by Meghan March
The pain is so sharp and severe, it steals my breath and I can’t even speak.
Oh my God. He stabbed me. Jesus Christ. Did he hit something vital? Because. Fuck. That. Hurts. So. Bad.
He puts an arm under my shoulder and lifts me up into . . . a wheelchair?
Moses’s voice roars in my ear, but the static drowns him out so I can’t understand a word he’s saying.
He had to have heard Reyes. He must know he has me. Already, I’m so weak that I’m slumping to the side as Reyes pushes me to the curb, rolls me right up a handicap ramp into a van, flips it up, and slams the door.
The whole thing took less than thirty seconds.
The yelling in my ear goes quiet as the earbud falls out when my head lolls to the side.
I’m bleeding out.
I know this because it’s not the first time I’ve faced death. It’s also not the first time I’ve deserved it. Sparks flash in my vision as it fades until everything goes black.
Forty-Three
Keira
“You can’t have her. He told me he’d be right back for her,” the woman behind the booth says as I reach for my girl.
“Like hell. That’s my daughter! She was kidnapped. Give her to me right now, or I swear to God, I can’t be held responsible for what happens to you next.”
I don’t know if it’s the tone of my voice or the way Rory is reaching for me, but I finally get through to the woman and she hands Rory over.
As soon as my arms lock around my baby girl, relief floods my entire system. “Oh, baby. Mama missed you. Oh my God.”
I check every inch of her first as the woman explains how she didn’t know someone had taken her, insisting that she didn’t do anything wrong. But I barely hear a word she says because I’m already turning around to tell Magnolia it’s all going to be okay.
But Magnolia’s not there.
I hear Moses yell, and my blood runs cold.
Forty-Four
Moses
“No!”
People near us whip around to find the source of the roar echoing through the French Market, but I don’t give a fuck. Mount is already halfway to Keira and the baby as the van tears away from the curb with Magnolia inside.
“Get him!” I yell, feeling helpless in my position across the street from where I’ve been keeping watch in the doorway of a souvenir shop. Jules better be in the SUV already, charging toward him, because it wasn’t supposed to fucking happen like this.
I need another vehicle. I gotta get her back. I won’t let that crazy fucker hurt Magnolia again. I heard her cry out in pain. He did something to her.
I stare at the ambulance. Fuck it. I rush to the door and whip it open before jumping in the driver’s seat. The keys are still in the ignition.
Whoever the paramedics came here to help can find another ride to the hospital, because my woman’s life is at stake.
As soon as the engine fires up, a cop runs toward me, waving his arms.
Sorry, motherfucker. I got more important shit than you to worry about.
Instead of backing up, I yank the wheel hard and floor it, not giving a single fuck that I ram the bumper of the cop car parked ahead of me.
He can arrest me when this is all over.
I dodge pedestrians and fumble around, looking for the fucking switch for the sirens so I can light this bitch up and clear the way. As I’m barreling toward Esplanade, the sirens finally wail. Traffic slows and then comes to a complete halt as I maneuver the big bitch through the smallest opening and turn the corner, desperately trying to get a visual on the van.
Where the fuck did he go? I blow through intersection after intersection, my head whipping in either direction as I search for him.
I fly toward another cross street and lay on the horn, nearly T-boning a car as I crank the wheel, turning the ambulance hard to the right to miss it.
That’s when I see it. The van. Straight ahead of me.
“Not today, motherfucker. Not today.”
“You got him?” Trey’s voice in my ear reminds me I’m wearing a comm. How the fuck could I forget that?
Oh yeah, I’m chasing after the love of my fucking life and my entire future.
“Yeah, just turned on—” I scan for a street sign. “Henriette Delille. He’s up ahead. Fuck. He’s gotta be heading for the highway.”
“I’m coming,” another voice says, and it takes me a second to realize it’s Mount. “You get Magnolia. I get him.” He sounds eerily excited.
“You got the baby. She’s all right?”
“Rory’s good, but he’s as good as dead.”
I can’t help but argue, because my thirst for vigilante justice is just as strong as his. “Then you’d better hurry, because if I get the shot, I’m taking it.”
“On my way.”
Sirens blare in the distance. That cop at the market probably called in the cavalry after I stole the ambulance.
Fuck. This is going to be messy. Then again, it doesn’t fucking matter as long as I get to Magnolia in time.
Reyes must realize the ambulance on his ass isn’t heading to the hospital, because the van whips to the left without slowing down, cutting off traffic.
Oh, fuck no!
A truck slams into the side of the van, sending it spinning out of control. The vehicle wobbles on two wheels.
God, don’t tip. Don’t tip.
But my prayers go unanswered and the van goes over on its side, slamming into the pavement.
Hold on, mama. I’m coming for you.
Forty-Five
Magnolia
I push my way through the darkness to consciousness as the wheelchair flies across the van from one side to the other, knocking the shit out of me and throwing me to the floor. I grasp for something to hold on to, but there’s nothing I can reach. As soon as we turn, I start rolling again, and then . . . impact.
