Page 42 of Finally

BRANDON: Is he here?

ME: He was earlier, but I lost track of him once the debate started. We need to find him before he tries to do anything else.

BRANDON: We’re on it. You keep an eye on Christopher.

He didn’t have to tell me twice. Adrenaline raced through my veins as I moved back around the curtains to where I could see Topher. Relief washed over me as I saw him standing in the same place I’d left him, still safe and unharmed. My eyes traveled over the crowd, moving back and forth across each row in a sweeping motion as I searched for my prey. If Jared was still there, I knew that my guys and I would find him. And when we did, there’d be hell to pay.

“I’ve got him in my sights,” Brandon said through the headset. “Fifth row, about halfway down. Next to the lady in the yellow shirt.” Taking a step forward, I counted up the rows and moved my gaze to the middle of the fifth one up.

“I’m close to there. I’m going to move in and tell him we’ve got a problem of some sort, try and get him to come out of the stands with me so no one gets hurt,” Carlos told us.

“Just be careful. We already know he can get violent,” I warned him.

I glanced over at Topher, who was busy listening to one of his opponents as he answered a question. When I turned back, I saw Carlos slowly making his way down the crowded row of seats. Jared looked up as he approached, an annoyed expression on his face. Carlos leaned down and spoke to him and Jared’s attention flitted to the stage. He looked mildly nervous as he watched the candidates and then his eyes shifted over to me.

Jared’s face paled when he saw me watching him intently and I knew the exact moment he realized we were on to him. He said something to Carlos who gestured for Jared to lead the way across the row of people. Jared stood up and when he was a few steps ahead of Carlos, reached his hand inside his jacket.

“Carlos!” I shouted into the headpiece.

I watched everything unfold as if in slow motion, even though I knew, in reality, it was happening very quickly. Carlos’s eyes went wide as he saw the gun in Jared’s hand. Jared’s eyes met mine and he grinned. Fucking grinned. My world stopped turning because I knew what he was going to do, as clearly as if I’d read his mind.

Spinning around, I looked at Topher, who had turned to face me when he’d heard my shout. His eyes, those beautiful blue-green eyes were filled with confusion and I screamed his name as I raced toward him. I knew I wasn’t going to get to him in time, but I would die trying. I launched myself at him and grabbed his arm at the same time I heard the shot ring out through the air. Topher’s eyes widened, his face a mask of terror and pain, and then we both went down.

---