Page 94 of Pray for the Damned

How I’m going to have her out of my sight ever again, I’m not sure, but that’s a bridge we’ll cross once we’re out of here. Once I’ve got her safely tucked in my apartment with a wall of security between her and the rest of the world.

I press my lips to the top of her head, dragging in a breath of her scent to calm myself. She’s going to be scared out of her mind when she wakes, and she doesn’t need to be met with my anger as soon as she opens her eyes.

Waverly’s head rolls to the side, and I catch it, making sure she doesn’t move too much. I don’t think she’ll have a neck or spine injury, but I don’t want to take any chances.

I refuse to take any risks when it comes to my girl. The heart that beats outside my chest. All the goodness in my world. A light I’ll never deserve but will revel in for the rest of my life.

“Hey, baby,” I murmur. “Stay still for me, okay?”

“Emmett?” she slurs, and I curse beneath my breath. She probably has a concussion from the hit she took to the head.

“Yeah, Waverly. It’s me.” I run my fingers through her hair softly. “We’ll get you out of here in a minute, we’re just finishing up.”

“Finishing up?” Her eyes blink open, and I don’t move my body quick enough to block her view of Kade and our father. A soft gasp escapes her throat, and I tighten my hold on her slightly, terrified she’s about to try to run from us. I wouldn’t blame her, but I also wouldn’t let her go. Surely she sees that by now. “What’s he doing?”

“Something we should have done a long time ago,” I tell her.

“But he’s your dad,” she whispers.

I nod. “He is. But just like you were relieved when your father died, we will be as well. He deserves much more than a bullet to the head for his sins, but Kade and I are both ready to close this chapter in our lives.”

She worries her bottom lip between her teeth as she brings her eyes back to mine. “You both seemed so cold to me,” a soft sob escapes, and I press my eyes closed to settle my temper. It’s not her I’m mad at, and I never want her to think it is.

“I’m sorry, Little Temptress. I had to pretend I was indifferent, or he would have hurt you more just to hurt me. I couldn’t risk you feeling more pain because of us.”

Tears fall against her cheeks, and I dip my head to kiss them away.

“I’m going to stand us up, okay?” I murmur against her cheek.

“Okay.” She nods as she burrows her face against my throat, leaning on me for comfort even though I’m the reason for her pain.

I carefully move to my knees, making sure not to jostle her too much before rising to my feet. As much as I detest the idea of taking her anywhere other than home, I need to get her checked by a doctor first. The deep-seated need to take care of her thrums through my veins, and I know Kade and I won’t be able to rest until we know she’s okay.

I turn my body toward the door just in time to see a guard step into view, his semi-automatic rifle raised and pointed at us.

Everything happens so quickly I barely have time to process it.

Kade pulls the trigger a moment before our father’s body crumples to the ground, blood pooling around him and covering the warehouse floor with deep crimson.

Elias and Wyatt aim at the guard at the door, but his focus is solely on Waverly and me.

And then he fires.

I turn my body and dive toward the ground, holding my girl against me to protect her from the fall, but searing pain slices through my side, and I know I’ve been hit.

Waverly’s cry distracts me from my own pain as I cover her body with mine, ensuring I never allow my weight to crush her.

“Are you okay?” I ask as softly as I can manage, but when her panicked eyes meet mine, my stomach sinks.

“He hit me,” she whispers.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

WAVERLY

The agony in my side distracts me from the series of gunshots that sound off around us.

Every breath is excruciating as I drag it into my lungs, and yet somehow, I register that this could be so much worse. Because Emmett took the bullet first. His body shielded mine, slowing it down before it could puncture my skin.

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