Page 44 of Desolation

“Sorry Pops, no can do. I had to get in here to Elodie. When I made it through the door he was putting a gun to her head,” I say.

Dad scrapes a hand down his face and mumbles something about not having two hot headed sons to deal with. Anthony looksover at me and grins and then looks at the stage with a curious look on his face. I turn to find Elodie rummaging around in Dominic’s pockets.

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask her.

“Key,” she says simply, pulling the key out of his pocket and holding it up with a smile.

And that’s when I saw it. The gunshot wound on the side of her temple.

Running to the stage I jump up and land on my knees beside her, grabbing her face in my hands and turning her head to the side.

I fucking shot her.

I fucking shot the only person in this world that I never want to lose, above anyone else.

It’s just a scrape but I am freaking the fuck out right now.

“Elodie, do not move. Does it hurt?” I ask softly.

She looks at me questioningly. “Does what hurt?”

“Your head Elodie!” I wave my hands at her like a lunatic, because I am a lunatic. Who fires a gun that close to their girlfriend’s head? What the hell was I thinking?

“I don’t even feel anything except where I hit my head during the wreck,” she says, lifting her fingers to her temple and feeling the blood there. She winces a little. “Okay, it stings a little when I touch it but that’s it. What did it come from?”

“I fucking shot you,” I say hoarsely, horror on my face.

She starts laughing. Not just a giggle. A full-on belly laugh, whooping loudly.

My dad and Anthony look over at her like she is insane. They have been unlocking cages and sending people out to the men outside. Zeke and Eren walk through the door, followed by Louis.

Louis immediately starts laughing too. Whipping my head around to him and glaring, I ask, “What the hell are you laughing about?”

“Don’t know but if El is laughing, I’m laughing,” he says. Zeke and Eren snicker beside him.

Bunch of damn fools, all of them.

Turning my head back to Elodie, I see that she has tears streaming down her face from laughing. “Are you gonna share what’s so funny with the rest of us?”

This makes her laugh even more. The people from the cages are walking around her giving her a wide berth. Great now they all think she’s crazy too.

She’s wheezing now, holding her side. Reba has also started laughing.

“You’re covered in blood, shot in at least a half a dozen places and just rolled up in here like the Godfather, shot Dominic at least five times, and you’re worried about a scratch on my head?” she says, trying to catch her breath.

“Well, I don’t see what’s so funny about that,” I say.

Dad and Anthony are smiling now too. Louis starts laughing even harder. Looking at me, he says, “All the shit that girl has been through and you’re gonna lose your shit over a little scratch?”

And now they’re all laughing. It’s a fucking blood bath in here and every one of them are laughing at me.

“I shot you!” I yelled at her. “What if I would have killed you by accident?”

“But did you? You asked me if I trusted you and I said yes. You did what you needed to do. It’s my own fault I didn’t move out of the way quick enough. You gonna beat yourself up the rest ofyour life for saving me?” she asks, arms wide. “Seriously if the worst thing that happened today was you scraping me up a little to save my life then I’m good. The cage wasn’t really a good time though,” she says frowning at it.

We’ve ruined her. Sweet little Elodie with her head in the darkroom. My little Shutterbug. She’s a goddamn Mafia Princess now.

Groaning, I stand and reach down, plucking her up in a bridal carry and head outside. Once we get out there, I set her down kissing her breathless and everyone cheers. The last van of the people in the cages is heading down the drive and our guys all load up just in time for us to hear the sirens.

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