"I'm coming back, Bree, I swear. Just hang in there, girl. I've got you, okay? I'm getting help." Tears choked at my throat, my voice cracking over those words as I accepted that she wasn't going to reply. She hadn't moved even an inch since we'd crashed.
"Hang in there, bitch," I whispered at her, my cheeks wet as tears overflowed. "I'm coming back for you." More gunshots popped, closer. Or maybe my hearing was just becoming clearer. Either way, I was right in the middle of a goddamn gunfight.
I slid out of the car, keeping low to the ground as I looked around. We were in the middle of an intersection with banged-up cars scattered all around. They must have all been clipped as Bree's car hurtled out of control, but none of the drivers were coming to our aid. I didn't blame them, either, as another spray of gunshots peppered a delivery van less than thirty feet from me.
Where was Kody?
Flattening my body to the ground, I peered under the car and spotted the familiar blue Maserati, its side littered with bullet holes and its tires totally flat. That pretty much confirmed it in my dazed and possibly concussed mind. There was nothing accidental about this accident. It was a deliberate, planned attack... on me.
Heavy footsteps crunched on broken glass somewhere nearby, and I held my breath on reflex. I was already belly down on the pavement; all I needed to do was shimmy under the car for protection. But what if it caught fire or something? Then... fuck. It was already too late.
A pair of black combat boots rounded the smashed-up hood of Bree's car, and I looked up, locking eyes with the stranger. And his gun.
He gave me a cold stare, like killing me meant absolutely nothing to him. My mind whirled, searching for some way out. But my only weapon was my knife, and this was a gunfight. I was sorely out matched in the ranged-weapon scale.
My stomach lurched. There was a click, then the deafening gunshot, and my eyes screwed tight on reflex. But the bullet never reached me.
I opened my eyes again just in time to see my would-be killer drop to his knees with a perfectly circular hole in the middle of his forehead. Just a small dribble of blood trailed from it as his huge body wobbled a moment, but three more shots to his chest and another to his head saw him hit the ground in a spray of blood and tissue.
"Babe, are you okay?" Kody barked, crouching beside me on one knee but keeping his gun raised and his gaze alert for anyone else who wanted to try us. "MK, answer me!"
"Yeah," I croaked. "Yes, I'm fine. But Bree isn't. She needs help, Kody!"
His gaze jerked away from our surroundings for just long enough to peer into the car, then he cursed. "Alright, an ambulance is already on its way. It's going to be okay, babe, I promise. We're okay, yeah? Can you stand up?"
I nodded, then hissed at the agony that movement sent through my head. "I can, I'm fine. Just help Bree."
Kody wrapped his arm around me, helping me stand without letting his gun arm relax even a second. "Shh, I've got you, babe. You're safe."
I hadn't even realized I was crying again until he crushed me into his chest and I felt the wetness of my own face. Fuck. Fuck. If Bree died because of me...
"The boys are here; it's all okay now," Kody told me in a low rumble, and his body lost some tension as he tucked his gun away.
Seconds later, Archer's heavy hand wrapped around my wrist like he was about to yank me out of Kody's grip, but I tensed up.
"Don't!" Kody ordered, making Archer's movement freeze. "She's got whiplash or something. Just stuff the caveman bullshit in a box for now and sort out this cleanup. You can beat your chest and wave your dick around later when MK's got clearance from the hospital."
On the far side of Bree's car, an ambulance had arrived with a firetruck right behind it. Already, the first responders were out and assessing the situation with Bree. They were helping her. She was going to be okay... wasn't she?
"Hellcat, we're here," Steele's smooth, low voice reached my ears, and I pulled away from Kody's chest gingerly to look at each of them. "What happened to Grill King?" Steele's joke fell flat, but I gave him a watery smile anyway, appreciating the attempt.
"I need to..." My words trailed off weakly, and I peeled myself out of Kody's grip. "I need to tell them what happened." I tried making my way around to where two firemen were already cutting through the metal of Bree's car door with what looked like giant bolt cutters.
"Babe," Kody gently held me back, "it's not necessary. There were a shitload of witnesses here. You need to get checked out."
A second ambulance pulled in with sirens blaring, and an EMT from the first one approached us.
"Ma'am, you were in this car?" she asked me, not unkindly, but simply all business.
"Yes," Steele answered for me before I could refuse the EMT’s help. "Yes, she was the passenger."
The woman nodded, coming closer and laying a gentle hand on my arm. "Please, come with me." She was indicating to her ambulance, but I wasn't going anywhere. Not yet. Not until I knew Bree was being helped. I couldn't...
I shook my head, then cried out in pain. Fucking hell, my head hurt. And my neck. And my chest, my neck, my waist... I was one giant ache, but nothing was broken. More importantly, I was alive. The same couldn't be said about Bree. Not yet, anyway. Not until they got her out and started treating her.
"I'm not going anywhere until Bree is okay," I told the woman in a hard voice. "I won't fall over dead in the meantime, but I'm not using valuable resources when Bree is the one who needs help. Help her. Please."
"Kate—" Archer started to argue with me, but I shot him a blazing glare.
"Fucking fight me, D'Ath. I'm not leaving until I see Bree treated."
He stared back at me, his eyes searching, then he blew out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up. "Fine, Steele, you're on Kate. Kody, let's sort out this mess. You can fill me in while we wait for the cleaners to arrive."
I frowned in confusion, but the EMT blanched noticeably.
Kody kissed my forehead and stroked my hair. "Stay with Steele, okay? This might take us a bit of time to fix."
I must have hit my head too hard because I wasn't understanding. "Fix what? They crashed into us deliberately."
He gave me a small smile. "I know, babe. But now there's eight dead bodies lying in the middle of an intersection and first responders can only pretend not to see them for so long before it causes even bigger problems." With a reassuring smile, he left me in Steele's care and joined Archer as they walked to the closest body—the guy who'd damn near put a bullet in my brain.
"What the fuck is going on?" I breathed, pressing a hand to my face and staring as the firemen kept hacking through the metal of Bree's car, racing the clock to save her.
Steele took my arm carefully, leading me away from the car and over to one of the ambulances with its back open. "Hellcat, I'm not making you leave," he reassured me as he gently relocated us, "but Nancy here needs to do her job and check you over, okay?"
The medic, Nancy, gave me a smile that bordered on pleading, and a rush of guilt flooded me. There was so much going on here that I didn't understand. But one thing I knew for damn sure. She was scared—probably of what the boys might do to her, if she let me walk away with an injury that turned serious later. I knew they wouldn’t blame her for my stubborn bullshit, but she didn’t know that.