Page 30 of Shattered Love

Eleven guards took up the right side of the room, each of them focused intently as they aimed their weapons at our small ragtag group.

Rainer, Sasha, and Warner stood their ground, refusing to take cover as they took their own aim. Bullets flew from each side of the room, embedding in the walls, desks, and computers. My eyes searched for Aiden, finding him toward the back of the group, ushering Mina’s small body back down the stairs.

Once she was on the steps, he slammed the door on her face, doing everything he could to protect her. And then my brother, the only family I had left, joined the other three, baring himself to the onslaught of guns.

There were shouts and screams thrown across the room, but they were impossible to make out over the echo of pulled triggers.

Horror flooded me when a bullet hit Aiden square in the thigh, his body falling to a knee. I clenched my fists, struggling to stay put, but I knew I was of no use out there. If anything, I’d only pull their attention, disrupting their focus.

Aiden’s injury triggered something in Rainer and Warner, their gazes colliding, unspoken words passing between the two of them. And then they were leaving their posts, rushing toward the other side of the room where the guards were sheltering behind flipped over desks. Hiding from the bullets.

The men moved in tandem, one mind controlling two bodies as they slipped through the mess, avoiding shots by inches. Sasha and Aiden were at their backs, and together, the four of them took down bodies until there were only half left standing.

All ten of those fighting now stood still, bent behind desks, neither one willing to give up, but also not willing to make the first move.

I waited with bated breath, not wanting to watch, but unable to look away. And then movement caught my eye. A limp body on the guard's side of the building started moving.

I opened my mouth to call out to the others, but then I recognized the shaggy brown hair. Murphy clambered over to one of the dead guards, his hand slipping the gun from her fingers.

He was behind the other guards, their attention never wavering from the four in front of them, and it gave him the perfect opportunity. With his aim true, he pulled the trigger in quick succession, three of the six bodies falling to the ground.

The rest of them fell quickly after, Warner and Sasha finishing them off. No more guns went off, the silence deafening after the moments of horror.

Their chests heaved in succession, their eyes finding each other, unable to believe that it was over. And maybe it wasn’t. I knew for a fact there were more guards out there. We needed to get out of here, and fast.

“Is everyone okay?” Aiden asked, his words drawn out on a wheeze, bringing my attention back to him.

Blood flowed quickly from his leg, the liquid staining his pants. He struggled to stand and in the next second; he hit his knees.

“Oh my god,” I gasped, rushing from beneath the desk and toward my brother.

“No, no, no,” I whimpered, brushing my hands over his pants and pressing down hard, trying to staunch the flow of blood.

This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t watch him die. Couldn’t lose the last family I had. Not when we were so close to making it out of here yet again.

“Aiden, you need to stay awake. Do not close your eyes.”

A small smile tilted his lips. “I know what I’m supposed to do. I’m the doctor, remember?”

A wet laugh spurted from my lips, tears sliding down my cheeks. Talking was good. Joking was better. Maybe it hadn’t hit an artery. Maybe he would be okay. I just needed some medical equipment.

Medical equipment. Warner was at my side and I hurriedly told him to take over the pressure, searching the room for blonde hair.

She had supplies, things that could save Aiden’s life. My vision blurred from the tears as I searched the room for the woman. And I found her in the same place I had left her, except she now laid on the floor, her body close to Vex.

Sliding to my knees, my eyes landed on her hands, covering the wound on her stomach. Her breath came in short spurts. She was dying.

Her eyes were wide, tears tracking down her cheeks. My stomach hollowed as I took her in. I didn’t know this woman. But she had saved us.

“I’m so sorry,” she spurted out, blood tinging the sides of her mouth. Internal bleeding. She was slowly bleeding to death from the inside out.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, I shushed her. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

She shook her head, tears coming faster. “I couldn’t do it anymore.” A gurgled choke sounded. “I couldn’t live knowing I was part of the reason millions were going to die.”

She started coughing profusely, more blood spurting from her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed and I held back the urge to shake her, to beg her that we needed more information. She needed to tell me where the medical supplies were. She couldn’t die. Another life couldn’t be whisked away.

She mumbled something too low for me to hear. “What?” I asked, leaning down closer to her face.

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