Page 21 of Gathered Sparkle

I look up and see one of the security guards approaching, his gun still raised. He’s going to shoot me again, but this time, it appears he’s aiming for my head.

I scramble to pull Levi up and out of danger, but the pain in my arm is so sharp, so overwhelming, it’s all I can focus on. I can barely get him to budge. My vision blurs, the world shrinking to nothing but the pain, Levi’s weight, and the crushing realization that I can’t protect him.

Just when I think it’s over, that the next shot will end it, Simon comes sprinting around the corner, crashing into the guard with the gun and taking him down.

“Thank fuck,” I breathe out, the words almost a sob of relief. But before I can even take a full breath, the other guard appears, and my heart sinks as he swings the back of his gun over Simon’s head.

Simon crumples to the ground, and panic grips me again. The fear lets me push through the blinding pain and drag Levi into the gym, my entire body trembling with the effort.

The gym seems to be empty,thank God,and my eyes catch on a small door that looks like it leads to a storage room.

I drag Levi toward it and pull it open, grateful to find a small, dark room. Dragging him inside, I set him down as gently as I can. My arm throbs as I press on the wound, my whole body trembling, tears stinging my eyes as I look down at Levi’s bruised face. “What the fuck do I do now?”

This can’t be it.

Koen wouldn’t survive losing him. I know that pain too well. Losing a twin is a wound that never heals. And I’ll do everything in my power to make sure Koen never has to feel that kind of emptiness. But where do I go from here?

The door is slightly ajar, so I can peer through the crack to watch the hallway. My breathing is shallow, every breath filledwith pain as I watch the two security guards run past the gym door. My heart hammers in my chest as I watch them disappear from view.

Think, Nova, think.

I glance at Levi again, tears blurring my vision. Pulling him out of here will be next to impossible. I can barely manage to keep myself upright, carrying him would be impossible.

Close footsteps catch my attention, and I turn to look through the slit in the door again. My breath catches as I see a large man with a hood pulled over his head walking toward the door we just came through. I start to pull back, planning to hide, but then he looks up, and I gasp when I see his face.

Nicholas.

This could be my saving grace or my complete downfall.

But he told me to go, and he didn’t call security on me. Maybe he won’t this time, either.

Fuck it.I have no choice.

“Nico,” I whisper-shout, trying to catch his attention without alerting anyone else.

He halts, glancing around with a puzzled look until his eyes land on me. Frowning, he makes his way over to where I’m crouched just inside the small room.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he hisses.

I open the door a little wider, enough for him to see Levi lying unconscious on the floor in the dark. His eyes widen, and his expression shifts from confusion to shock. “Is that Levi Lane?”

“Yes,” I whisper tightly. “And I know you hate me, and you have every right to, butplease. I need your help. This is a life-or-death situation.”

His eyes flicker between Levi and me, and then they fall to where I clutch my upper arm, his gaze catching the steadily bleeding wound. The blood trickles between my fingers, soakingthe fabric, and the sting of it feels suddenly sharper under his scrutiny.

“You’re bleeding,” he mutters as his hand lifts toward me, hovering but stopping short of making contact.

“I know.” I force a small, grim smile. “Good thing your mother’s security team isn’t exactly made up of sharpshooters.”

“They shot you?” His voice rises, alarmed, and I quickly shush him, wincing as I pull him into the room to us, which he surprisingly lets me do.

“Yeah, and they’ll try again if they catch us, but I need to get Levi out of here before that happens…” I wince as the pain in my arm throbs, “… but I can’t carry him.”

“What are you even saying?” Nicholas frowns faintly. “Why are you—”

“I knowI hurt you, Nico, and I’m sorry,” I cut him off, holding his accusatory gaze. “You were right. It wasn’t about you, but it wasn’t about me, either. The twins needed evidence, and I—”

“Evidence forwhat?”

---