Page 51 of Alpha Bait

I wasn't afraid of what could happen. Rather, I was invigorated by the struggle and convinced that we could all make it out unscathed despite the roaring tempers on both sides of the feud.

My brother stepped forward, unperturbed by the fact that our cousin had a gun pointed at the heir of one of the wealthiest families in the country.

She'd actually gone and done it. She'd lost her mind enough to sneak up on Donnie and Jamal. She hadn't anticipated them being ready for her. And now neither of us could be certain we'd make it out alive. I knew Donnie could shoot. So could Selena, but I had my bets on Donnie when it came to marksmen.

My brother attempted to be the voice of reason.

"Selena put the gun down. If you don't put the gun down you're going to go to jail for a very long time and nothing Rich and I do will be able to stop them."

"I'm not putting the gun down, Ames."

"You have to," I added, "I demand that you put it down."

I wasn't used to having my requests denied, but Selena kept her finger positioned over the trigger.

"For what? I'll kill them both and we can get out of here. I'll be solving more problems if there are no more Holloway men on this earth to screw with us. No more feud, no more acquisition, we will finally be free of them. Nothing's going to happen to us. We are Carmichaels."

Her cold response curdled my blood. As deep as our family feud went, my brother and I had never taken it this far. Of course, there had been bar fights. Of course, our father had done some unspeakable things. But thus far, my brother and myself had been committed to Gail Holloway's proclamation of peace. Selena had taken after the founder of Carmichael Inc. and she had taken his cold-blooded mentality to a new level.

Her green eyes glowed almost reptilian beneath the evening light.

"The police are on the way, Selena. Put the gun down," my brother growled again.

We had both been prepared for violence, but neither of us had anticipated murder.

Selena had lost her mind. That had to be the only explanation. Pain seared from my chest all the way up to my head. My tongue went dry as I prepared to issue another scathing command.

Selena considered lowering the gun for a brief moment, but instead, she pointed it with the aim to shoot.

"I will let you go to prison," Ames hissed.

I wasn't going to wait for Selena to decide to have a change of heart. As my brother kept her attention, attempting to talk her down from committing a murder, I snuck up behind her. As I approached a few feet away she whipped around. If I didn't hit her swiftly, she would make quick work of me.

I caught her just in time, grabbing her thin arm that repelled my grasp with immense force. She screamed and pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into the air. Her firing triggered another gunshot. This time, the gunshot had been aimed at her. She emitted an intense shriek and her body crumpled in my brother's arms. My brother rushed her as I grabbed her hand.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I roared.

I wasn't sure if I was talking to her, or to Donnie, the person who had just fired. The shock surged through me with fierce intensity. The sound from the gunshot drowned out the noise of the city and dragged me into unfortunate mindfulness of the moment.

The danger at hand, the life bleeding out of my cousin and the armed Holloways rushed into my reality. Cold and aloof wouldn't do to get me out of this one.

As the realization of what my cousin had started began to set in, I realized that she'd been hit. A bullet had pierced her flesh and a gush of blood erupted from her veins.

She screamed again and blood gushed from the wound. My brother held her as she screamed. She choked and then blood started to erupt from her mouth like a hellish volcano. Her body shook as her blood began to spill back into her mouth.

"DO SOMETHING!" My brother cried.

I had always been the tougher one in emergencies, but I was frozen. Donnie dropped his weapon to the ground.

This was no time for emotion. I had to act. Cars were pulling up next to the park and I recognized one of them. Indie. She was here. And her cousin had just killed my own.

I roared again, unable to contain my anger.

"You can't do this!"

My cheeks grew hot with rage. I could feel my fists clenching against my will. Donnie had dropped to his knees, shaken with surprise by what he had done. Selena convulsed a few more times in my brother's arms, but then the convulsions stopped. I called an ambulance but by the time I called, I knew it would be too late.

Jamal stayed put with his hands in the air. He had no choice. What would the police think, finding a tall black man standing alone in the park at night after a gun had just been fired? Donnie wept, now crying out in loud convulsing sobs.

Shame, rage, and fury bubbled within my chest. Selena. They'd killed Selena. Even if she'd instigated this mess, they'd both managed to escape unharmed. And now, my cousin lay dead. My brother laid her on the ground, propping her head up against his lap as if he maintained some vain hope of resuscitation.

I thrust my hands in my pockets as the blue and red lights drew closer and as Indie Holloway stepped out of her car.

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