Page 12 of The Only Shot that Mattered

Before anyone could respond, Rock came over and interrupted them, whispering something to Damien, but it was loud enough that Kenna overheard.

“D, there’s been a disturbance at the entrance. Something about a possible gun. We need to evacuate just to be safe. You know how rowdy after games can be.”

Kenna didn’t hear anything after the wordgun. Cam must have heard as well because in an instant he was at Kenna’s side and holding her, talking in a soothing tone. “Hey, it’s okay, Kenna. It’s okay. We’re getting out of here right now.”

As he spoke, his eyes moved around the room, looking for an exit. He might have been the stronger one of the two, but he had just as much trauma as her.

Kenna felt like she couldn’t breathe. No, she actuallycouldn’tbreathe.The hyperventilating started as tears flooded her eyes. She knew this had been a bad idea. She let her guard down too much. She allowed distractions to get her to this point.

“Hey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” Damien asked as he appeared at her side.

“We need to get out of here, now,” Cam said, pulling Kenna along with him as he watched people filing out of the room. Nobody was in a panic, which struck Kenna as odd. Then it hit her. Maybe they didn’t know someone had a gun. Someone, somewhere in this big arena, had a gun.

They had agun.

They had a gun.

The words swirled in her mind as her heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest.

Damien ushered the rest of their group to follow Kenna and Cam before he caught up with them. Kenna tried desperately to breathe, causing Damien’s brows to pull in. Without needing any context, he grabbed her from Cam’s arms so they would stop stumbling around and picked her up.

“It’s all good, beautiful. Just breathe. I got you.”

Kenna clung to his neck and buried her face into his chest as she closed her eyes tightly. She found that she could take in a deep breath finally. The only thing that registered was the fresh smell of Damien’s soap and his cologne. She did that repeatedly—took deep, controlled breaths.

When she felt fresh air hit her, she opened her eyes and looked around. Outside always felt safe for her. All those years ago, when Cam stumbled out of their school, the police had just arrived and immediately led them to safety just before the bomb went off. Safety. Safe. She was finally safe.

“Over here.” Damien’s voice vibrated her cheek, and suddenly, they were inside a luxurious truck.

Damien slid in the back row, and Cam got in beside them. Annalise and Alanzo got in the middle row while the woman Kenna had yet to meet slid into the passenger seat.

“Kenna, it’s okay, boo. We good,” Cam soothed, reaching over and rubbing her back.

When Kenna tried to slide off Damien’s lap, he held her in place but didn’t speak. Kenna didn’t have the strength to fight him. Plus, she felt comfortable in his embrace. Looking over at Cam, she noticed tears in his eyes, and she immediately reached out for his hand.

They didn’t speak any further than that. Neither of them even bothered to ask where they were going. Annalise glanced back at them in worry periodically, and Alanzo seemed to read the space around him because he stayed quiet and laid his head on his grandmother’s side.

Tears streamed down Kenna’s face as she tried to push the images of dead students, of her dead brother, out of her head.

When the car finally stopped, she realized she had long ago closed her eyes. They popped open in alarm, and she looked around, realizing they were parked in front of a mansion. The biggest house she had ever seen. The kind of home that had a west wing and an east wing.

“This is my home,” Damien murmured to her, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “I figured it was the best place to regroup. You okay to walk?”

Kenna nodded, and this time when she tried to slide off his lap, he let her.

They filed out of the car wordlessly and Kenna hid behind her hands as she cried. She knew she was a mess at this point and looking crazy for freaking out so badly, but that was her life. Her trauma was unfortunately a part of her, and she didn’t know if she would ever rid herself of it.

Gentle fingers pried her hands from her face, and Kenna’s blurred vision landed on the pretty woman who seemed really comfortable around Damien. She smiled softly at Kenna and said, “I’m Jendaya. Is it okay if we go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up?”

Kenna’s skin tinted red. Now she knew for a fact she was a mess. Nodding slightly, she glanced up at Damien, who nodded in encouragement. When her eyes landed on Cam, she muttered, “Take a moment if you need to.”

He nodded, tears still swimming in his eyes. Kenna knew him well enough to know that when he got that moment alone, he would allow himself to come completely undone, as she had.

Jendaya gently tugged Kenna along in front of everyone and let herself into the house. Kenna wished she could bask in the brilliance of the home, but she couldn’t. Her heart stillhammered in her chest, and she could barely see through her tears.

They didn’t have to walk for too long before they walked into a large guest bathroom decorated in blue and gold. It surprised Kenna when Jendaya walked inside with her and closed the door. She immediately went for a little appliance in the corner, and Kenna realized it was a towel warmer.

She watched as Jendaya ran the warm towel under warm water and then gestured for the toilet. “Sit.”

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