Filed to story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
The barrel of the gun seemed to widen as I neared. I had a moment to think about Ava and the promises I’d made to her. I’d
meant them when I said it, but I doubted I would be able to keep them. I hoped Ava would forgive me for it.
Antonio and I neared each other. My whole life had led to this moment. Inevitable. Predestined. This was where everything ended.
I’m sorry, Ava, I thought as I sprang at Antonio.
A shot fired loud enough that it sounded like the world was cracking apart. Searing pain in my chest tore the breath from my lungs. Even so, I flew through the air toward him. My vision was already starting to go fuzzy when I flailed my claws at Antonio. There was a deep meaty impact followed by screams of agony.
The ground slammed into my body, and then I knew nothing but darkness.
THIRTY
AVA
When Uncle Sam led me through the house, it was like walking through a war zone. I couldn’t keep count of the bullet holes. No matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes trained on my feet, I could still make out the bodies of men and women, riddled with bullets and sprawled on the ground. Most were hunters, but some were my father’s men.
Sam limped ahead of me. He hadn’t been shot, but he must have twisted his ankle or knee during the battle. I could hear screams and shouts ahead of me.
Sam hurried on, and we walked into the foyer where my cousins LJ and Chris were lifting Dad up onto a makeshift gurney that consisted of a door that had been pulled off its hinges. Blood oozed down Dad’s arm, dripping off his fingers. There was a blossoming red patch on the far side of his chest, right beside the plating of his body armor. There were a half-dozen dents in the vest. The armor had saved him from the full spray of bullets he’d taken and it looked like only one had gotten through. His eyes were closed and his chest rose and fell in a halting way that didn’t look good.
I pressed my hands to my face. “Daddy?”
He was out, not even registering my voice.
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder. I turned to see April. She was looking at him with the same worry that was filling my heart.
“Come on!” LJ shouted. “We gotta get Uncle Gio to the hospital. Fucking move!”
He and Chris hauled my father outside and loaded him into the waiting van Uncle Mike had pulled around to the front of the door. More dead bodies were scattered across the grass. Already, even with the battle barely over, Dad’s guys were dragging the bodies away. Dad had the local police paid off, for the most part, but someone might have heard the gunfire and show up any minute. They had to get rid of the hunters. They’d probably dump them in some mass grave at the edge of our property.
I couldn’t care less what happened to them. They’d come here to kill my family, to take and possibly kill me, and the rest of them were out attacking Blayne. If Dad’s guys wanted to piss on their bodies, I wouldn’t care.
Mike sped off to the hospital. Sam and April came with me in the back. Luis and my cousins stayed behind to organize the disaster that was the house and take care of the bodies. Luis said he’d meet us at the hospital once everything was handled.
The whole way there, I gripped Dad’s hand. Every few minutes, I felt his fingers twitch. I told myself it was him trying to squeeze my hand. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I kept myself under control. Freaking out wouldn’t help him.
We pulled under the big overhanging portico of the emergency room, the tires squealing. Sam and Mike leaped from the car and screamed for help. In seconds, a crew of doctors and nurses descended on the van. Dad was whisked away on a real gurney and April led me into the ER.
We crowded in behind the team working on Dad. A nurse started pulling the Velcro straps of the armor apart. She looked up, horrified. “Is this a bulletproof vest?”
“Just work on him,” Mike snapped.
“You need to leave,” a burly male nurse said.
“The fuck we do!” Sam said, pressing his chest into the nurse’s.
If Sam scared the nurse, the guy didn’t show it. He folded his arms across his chest. “Sir, let us work. Go to the waiting room. We’ll let you know how things go.”
“Come on,” I said, touching my uncle’s arm. “Let them do their job.”
Grudgingly, Sam and Mike escorted April and me to the waiting room. We sat and I stared at the walls, shell-shocked. April sat beside me, rubbing my back to console me. It filled me with guilt. Her mate was out there. God knew what was happening, yet she was here, comforting me.
Thirty minutes later, one of the doctors came out to update us. “Your father is heading up to the surgical floor. We stabilized him. The bullet passed through a lower rib and into the lung. It exited out his back. There’s damage to the lung and one of his kidneys. We won’t know the extent of the injuries until we operate.”
“Is he gonna make it?” Mike asked.
The doctor sighed. “It’s difficult to tell. There could be internal bleeding. A lot could go wrong. Blood clots, heart failure. I can’t give you an answer. We’ll let you know when the surgery is over.” With that, he turned and hurried back through the door that read
No entry.
I clamped my hands together. I was on the edge, ready to fall off the cliff.
Stay calm, stay calm, it’s gonna be okay,
I told myself. Sam and Mike looked pale and worried. I had to keep my head. If I thought the worst, I’d slide into the abyss.
“Help me!” The big bellowing voice exploded from the front door of the ER. I recognized the voice.