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I absolutely do. Niki gulps back a sob, and I hold my fucking breath when she brings her face down and leans her forehead against his. She stays there, sobbing and clutching onto the tattered threads of his shirt.

“Kee… keep an–” Noah gasps and shudders in her grip. “Eye on my… mom for me–”

There's a gurgling sound in his throat, followed by a hissing sound.

“His lung is punctured and can’t expand. He’s dying–”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snarl at Charles. The man has no fucking filter. Niki sobs while she looks for a place to put her hands, but his entire body is mutilated. There’s nothing we can do.

Noah lets out one last struggling breath before his body gives in and succumbs to his injuries. I take one step toward Niki when Jasmin stops me.

“Let me,” she says with a soft shake of her head.

Her eyes are brimmed with tears, and I nod my okay. Jasmin bends down and wraps my little wounded fox into her arms, and they both slump down near Noah’s lifeless body.

“It’s my fault. I should’ve listened to him. He told me they threatened him.”

Jasmin smooths Niki’s hair off her face and then holds her. “Justice, don’t say that. You know it’s not your fault. Noah made mistakes and unfortunately chose to work for a criminal. Vork did this–not you.”

The sound of a siren shrieks in the near distance and Charles lights his fiftieth cigarette. “I’ll wait in the van. I’m sorry, Justice. Truly.”

He bobs his head, acknowledging me on the way out, and I stand there, like a fucking useless statue, until the paramedics rush in.

35

Justice

I’m covered in Noah’s blood and feel completely numb. Dylan’s weirdly handsome and wildly over-professional boss is back, and they’re discussing something off in the distance. I don’t care enough to try to eavesdrop. I’m still wrapped in Jasmin’s embrace, but we’re sitting on a bench just outside the bar instead of the bloodbath where Noah’s body is being tucked into a black body bag.

I break out into another sob and hiccup into Jasmin’s shoulder that’s already covered in my tears. I can’t believe he’s gone. And suddenly I’m filled with rage. That motherfucker, Vork, took another person from me. When will it stop?

The red and blue lights flash and blind me when I stare in the direction of the EMTs. They’re pushing the stretcher that is carrying Noah’s body, and instinctively, I rush to them.

I crash into Olivia, and she holds me. “Don’t do it, babe. Think of him when he was at his strongest and hold on tothatmemory.Notthis one.”

I try to tell her that I just need to look at him one last time, but words don’t come out. Instead, a loud wail escapes my throat, and I scream out the pain that’s been gripping my heart like a barbed wire. Jasmin comes up behind me and they both hold me until the ambulance drives away and Noah is gone.

“I can’t wait to have a bunch of kids,” Noah says.

Well, that came out of nowhere. I stare at him in shock, my mouth agape, and he laughs. I don’t know if he’s joking, but I don’t think he is. The way he stares at toddlers playing at the park and how he volunteers to round up all the kids at the trailer lot to play basketball? Most would assume he’s some weird pedophile. But I know better. He’s too sweet. After what his father did, he can’t wait to have kids of his own and showhimself what a real dad is supposed to be like. I don’t deserve him.

“I want to adopt,” I blurt out.

“Sure, Justice. We’ll adopt.”

I laugh. “What makes you thinkwe’lladopt?”

Noah leans toward me, his caramel eyes burn against the rays of the sun setting behind me. It reflects back to me in a wave of honey glaze. “If you end up being somebody else’s, I’ll die of grief.”

My hand pushes against his chest. “Stop being dramatic.”

I don’t want to tell him that I agreed to be his girlfriend just two days ago because I felt bad saying no for the eighty-fifth time. He’s my best friend. I don’t want to be his in that way. I think he’ll see that, too, and in a few days, everything will be back to normal.

Nothing went back tonormal.

“Two gates, huh?”

“Can’t be too safe.”

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