“Caleb. Put the gun down,” Adrian says calmly, stepping forward to get in front of me.
“Fuck you, pussy. You are no leader of mine,” Caleb growls. I make a split-second decision when he tightens his grip on the gun and throw myself in front of Adrian. At the same time, Raul grabs his arm and pulls it down, but it’s too late.
The gun goes off, and suddenly I am cold. My body is numb, and the ringing in my ears is too loud for me to hear the chaos around me. I think another shot goes off as I am brought down to lie on the ground.
“She’s bleeding too much,” I hear Raul say in a panicked voice.
“No. No. No. Alania, please don’t die,” Brent cries as he holds my head between his hands.
I scream out in pain when Adrian presses down on the side of my belly. “I know, baby. I know it hurts,” Adrian says tearfully. “Talk to us, Little Dove. Open your eyes.”
“He’s got shit aim,” I choke out. Brent laughs tearfully and kisses my forehead.
“Ambulance is on the way. You hanging in there, sweetheart?” Raul says as he drops to his knees beside me to cup my cheek.
“Fuck, Alania. Why’d you do that, baby? You shouldn’t have…” Adrian starts to say.
“I did what you would do,” I say softly, making him stop talking. “I love you all… so damn much…”
“No, Nia. Don’t talk like that. You’re going to be just fine. Okay?” Brent says.
“Is he dead?” I ask. My voice is weak, and I am growing tired, but I am fighting to stay awake.
“Very dead,” Raul says. “Open your eyes, Alania. You need to stay awake, baby. Okay?”
“Bullets hurt,” I choke out.
“You’ve got this, Alania,” Adrian says, keeping pressure on my belly.
“Is it bad? Don’t lie to me,” I say quietly.
“If it hit an artery, you’d be dead right now. I don’t think the bullet hit anything major,” Adrian says. “You are just bleeding a lot.”
“My back,” I whisper.
“Roll her to her side,” Adrian says. They go, and I groan in pain. “There. It went through.”
Raul places a towel under me, and Adrian keeps his hand over it, but they roll me back so he can keep pressure on both sides. A few minutes pass, and others enter the room, but I am far too woozy to give a shit. Other people take over, and I am moved up onto a gurney where they start hooking me up to monitors.
“Is she allergic to anything?” the man asks Adrian from somewhere behind me as I am carried downstairs.
“No. Nothing,” he answers.
“You can ride with her, but the other two will have to follow,” he tells him. Adrian grabs my hand and squeezes as I am wheeled outside.
“Am I dying?” I ask the paramedic when they get me situated in the ambulance.
“I suppose we are all dying, but you won’t be dying today,” he says with a smile. “You’re going to be just fine, Mrs. Santos.”
I turn my head and look at Adrian. He has red, puffy eyes. I am high as hell on whatever pain medicine that the paramedic gave me, so I just smile at him. “You okay, Little Dove?” Adrian asks, gently stroking my cheek as the Ambulance starts moving.
“Mhmm. I don’t hurt anymore,” I say as I relax even more. “I think I’m high.”
“I think you are probably feeling nice,” Adrian says with a weak smile. “You didn’t have to do that, Alania. You jumped in front of a bullet for me.”
“And I’ll do it again,” I mutter. “Don’t argue with my love.”
“Okay, baby. You rest,” he says, still stroking my cheek. “I’ll be right here.”
