Page 41 of Sunrise Malice

“Why do you seem like something awful happened?”

He gives me a hard look as Kim says a flirty goodbye to the two armed men sitting at the lobby desk.

“I wanted to be the first one to take you into my hot tub,” Julien says, voice pitched low.

My mouth falls open. “Wait, seriously?”

“Number twelve on your list.” His mouth quirks as he leans in closer. “Get fucked in a hot tub.”

My cheeks burn crimson as he walks away. It takes me a second to gather myself, because of course I wrote that on the stupid freaking list, and of course he has the means to make that fantasy come true.

A black car’s waiting on the opposite side of the street from the lobby. Kim hugs me goodbye and starts to cross as an engine roars and a truck whips around the corner, hurtling down toward her.

I don’t have time to do anything. I barely make a noise, more like a gasping shout than a scream. I try to get her attention, but Kim’s hurrying over to the car waiting for her, and she doesn’t see the truck until it’s too late.

The front fender clips her side, right in her hip. It hits her hard and she goes tumbling, her body rag-dolling on the ground as the truck hits its brakes.

“Kim!” I scream and try to rush forward.

Explosions crack the air in half. At least, they sound like explosions. I don’t understand what’s happening as the glass behind me breaks and a car alarm goes off, and then Julien’s tackling me to the ground. He hits me fast, knocking me to the pavement. I hurt my knee and skin my elbow, but he holds me down, covering me with his massive chest and shoulders,breathing hard as the explosions continue for another few seconds.

Then horrible silence. Air rushes back into my lungs, and I realize I’m screaming.

“Brianne,” Julien says, pulling back. The truck peels out as Julien’s guards appear, both of them armed. They fire off a few shots, but the truck is already speeding away. “Baby, are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” I say and grab his shoulders. “Kim. Kim, she got hit. She’s?—”

Julien’s already up. He barks orders at his men. One grabs me and drags me back to the building. I kick and try to fight, but he’s like iron. Julien rushes across the street and I catch one final glimpse of him kneeling down beside Kim’s unmoving body, his hands gently touching her still chest, and I scream and scream as the guard keeps me inside, sobs ripping themselves from my raw throat.

Chapter 18

Brianne

Machines beep and nurses walk down the halls. The stink of antiseptic floats through the air. Doors open and close, and the hushed whispers of doctors and patients filter into the room.

Kim looks tiny in the hospital bed. Her hair’s down and her eyes are closed, and her chest rises and falls at a steady rhythm. She’s got a line in her arm, a heart monitor on her finger, and a scratchy blanket pulled to her chin.

“Doctor says she’s sedated for now.” Julien comes back into the room. Weariness covers every inch of him, but I’m still amazed at his force. It’s like everything comes alive when he’s around.

“How bad?” I wasn’t allowed to see her until now, even though I begged and pleaded. She was stuck down in the ER for a while before getting moved to a private room Julien arranged for her.

“He says she’s going to survive. Her pelvis was shattered and she’s got scrapes and contusions and possibly a head injury. They’re going to take her into surgery soon to try to save her hip.”

I pull into myself. My arms hug around my body. Kim’s alive—she’s alive—but only just barely. And now, for the rest of her life, she’s probably going to be dealing with the fallout from this accident.

No, not anaccident. That implies what happened wasn’t totally on purpose.

It was an attack, and it was aimed at me.

Or maybe at Julien. I don’t know which, and it doesn’t matter. Kim wouldn’t have been in harm’s way if I hadn’t invited her over, and I did it knowing full well that Julien’s family was going to war. I just didn’t think, and now Kim’s paying the price for my stupidity.

Worthless. Useless. Dumb as dirt.All of my father’s insults run through my mind as tears roll down my cheeks.

“I’m going to find the men that did this.” Julien’s standing beside Kim’s bed, but he’s looking at me.

I stare back at him and wipe the tears from my face. The rage in his eyes is terrifying, and a chill runs through my stomach. “I believe you,” I tell him. “But I’m not sure it helps.”

“They’ll suffer for what they did to her, my wife. I swear, they will suffer.”

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