I’m flung through the back, and my head cracks against the side.
My vision is hazy, and I know my system is shutting down as my body takes a beating from the ride. But there’s only one thought in my mind.
I have to say good-bye to Moses. I can’t leave before I tell him I love him again. Tell him I’m sorry we didn’t have more time.
Sounds come from the front of the van, but I can’t focus on them. I don’t have enough energy.
Sirens pierce the fog I’m swimming through.
Help for me? But no one helps girls like me.
It’s the old lie I told myself. The one that kept me from asking for help for far too long. But I know it’s not true anymore.
Because Moses is coming for me.
Moses loves me.
Moses won’t let me go without a fight.
I have to fight for him.
Spots scatter in my vision, and pain radiates from every inch of me, but still, I hold on.
Forty-Six
Moses
“I’m going for her!” I yell as I jump out of the ambulance and run toward the van, pistol in hand. I don’t see Reyes crawling out of the wreckage yet, but he’s my second priority.
“Mags!” I scream as I go to the back door of the battered van and try to open it.
Locked.
“Goddamn it!”
Sirens scream in the distance, and I don’t have much time. Magnolia needs me, and we have to get the fuck out of here as fast as humanly possible. I’m not taking a chance that they’ll cuff me and let her die right here.
I take the butt of my gun and smash the back window, reaching through it to unlock the door from inside.
As I yank it free, tires screech to a halt behind me. The sirens are still blocks away, though.
“I’m behind you. I’ve got your back.”
Jules is on me as I lay eyes on Magnolia. She’s curled into a ball on the floor of the wrecked van, and there’s blood fucking everywhere.
“I’m here, mama. Hang in there just a little longer. You’re okay.” Even as I say the words, I fear I’m lying. Sh
e’s not okay. She’s far from fucking okay. “We gotta get her out of here.”
“Put her in the ambulance and take her back to my place,” Mount barks from beside me, appearing like a demon from hell. “Have someone ditch the bus and lead the cops off. I have a top medical team on standby. They’re better than any hospital. Go!”
I lift Magnolia out of the van, and Mount charges inside. For Reyes.
But I don’t give a fuck about him anymore. I have the woman who matters more than life itself in my arms, and she needs my help.
I jog to the back of the ambulance and yell at Jules, “Drive! I’m staying in the back with her. Fucking haul ass like your life depends on it.”
He gives me a nod, and I put Magnolia in the back, hating the gray cast of her skin and the cold clamminess of her hands.
“Stay with me, mama. You gotta stay here with me. Please. Please, Mags. We’re taking you where you need to go. You’ll be just fine.”
Her bloodied lips open, and she croaks out one word. “Rory?”
“She’s safe. Keira has her. Mount’s taking out Reyes. Don’t you worry about a thing, baby. I love you. We’re going to make it.”
The ambulance rolls forward as the sirens get closer, but I don’t fucking care about those either.
All that matters is Magnolia.
Forty-Seven
Mount
Glass crunches beneath my shoes as I grab the driver by the collar and drag him out of the van. He looks exactly like the photo the hacker showed me.
“Reyes.”
The man’s eyes glint with recognition. “Fuck you, Mount.”
“You fucked with the wrong man. You touched my daughter—my blood—and killed one of my best friends. For that, you pay with your life.”
Sunlight beats down on us as we emerge from the wreck, and I toss him on the pavement. Blood spouts from his head, and his clothes are soaked with red.
Good. That’s what he fucking deserves.
Sirens come closer with every second, and as much as I want to draw it out and torture the motherfucker for killing my people and touching my daughter, I don’t have time.
I squat down, and he spits blood at my face.
“I should have killed your kid.”
I don’t need time. He doesn’t get to breathe the same air as my little girl for another second.
I shove the barrel of my gun in his mouth. “You deserve worse, you piece of shit motherfucker.”
And then I squeeze the trigger.
For Rory.
For Keira.
For Magnolia.
For Bethany.
And for V—who I know, without a shadow of a doubt—died trying to save my daughter.
This is for them.
His head explodes, and I stand up and walk the fuck away.
Forty-Eight
Moses
My life hangs in the balance for hours. One by one, each person who was affected by today comes into the small sitting room where I’m waiting.
Trey, Jules, Mount, Keira and the baby, and a few others whose names I don’t know and honestly don’t care about right now.
Magnolia is all I care about.
The silence grows louder with each passing moment. I hope like hell every single one of these people are praying their asses off.
She has to pull through.
Reyes knew exactly what he was doing when he stabbed her. Right in the fucking kidney, and she lost too much goddamned blood. Not to mention, the accident could have killed her on its own.
Rory wakes up in her mother’s arms, and Keira coos to her. I’m so fucking glad she’s safe.
Then I begin the cycle of my prayers again.
God, please don’t take Magnolia away from me. She deserves to live. She’s a fighter. She deserves another chance. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.
As I make another bargain with God, one of the doctors finally comes into the room.
