Page 214 of Indulge
I hit the ground hard, my hand clamped over the wound, hot blood seeping between my fingers.
Lyla’s scream cuts through the echo, high and broken, like an animal.
When my sight steadies, she’s on the floor, her blood spilling fast across the stone tiles.
Bella’s frozen, her hand over her mouth. Rowan’s still half in front of her, eyes wide, chest heaving.
“Reg!” he shouts.
“I’m fine,” I grunt, though it’s a goddamn lie. My arm’s on fire, and my pulse sounds like thunder.
The church doors slam open—first the back, then the front.
Drago and Conan storm through like a fucking hurricane. Declan and Finn right behind, weapons raised, scanning.
Smoke and fear fill the air.
Lyla’s still moving, trying to drag herself toward the gun. Her blood smears across the floor in streaks.
Drago’s the first to see it. He doesn’t hesitate.
He strides forward and kicks the gun out of reach.
She looks up, eyes wild. Still reaching.
He raises his weapon, and one clean shot ends it.
Silence drops like a curtain.
Father Byrne’s sobs echo somewhere near the altar, and the candles flicker under the weight of the smoke.
Then I hear Finn.
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, dropping to his knees beside me. His hands are already pressing into the wound, so firm that I want to headbutt him.
“Hold still.”
“Just a graze,” I grind out through clenched teeth.
Finn shoots me a look that could cut glass. “You call this a graze, I’ll call you delusional. We need to get you back to mine—now—before you bleed through my shirt, too.”
I hiss as he tightens the pressure.
“I liked this shirt.”
“Not anymore, you don’t.”
He’s all business with steady hands, the calm surgeon, but his jaw’s locked tight. Declan hovers behind him, gun still in his grip, watching for any movement.
Bella’s shaking. Rowan’s got his arm around her, trying to hold her upright while she keeps her eyes on me.
“Reg,” she whispers, voice cracking.
“I’m good, Princess,” I lie again. “Just a little bullet, nothing to be scared of.”
Her tears spill anyway.
Drago holsters his weapon, his voice a low rumble. “The rest of the church is clear. We’re good to move out.”
