Page 126 of Vengeful Secret

The park is beautiful, one of the most well-kept I’ve ever seen with lots of greenery and a little butterfly garden.

“Maybe Blue will be there!” Ciara says, and I laugh, having forgotten about her butterfly friend.

“Maybe he will be.”

Gray looks at us, confused, and it only makes me laugh harder.

He smiles, baffled, and takes a blanket to lie down under a nearby tree.

I’m carrying the picnic basket, and I place it down on the corner of the blanket to keep the wind from blowing it away.

Ciara runs off to the swings. There are other people at the swings, on the playground—kids and their parents.

Gray and I are in a remote area, away from the entrance, and I know he wants his privacy, especially since some of his men are trailing around here somewhere, watching us.

I frown, looking down the hill.

“Daddy, come push me!” Ciara insists, and Gray starts to go over there.

But up the hill, two men in black suits are coming, looking like they’re on a mission. Two more men come up behind them, and I grab on to Gray’s arm.

“Gray—” I start, and that’s when the shooting starts.

Gray turns to me, ducking. “Brock! Ronan! Take Ciara and Sutton, get them out of here.”

He looks at me. “You have to go.”

“I can’t,” I whisper, and then more gunshots sound over my head.

Ciara is screaming out, “Mama,” and I want to go to her, but I also want to help Gray if I can. I finally hide behind a tree, putting my arms over my head and peering around the trunk to see if I can see Gray.

Brock takes Ciara, who is kicking and screaming, to the Escalade while a couple other of Gray’s men have gone down, lying on the ground.

I swallow hard, wondering if either of them are dead. My head is spinning.

I’d known something horrible would happen today. I should have listened to my gut.

The four men are on Gray now, fighting him, and Gray’s holding his own, sweeping his leg underneath him to take down two of the men.

They grunt and go down, but the other two are on him, wrestling him down to the ground.

He’s losing.

He’s doing his best, and he’s very good, managing to hold on with four against one, but if one of his men doesn’t come to help…

The cock of the gun startles me, and I stand up, peeking around the trunk.

I’m drawing my gun before I can even think about it.

Gray’s struggling to keep the gun away from him, pushing at the man’s arms, but after fighting four men, he’s weakening.

Keep both eyes open. Aim for the center, not the head.

I slowly put the gun up, looking through the sights with both eyes, just like Gray taught me, and I squeeze the trigger once, twice.

The first bullet goes over his head, but the second one hits him right in the chest, and he groans and collapses on top of Gray.

Gray quickly pushes him off and draws his own gun, shooting the other three men point blank in the head. I watch the sight like I’m watching from outside my body.

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