Page 10 of Shattered Love

Before I could string together the words to ask what was going on, my body jostled in Aiden’s arms as he ran toward another abandoned building. I didn’t hear Rainer’s footsteps following and I tried to lift my head to see where he was, but I lacked the energy.

“Hey! Stop!” An unfamiliar feminine voice called out, but Aiden kept running until he stepped over the threshold of a building.

Quickly, he laid me gently on the ground, nudging my limp body until I was hidden behind a couch. When he stood up, I held out my arm, pleading with my eyes for him not to leave me. He was unarmed, he couldn’t go out there.

“I’m only going to keep watch. I won’t leave you alone,” he promised, shifting along the wall until he could peer out a slat in the blinds. Differing voices sounded outside the building, low enough that I couldn’t make out words, but I recognized the timber of Rainer’s voice.

“Aiden, what’s happening?” I whispered, my throat achy and dry.

He didn’t respond, his eyes still trained on the unfolding scene I couldn’t see. “Aiden.” I tried again, but still no response.

The voices got louder as Aiden stayed silent and I couldn’t take it anymore. Using every ounce of strength I had, I pushed my body up, crawling around the couch and getting to my knees. My head only reached the bottom of the window behind the couch, but it was enough.

Slipping a finger into the blind, I pushed it up, my eyes taking in the scene outside. One woman and two men stood shoulder to shoulder, their stern mouths facing me. Rainer’s back was all I could see of him, and my heart thundered at the unfairness. Three against one.

The woman mouthed something to Rainer, her brows arched, the only one trying to reason with the man before them. But I knew Rainer. He wouldn’t go with them willingly. And truthfully, I didn’t think he would go with them alive.

In an instant, the atmosphere changed. Rainer’s shoulders bunched as the three attackers pulled their guns. I couldn’t see Rainer’s hands, but I’d be an idiot to assume his weapon wasn’t drawn as well.

I had never been more useless than I was in this moment. Even if I wanted to do something, the weakness spreading from my wounds held my body prisoner.

“Aiden, do something. Please.” My brother’s eyes met mine, filled with indecision and fear.

Before I could beg more, Aiden grabbed a lamp from the table nearest to the window. In a second, the lamp was crashing through the glass, the shattering noise echoing in my ears.

My eyes were trained on Rainer as the crash sounded, three heads swiveling toward our hiding spot. It was a split second. No more than a blip of time. Three shots went off in succession and I squeezed my eyes tightly, unable to watch the aftermath.

I didn’t know whose gun had gone off. I didn’t know if Aiden and I were now on our own, lost in a town swarming with guards. I didn’t know if any chance of surviving had just shattered as the glass window did. All I knew was that the most heartbreaking outcome would be a world in which Rainer was no longer alive.

Chapter Six

Minutes passed, my eyes still screwed shut. Eventually, Aiden pressed a hand to my shoulder, guiding me back down to the floor. Once I was sure the window was no longer in my eyeline, I looked to my brother.

“He’s alive, Lessy. The other three are dead.”

A choked gasp left me at his words. Only Rainer would be able to survive something like that. Although, I knew part of the reason he was still standing was due to my brother.

Mere moments later, Rainer was at our side, taking me in from head to toe. Turning toward Aiden, he asked, “How is she?”

Even though I could barely move my body, that didn’t mean I was incoherent. “She is fine. Just a little dizzy.”

The description was an understatement. If I was being honest, my entire body was on fire. My thighs burned, the red tracks leading from the wounds darker than ever before. Chills ran up and down my spine, even though I knew my skin was hot to the touch. To put it plainly, the infection was killing me. If I didn’t get antibiotics in the next twenty-four hours, this would be the end for me.

“Let’s cut the bullshit, yeah?” Rainer said softly, softer than I had ever heard him speak, especially to me.

Leaning down toward me, his face was inches from mine, his deep gaze searing me in place. “The fever is going to kill you. The gunshots weren’t quiet, which means more people are about to be swarming the area.”

Pressing his hand against my left arm, he frowned, guiding me to my feet as my right hand pressed into the couch at my side. Once I was standing, Rainer pulled me back into his arms.

“We’re going to run until we’re out of this godforsaken town and to the cottage. And you’re going to hold on until we’re there and can get you some medicine. Got it?”

That penetrating gaze held mine until all I could do was nod. My medical knowledge told me it was impossible to make it to the cottage, given we still had almost an entire two-day trek left. And yet, it didn’t seem to matter, not when Rainer spoke. His commanding voice told me there was no other option; this was an order, not a request.

Satisfied with whatever he saw staring back at him, Rainer nodded in return, glancing out the window. “We probably have at max thirty minutes before reinforcements come. How fast can you run?”

Aiden didn’t blink under Rainer’s hard tone. “When my sister’s life is on the line, I can run as fast as I need to.”

Without further discussion, the two men made their way out of the abandoned house, breaking into a sprint the second their feet touched the asphalt. My body jostled in Rainer’s arms at the pace, the dizziness in my head intensifying.

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