“Like I said, you always did have a nasty mouth.”
She might not have heard it, but what Kap heard in the other man’s voice chilled his blood. He inched closer, keeping his chest tight against the wall. It would be the easiest way to see what was going on in that room. He couldn’t look behind him, hoping that El kept his calm.
“Well, Marv, I say this with all due respect, fuck off.”
Kap got a look at the other man’s face. It was mottled with rage, his hand fairly shaking with it. He knew from the look in his eyes that he was going to shoot Eden. Fear shot through him as he rushed forward in the direction of her voice. He tackled her just as the gun went off. He felt a white-hot sting hit him on his side just as they fell to the floor.
“No!” Marv screamed as he pointed the gun at both him and Eden. She was pushing against him, trying to get him off of her, but he refused to budge.
“Drop it, Marv,” El ordered.
“Fucking Carlyles,” Marv said. But before he could shoot again, two shots rang out.
He heard someone fall to the ground. Kap lifted his head and found Ian holding a gun, even with his hands still zip-tied, and El keeping his weapon trained on Marv as he moved forward. He kicked the gun away from their old boss, even though Kap knew the man was dead. There were two shots in his chest. No one could survive that or the blood loss he was going through.
“Let me up, Kap.”
He rolled off her, so she could see what was going on. When he rose, he felt another sting. Fucker got him with that shot, hitting his side. It didn’t feel too bad.
“Is everyone all right?”
That was Adam striding into the room. Their earpieces were buzzing with a demand for answers.
“Yeah,” he said as nausea rose up.
He heard everyone start talking at once, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything. There was more buzzing, and it had nothing to do with his earpiece. Instead, he felt as if his head was swimming and the entire room was spinning. El and Eden helped Ian up, then she turned back to him.
He smiled…or he thought he did.
“Kap?” Worry filled her voice as her eyes widened with alarm. She rushed forward as he felt his knees give way.
Stumbling, he fell toward her. She caught him and tried to keep him upright.
“El, I need help.”
“Shit,” El said, running over. The twins laid Kap down, and that’s when he felt the dampness on his back.
Why was he so weak? Why was the world seemingly going dark?”
“Kapone, do not do this! Do you hear me?”
He lifted his hand to her face. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Always would be. Like now, when she was crying and a blubbering mess, she should look horrible, but she was still stunning.
He opened his mouth to say something, to tell her she was beautiful, but he couldn’t seem to talk.
“There is so much blood. Why is there blood?” Hysteria edged her voice up another octave.
“Hey, everything is okay, babe,” he said, finally able to speak.
“Stop talking. Save your strength. Get the fucking EMTs up here now!”
He smiled. “I love you.”
Her eyes widened, and a fresh set of tears filled them. “Don’t say things like that in that voice. You will be okay.”
He felt his smile fade as the entire world around him went dark.
Thirteen