I’m on my feet in half a second. “Please. Tell me she’s okay.”
He removes the mask from his face. “We had a really tough decision, but—”
I rush forward. “Tell me she’s okay.”
The doctor takes a breath and nods. “She’s made it this far, and she’s by no means out of the woods yet, but we’re very hopeful. Especially, as I was going to say, because we decided not to remove the kidney.”
“What?” I blink and look at him. “But she got fucking stabbed.”
He scratches the side of his head and stretches his neck. “Yes, and research at the top hospitals has shown the incredible power of the kidney to heal, and that the patient is better off with it, even in its damaged state, rather than removing it. She’ll need lots of rest and care, because her injuries are extensive. But, as I said, we’re very hopeful she’ll pull through.”
Mount rises and comes to stand beside me. “You already know this, but spare no expense. Whatever it takes, do it.”
My jaw trembles with gratitude for the man I was willing to kill only hours before.
“Thank you,” I whisper as I turn to look at him. “Thank. You.”
Mount’s eyes are black as sin as they meet mine. “No one else is dying today. Not on my fucking watch.”
Forty-Nine
Magnolia
I’ve been swimming through a fog for what seems like forever when I finally manage to surface and open my eyes. Blinking a few times, I take in the dim light of the room as I try to make out anything familiar. It takes a few more seconds for my vision to clear, and I lock onto the only thing that matters.
Moses.
He’s asleep in a chair beside the bed, but in the most awkward position imaginable—leaning forward so he’s resting a hand on my leg and using his other elbow to prop himself up.
A rush of gratitude fills me as I stare at that hand. Thank God. He’s here.
I blink faster as emotion fills my tired eyes.
We’re both alive. Together.
I don’t know what shape I’m in, and frankly, as long as I’m not dead, it doesn’t really matter. Because we made it.
I shift under the soft white sheets, and Moses sits up immediately, like he’s attuned to my every move.
“Mama?” The word comes out sleep-roughened and husky as his eyes come into focus on my face.
“It’s all over,” I say, even though I’m stating the obvious.
The smile that stretches across Moses’s face brightens the room and overfills my heart with joy. “It sure as hell is. How’re you feeling?”
I lift my arm, but Moses’s hand on my leg lightly squeezes.
“Don’t move too much. You’re gonna be pretty sore, even with the meds they’ve got you on.”
Memories of the pain come flooding back with random scattered fragments of what happened. Reyes stabbing me. The van crashing. Being tossed around like a rag doll. Rory.
“Oh God. Rory. Did Keira get her? Is she—”
“She’s perfect. Totally and completely fine. Reyes didn’t hurt her. She’s laughing and smiling like nothing ever happened. Rory won’t remember a thing.”
Tension drains out of me as I drop my head back onto the pillow. “Thank you, God,” I whisper.
But Moses isn’t done. “But you . . . Jesus. You took years off my life when he grabbed you. I couldn’t stop him. I knew you were hurt, and I couldn’t get to you fast enough.” His smile is completely gone now as the haunting memories take him away from me.
I reach out, grab his strong hand, and give it a hard squeeze. “Hey, I’m still here, and I love you so much. I promise I’m not trading myself for anyone else’s kid. We made it, Moby. It’s okay.”
He chuckles at the bit about someone else’s kid, but his hand flips and he threads his fingers through mine. He meets my gaze with those green-gold eyes of his I love so much.
“God, I fucking love you too. More than you know. This all put things in perspective, that’s for damn sure. So I’m gonna tell you what I’ve been thinking about
since the moment it all went down, especially while I’ve been sitting by your bed, waiting for you to wake up and give me hell.”
“Okay,” I reply, wondering what he’s working up to.
Moses leans down and presses a kiss to our joined hands before meeting my gaze once more. “I want my ring on your finger. Fast. As soon as we can. I want to belong to you for as many days as there are left in my life.”
“Moses . . .” I whisper his name, my heart bursting with joy.
He leans closer. “And I want you to belong to me. I need you to know, without a shadow of a doubt, you are loved beyond anything. I want you to look down at that ring every fucking day and be reminded of it.”
Tears gather in my eyes, and I don’t even care that I’ve cried more since he came back in my life than in the past two decades combined. I open my mouth to reply, but he keeps going.
“You were fucking noble about this whole kidnapping thing. I understand why. I would’ve done the same. But I also don’t like you thinking your life is somehow worth less because of who you are and what you’ve done. Because nothing could be further from the truth. You are worth everything, Magnolia. And I’m not gonna stop until you realize exactly how fucking much you’re worth. You’re fucking priceless. Don’t you ever take chances like that again with your life. Fucking never. I can’t take it, and I’m not having it.” His voice is rough and strained by the time he finishes.
“Yes, sir,” I say as the tears tip over and slide down my face.
Moses is out of his chair at the first drop, catching it with his thumbs. “God, I love when you call me that, but no more crying, mama. Not today. Today is a good fucking day because we’ve got the rest of our lives ahead of us. We’re free, and Reyes is fucking dead.”