Page 119 of Broken By Silence
Lottie drives her elbow back, slamming into Tracey’s ribs. The gun slips in her hands, just barely. She spins, slamming her hands upward, knocking Tracey’s arm wide just as the gun goes off—one deafening crack that tears through the chaos.
Chapter 40
Archer
The sound of the gunshot echoes through the garden.
For a second, everything freezes. The air itself seems to stop moving. Then I see it—blood blooming across white silk, soaking into the lace at Lottie’s side.
“Lottie!” Roman’s voice breaks like something shattering inside him. He’s already running before I can move, crashing through fallen chairs and debris to reach her. He catches her as she stumbles, hands frantically searching for the wound. “No, no, no, baby. This can’t happen—” he chokes. “I’m not losing you before I get to say I love you. Not yet.”
Lottie blinks up at him, wide-eyed, dazed, then looks to all of us surrounding her, tears in our eyes. Then, to everyone’s complete confusion, she lets out a tiny laugh—a small, breathless sound that shouldn’t exist in the middle of all of this chaos. “Roman,” she whispers. “It’s not mine. I’m okay.”
Roman freezes, his hands hovering over the bloodstain. He looks down, then around all of us, and that’s when we see Tracey standing there, swaying, her eyes wide with shock, a perfect red bloom spreading over her chest. The gun slips from her hand, and for amoment, she looks almost human—lost, broken—and then she crumples to the grass beside Lottie, unmoving.
Mom lowers her weapon slowly, her chest heaving. She doesn’t even glance at Tracey’s body. Instead, she rushes to Lottie, dragging her up into her arms, hands cupping her face. “You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
Lottie nods, tears in her eyes. “I’m okay.”
Across the garden, Lorenzo’s still fighting against Crew, spitting curses through gritted teeth. Crew’s got a knee pressed into his chest, his gun steady against Lorenzo’s forehead. “Stay down,” Crew snarls.
Lorenzo—bleeding, half-delirious—starts laughing. “Look at you. All of you,” he wheezes. “You think you’ve won? That you’re the fucked up heroes in her story? You’re nothing. She’ll always be mine… every scar, every scream.I made her. She’s my Little Bird?—”
Roman stiffens, his expression twisting into something feral. He takes slow, deliberate steps forward until he’s standing over Lorenzo. Crew doesn’t move, just shifts back enough to let Roman in. Lorenzo tilts his head, blood running down his chin. “You don’t have the balls to do it, boy. You’re a coward?—”
The rest of the sentence never leaves his mouth. Roman pulls the trigger with no hesitation. The shot’s clean. Quick. Lorenzo’s body jerks once, then goes still, a dark stain spreading across the altar.
Tracey and Lorenzo are forgotten,all of us surrounding Lottie, making sure she’s okay. Mom sets Lottie’s shoulder back into place, and then I move. I pull her into my arms. “You scared the shit out of me,” I growl, crashing my lips down to hers.
We pull back, chests heaving. “So did you,” Lottie swipes away a tear. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine. A few cuts and bruises. Nothing that would have stopped me from coming for you. Never again, Lottie. No one will ever take you from me again, I swear it.”
Oscar butts in, shaking his head as he surveys the carnagesurrounding us.“Well,”he signs,“We have a priest, a wedding dress, and five very emotionally unstable men. Is this the start of a bad joke, or shall we make this thing official?”
I actually laugh, a rough, exhausted sound, and even Lottie manages a small smile through her tears.“How poetic.”
Crew snorts, tucking his gun away. “He’s not wrong, though. You’re in a dress, albeit a bloody one, and we may as well make use of all these flowers.”
Roman looks at her, taking her hand in his. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I am now.”
“And will you?”
“What?”
Roman lowers himself to the ground to one knee, taking her hand in his. “Will you marry us? I know it can’t be official, but I can’t—” his voice cracks. “I thought I lost you when I saw the blood, and all I could think about was telling you how much I love you.”
Lottie’s eyes water, and we all move as one unit, surrounding Roman. I’ve been ready to make her mine since I pulled her from the water.
“I love you, Reyes. And if you aren’t ready to forgive me yet, then I get it, but I love you with everything I am. Everything I ever will be. You own my soul, and there will never be another woman in this life for me. You’re it. So marry us, right here, right now, standing in my father’s blood.”
She doesn’t respond straight away, just looks to the rest of us. “And the rest of you? Is this what you want?”
Elijah coughs. “I mean… I’m already your husband, but I’d like to experience the real thing rather than the photos I had made.”
“You’re my home, Lottie. I couldn’t want anything else more.” Crew wipes a tear away.
