She stumbled back, tripping over her own feet.
“Chris—Chrysanthemum, hide!” Kat screeched, blindly grabbing at Gabriel’s ankles.
Gabriel let out a startled grunt as he lost balance, crashing onto the hardwood floor.
Kat scrambled onto his back, pressing his face against the floor.
“What the hell?” he muffled against the wood.
“Christian, door!” Kat barked.
Christian appeared from behind the couch, eyes wide, a massive ceramic vase clutched in her hands. Kat frantically shook her head. No.
It was too late.
Christian dropped the vase.
The sickening thud echoed through the condo before the vase ricocheted off Gabriel’s skull and shattered against the floor. A heavy groan escaped his lips before his body went limp.
Silence.
A bruise was already forming on the back of his neck. A trickle of blood seeped from his hairline. Kat swallowed.
“Christian... door,” she whispered.
Christian bolted to the entrance, slamming it shut.
Then, her voice barely a whisper, Christian asked, “Is he dead?”
Kat’s breath hitched. “I—I don’t know. I’m scared to look.”
Christian squirmed dramatically, then knelt beside Gabriel, her hands shaking as she checked for a pulse.
She exhaled. “No, he’s breathing.”
“Okay, okay,” Kat said, feeling lightheaded with relief.
“Alright.” Christian clapped her hands in front of Kat’s face, snapping her out of her stupor. “Let’s tie him up.”
“What?” Kat gawked. “Why would we do that?”
Christian gave her a look.
“Because when he wakes up, he can’t be able to move until we’re out of here.”
Kat hesitated.
Christian sighed. “Kat, I don’t know about you, but I’m too pretty for jail.”
Kat took a deep breath. “Okay, okay. What do we do next?”
“Chair. Tie. Let’s go.” Christian grabbed his upper arms and dragged him across the floor.
Kat grabbed his legs and pushed. “Would it be easier if we brought the chair to him?”
Christian dropped his arms like dead weight.
“Yep. Probably way easier.”