Page 122 of Twisted Little Game
I follow her gaze toward Lucian on the ground.
And I see that he’s grappling in the gravel, and his hand closes around his gun right as Tate emerges from the trees.
“No!” I shout at him.
But she was right.
I am too slow.
Too late, only when it matters.
Lucian’s shot fires right at Tate. My heart lurches up and lodges somewhere near my throat as I run over, trying to position my body in between Lucian and Tate.
I watch as Tate stutters on his feet and the shot misses him.
It missed.
It fucking missed, and I still have time—
“Fuck. No, no, Tate,” I try to say, each word coming out like a sobbing cry.
I level my handgun and look to fire another shot at Lucian but he’s crawling behind the car now, hidden from view.
Tate ducks behind a large tree trunk and I say a thousand silent prayers in my mind.
Hunter and Niko run toward the car from two directions, lunging for the gun in Lucian’s hand. He fires right as Hunter ducks to slash at his legs with a knife, and Hunter shouts.
He’s shot, I realize.
Hunter’s arm is bleeding, down near his elbow.
And then Lucian shoots again, crawling a couple more inches around the car, and points the barrel of his gun straight at me.
The pain comes before the sound.
In my belly, there’s a fast, hot flash of shocking pain, blooming outward.
He got me.
He…
“He hit me,” I say out loud, not knowing who I’m saying it to.
“You won’t win this,” Natalia says from behind me, still bound to the pillar.
My vision goes hazy, and the only thing I’m looking for, beyond the trees, is blond hair.
Be safe.
The thought burns through my mind.
I groan as I feel hot blood start to drip down my stomach, I look down, and all I see is red.
I look up, and I blink, trying to force my vision to focus.
Fight the shock.
I’m looking at Niko, now, as he grips the gun from Lucian’s hand and takes it away. Lucian is fast, though. Even with his wound, he’s able to scramble away in the gravel, tripping for a moment but then running, fast, toward the trees.
