Page 121 of Undone

Two shots rang out, loud and final, but he missed.

Then the third shot made her stumble, clutching her arm, but she didn’t stop.

“Badass,” I muttered under my breath.

John’s attention snapped back to me. “I knew you were playing me. What the hell do I do with you now, traitor?” he muttered, his voice dripping with disdain.

“Well, you could let me go.” I shrugged.

His lip curled. “Not a chance.”

The shot came without warning.

White-hot pain exploded in my leg, and I hit the ground with a cry, blood already soaking through my jeans.

“Guess you’re not going anywhere,” he said, his tone almost conversational, before taking off after Ellie.

My thoughts raced through the pain—to Gracie. Noah. My family.

I laid there, breathing in shallow, jagged gasps. The pain coursed through my body like fire. Each heartbeat felt like an eternity, even though I knew it was beating too fast, but I couldn’t seem to move.

The blood pooled from my leg, seeping onto the cold cement. The pain was sharp, but it was the terror that really clawed at me. I knew enough to recognize the signs—the bullet had likely hit an artery. I could feel the blood pumping, fast and heavy. If I didn’t get help soon, I wouldn’t make it.

This couldn’t be it.Not like this.

Only minutes ago, I’d been panicking about Gracie’s future while she was under John’s grasp. Worrying that she’d miss out on so many things. Graduation, her first love, her career—hell, even her next art class.

But now, I fearedIwould be the one to miss those things.

Tears burned in the corners of my eyes, mixing with the sweat on my forehead, but I couldn’t stop them.

Gracie.

I didn’t want her to wake up tomorrow to her world shattered. No warning. No chance for me to hold her, to tell her how much I loved her, to remind her that she was enough.

I thought about her tiny hands holding onto my finger when she was a baby, her face lighting up when I’d praise her. She had this way of seeing beauty in the world that no one else could.

My chest heaved, each breath a struggle. The world felt so quiet, so still. The blood was pooling, but what hurt worse was the realization that I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out of here. If I was going to be there to walk her through life.

The thought of leaving her alone was suffocating.

And Noah. God, Noah.

I hadn’t even told her how much she meant to me. We’d danced around each other, hesitant and afraid to take the leap, but when we finally did…

Fuck, I was selfish and needed more time with her. I wanted to see her smile when I walked into the room. I wanted to be the one who made her laugh after a bad day, to share mundane moments in the kitchen, or to argue over something silly before falling asleep in each other’s arms.

But instead, she’d carry this with her, wondering if she could’ve stopped it. Wondering if she could’ve saved me.

The hollow ache in my chest grew deeper as I thought about my girls. They didn’t deserve this.

I couldn’t let this be the end.

My leg was going numb, and the world around me was starting to blur. Panic and pain wove together in a storm of confusion and grief. I wasn’t done.

Not yet.

I yanked off my belt with shaking hands, pressing it above the wound. Pain exploded through me, but I gritted my teeth and tied it as tightly as I could. My head swam, and my vision blurred, but I didn’t stop. The blood soaked my clothes, puddling beneath me, but I had to hold on.

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