“Boss, come on.” Jax calls out as we head into the smoke and towards the big double doors that lead to the VIP area.
I hold my breath, knowing this could very well be the moment that shatters me into a million pieces.
I almost stumble over an unconscious body on the floor. One of Keller’s men is laid out but breathing. My guys rush in to evacuate as many people as possible as ambulance sirens blare in the background.
“ZARA!” I call out.
Glass cracks under my boot.
“Over here, Frankie!” Jax calls out, and I follow his voice.
“Fuck!” he shouts, and it makes my heart drop.
That’s when I see her arm, blood dripping from the shards splintering her skin.
I fight the urge to throw up as I see Keller resting on top of her. Rubble from the ceiling covers them.
Crimson drips from the back of Keller’s head onto the broken concrete.
I dive across, feeling the sharp edges of debris scrape against my skin, while Jax positions himself on the other side of an unresponsive Keller. Together, we carefully push away the chunks and roll him onto his back. “Don’t move his head. Keep him as still as you can. We need a stretcher in here!” I hope my voice can carry over the cries of so many injured.
Jax’s hands are covered in Keller’s blood as we maneuver him.
I carefully pick up Zara. I can barely see through my blurry vision.
“No,” I whisper as I spot the glass sticking out from her abdomen.
“He has a pulse. It’s fucking weak,” Jax says. I can’t even comprehend his words.
“Go and get a fucking stretcher!” I call out to our guys coming in through the door.
“I gotta find, Kai. Where the fuck is he?” I can hear the panic rising in Jax’s voice as the stretcher gets placed next to Keller.
“You can’t move, not until they take Keller, Jax.”
“Kai!” he shouts out.
Nothing.
“Come on, baby.” I pick Zara up in my arms, cradling her to my chest.
As I reach the door, I stop as Jax lets out what can only be described as a scream of utter heartbreak. Enough to tell me that Kai didn’t make it.
I know his pain, I’ve felt it.
I close my eyes, resting against Zara’s cold face. Her little shallow breaths are enough to keep me sane.
Grayson strides in, fury on his face. “Maddie and Sienna are safe. Keller?”
Jax’s cries rip through the building and Grayson looks at me.
“Kai,” I whisper.
“Go and help him, G. You know what to do.” I nod to him.
I head straight to the nearest ambulance, and they help me lay her down on a stretcher inside. I take a seat next to her as the paramedics get to work, placing an oxygen mask over her mouth.
My entire life is on that bed and now, there isn’t a single thing I can do to make this right.
“She’s pregnant.”
The paramedics look at each other. I know what they’re thinking.
The same thing as me.
“Are you the father?”
“Yes.”
“How far along is she?”
“Eleven weeks.”
Resting my head in my hands, I pull at my hair. Romano is going to fucking pay, him and anyone involved will die for this.
I keep my eyes on Zara, the woman who owns my damn heart, and remember this moment. I will use it to fuel me to end this war. For her and for our baby.
