath, hmm? All titles I’m proud to wear.”

That laugh is not a good sign. It means Alonzo’s gotten tired of playing. He’s done with the games.

I yank at his arm at my throat and struggle against his hold. I try to elbow him in the ribs, but I have nowhere near the strength required to dislodge him.

I do manage to distract him from Logan, though. The gun comes back in my direction. The cold, hard metal is unforgiving at my temple.

“Stop it,” he spits into my ear.

I don’t stop. Not this time. I won’t give in so easily, I won’t go down without a fight. He can shoot me if he wants. My life isn’t worth that much when all is said and done.

But that’s not the case with Logan. He has so much to live for, so much still to give the world. I need to give him a chance to run and escape, a chance to survive.

“Go ahead,” I rasp. “Shoot me.”

Alonzo snarls and presses the gun harder against my temple. “It would be my utmost pleasure.”

“No! Don’t!” Logan shouts.

“Come on. What are you waiting for? You’ve got me right where you want me. Do it. Shoot me.” I lean my head into the gun barrel and glare up at him through the corner of my eye.

“Jared! Stop!”

Alonzo’s gaze snaps up to Logan again. “That would be the easy thing to do, wouldn’t it?” Then the gun follows. “Death is too kind an end for you. You took away the two most precious people in my life. I’ve had to live with the torment, the anguish of their loss for years. I didn’t have the luxury of death to dull the pain. So why should you?”

“No!” I struggle even harder, trying to break free, to throw him off balance. Anything so his attention and his gun aren’t focused directly on Logan. “It’s me you want. I’m the one who killed Elena and Manuel. I’m the one who murdered your family. Logan’s got nothing to do with it. Killing him won’t?—”

“Enough!”

The rest of my words die on my tongue as Alonzo’s arm clamps like a vise around my throat, completely cutting off my airway. I can’t breathe, no matter how hard I try. My vision goes blurry. Sound becomes muffled in my ears.

“No! Jared! Stop it! Stop!”

I can’t give up yet. I can’t let it end like this. Logan needs me and I can’t fail him. I try to keep fighting but my limbs feel heavy. My arms and legs lose all their strength. Darkness closes in on me and silence smothers everything.

Then one last loud gunshot. I feel it more than I hear it. I’m falling. The arm around my neck is gone. But it’s too late. I land with a thud on the floor. The world goes black.

“Jared! Jared! If you don’t wake the fuck up, right the fuck now, I’m going to fucking kill you myself! JARED!”

The shouting sounds like it’s right in my face. And someone is shaking me hard enough to bang my head on the floor under me. I groan as pain pulses through every inch of my body. Everything from the top of my head to the soles of my feet burns as if I’m on fire. And yet, I’m cold. So very cold. On the inside where I should be warm. The chill comes from deep within, from the marrow of my bones.

“Jared! Jared? Open your eyes, babe. Look at me, please!”

I try, but my eyes are glued shut. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need to see to recognize the voice yelling in my ear. Or the weight of the body covering me. Or the scent of him in my nose—sweet, so deliciously sweet and tangy.

Logan. My Logan. My own personal ray of sunshine. My source of light in a dark world.

“No! Get off me! I can’t leave him!” He’s wrenched away from me with a cry. I try to protest.

No, come back. Don’t leave me. Please.

Firm, efficient hands press me back. They poke and prod, rolling me back and forth. And with each movement, more pain bursts through my body. I try to tell them to stop, that it hurts. But it comes out as a moan.

Something heavy is draped over me, weighing me down, trapping me. Then suddenly, I’m airborne, heaved up by invisible hands. A blast of cold air blows across my face and red and blue lights flash behind my eyelids.

There are voices. Too many to differentiate. All speaking over one another, too fast for me to understand.

Then thump. I’m set down on something hard and solid. It hurts. Oh god, it hurts.

“Where are you taking him?” One female voice comes through clearly.

“Wait for me! I’m coming with him!”

Then more jostling and the slamming of heavy doors. Sirens pierce the air. A vehicle rumbles under me. It feels like I’m in the middle of an earthquake.

A warm hand slips into mine, squeezing tightly. I try to squeeze back. To let him know I’m here.

“Stay with me, Jared. Don’t you dare die on me. We’ve been through too much for me to lose you now.”

Then blessed, blessed darkness.