Tanner brings back some cloth, placing it on the chest wound, holding it in place with some force. A faint throb reaches my fingers.
“There’s a pulse.” Squeezing her hand, I try to get her to respond. “Mel, open your eyes. For me, please open them, stay with us.” Ragged and sore, my throat burns with bile churning from my stomach. Why is my sister lying here, unconscious and bleeding?
“What the fuck happened, T?” A volcano is brewing.
“Shooter, came out of nowhere.”
“Where’s the fucking ambulance?” Holding her soft hand, my eyes stay on her face looking for any sign she’s going to pull through. “Squeeze my hand, Mel. Open your eyes, murmur, fuck, do anything.”
A cell rings beside me.
“What,” Slate answers, his voice harsh.
“You fuckers. This is my fucking wedding day!” Slate growls and is ready to tear into the phone and grab whoever it is through the cell and destroy them. Caden grabs the phone and hits speaker.
“You think payment is enough? You stupid bastards are so fucking high and mighty. No one messes with the Rasino Brothers and the death of your brother-in-law cements how fucking easy it is to get to The Savages.”
Pounding swamps my ears and I hear nothing else.
My eyes scan my sister, Tanner’s still applying pressure and our eyes lock. Fierce and black, Tanner doesn’t move, acid explodes within, burning from my stomach up, my body tightens and my teeth clench harshly. We are both thinking the same damn thing.
Kyle.
He’s bought this upon us.
Yet Kyle’s still fucking standing.
And my sister is laying shot in a pool of her own blood.
Kyle is the fucking reason for all of this mayhem.
There’s no red tinge blinding my vision, or darkness, only clear eyes spearing my prey.
Pouncing like a jaguar, Kyle stumbles as I jump on his back, using my arm as a headlock around his neck. Mumbles leave his lips, but I continue heaving myself back, applying more pressure to his neck. Rage encapsulates each of my nerves, muscles, and limbs, and fuck I want to snap his neck so badly.
Kyle jolts awkwardly, my body stumbling with his to the ground. Wrestling on the dirt, I slam my fist into his face. Wild and obsessed, I throw jabs in his stomach. His squealing only fuels my strength.
“You fucking prick, this is all on you.”
A lucky kick hits my leg, disconnecting me from his.
Standing above him, my body wound tight, I pull him up. Blood coats his arm and his face is bruising. A wail of the ambulance siren in the distance reminds me about my sister.
Slamming my fist into his gut, his legs wobble and he exhales air out clutching forward.
I’m merciless.
My hands refuse to stop.
Punch after punch, jab after jab, my fists land in every section of his body until he collapses on the ground.
A terrified scream tears through me.
Jerking my head to the side, Phoebe stands near my sister. Her eyes wide and terror is written across her face.
Manic and savage, I need to stay away from Phoebe. Her body tells me all I need to know.
Seeing a side of me I hoped she would never see.
Uncontrolled and restless, I lean down to Melody and there’s no change. “Has she moved? Said anything?” My breath is ragged.
“No, man.” Tanner has taken his shirt and placed it on top of Melody’s chest, soaking up the blood that refuses to stop gushing out. “The ambulance is close, O.”
“Mel, hold in there.”
There’s a flutter of her eyes and I lay down next to her on the ground, my face next to hers like we would do when we were children, watching the stars, making impossible wishes on the falling stars. We’d wished hundreds of times that our father would take an interest in us. That he would make us and Mom a priority. Some nights, we would watch from the back yard and wish for another sibling, thinking this would solve everyone’s problems. Melody had an ulterior motive, wanting a sister to annoy and do hair and makeup with. Stupid kids’ thoughts mainly, but after that fateful summer camp, our time together under the night sky turned into a place where we would catch up and have some time for ourselves, catching up on weeks of sibling antics. It was rare and so fucking special looking back on it now.
“I love you, Melody.” Gripping her cold hand, she gives a faint squeeze.
“You can fight this.” My chest thumps still, but the stars give me something to focus on other than the inferno slicing me.
A faint whisper leaves her mouth, her eyes remain closed. “You have your soul now. Love her with everything, Ocean.”
Nodding at her words, my stomach plummets, my heart splinters, pulsating fear and desolation eats through my entire body.
“I love you, big brother.” Small and weak, her voice hardly registering, my eyes watch her pale mouth.
She has to focus on herself. “Save your strength.”
Red lights blast across the darkness, the wail of the siren switches off.
Not wanting to move from my little sister, I stay sidled next to her. I can’t leave her like this. I’m her rock, her foundation, the one who listens to her pathetic stories about men who need a fucking good beating for treating her so badly, I’m the one who fixes her problems before she knows they need fixing. Helping her sort her crap out brings me closer to her, always wanting her to think I can solve her problems when in fact she gave me a purpose. As her brother, I need to give her warmth and strength.
Men with equipment rush forward and I refuse to move.
“Sir, we need you to move.”
Scared that if I do, she will evaporate into the night air, I stay put, holding her hand to keep her here with me. I can’t let her go.
It’s been me and her for so long taking care of each other when no one else gave a fuck. I won’t abandon my sister.
“We need to help her, sir.”
Sitting up, casting my eyes down on top of Melody, the blood’s stained all of her bright dress, only the edges of the skirt remain orange. Her face is pale and there’re no signs of life. Melody is so still.
My vision blurs, and my hand squeezes her petite hand hard. “Wake up, Mel. Please, for me. Do it for me.”
Arms grab my shoulders and they peel my body away. The paramedics dive in and start working on her. Swinging my head like a crazed animal, Tanner and Caden hold me enough to stop myself from plowing through the men who are trying to save my sister.
Fuck…
My little sister needs saving.
She’s dying.
I heave in air. It grates on my throat like I’ve swallowed sawdust.
Exhale.
Another breath in. Raw and exposed, my throat constricts.
Exhale.
The men work on her chest with determination. Her body moving only when touched by them.
Shaking my arms to break from my restraints, I continue my breathing routine. “I’m good.”
“You sure?” Tanner releases me.
“Yeah.”
Caden lets me go and I stay put, watching my sister die in front of me and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
A ripple of tingles spreads through my body. My heart races and my eyes close exploring the sensation soaring through me. The thudding stops and my breaths cease.
My mind’s blank.
Choking on the lack of air, my eyes fly open.
“Noooo.” A guttural roar slashes out and I run through the men and place my head on her chest, my hand across her face trying to feel any air escaping.