Page 90 of Taming Irish

Everything else happens in a blur. Security guards swarm us, and I hear Cillian’s voice shouting. Axel keeps wailing in my arms, his face bright red. The security guards have Emily face down on the floor, her arms behind her back. And there’s another swarm of people hovering around where Makena stood a momentago.

Someone shouts for astretcher.

Cillian races toward me, and I’ve never seen the man look so terrified. He reaches for his son, and I place him in hisarms.

“He’s okay,” I say, more for my own reassurance. “He’sokay.”

As soon as the child is out of my arms, I’m rushing towards the mob of people, calling out forMakena.

She doesn’tanswer.

And I feel all the blood rush from head when I see the dark puddle of blood one of the nurses steps over as she helps lift a body from the floor onto the waitinggurney.

I know it’s her, but a part of my brain denies it at the sametime.

“Makena.” Her name comes out in a hoarse whisper as I push one of the nurses away, to catch a glimpse of herface.

She’s pale. Too damn pale. And when I stroke her cheek, she’s icecold.

“You need to move, sir. We need to get her intosurgery.”

I don’t want to let her go, but I know I have to. I bend over and kiss her forehead, and whisper harshly, “Don’t ye dare die on me, love. Ye promised me tomorrow. And I’m going to collect onit.”

“Sir,” the nurse barks, making me moveaway.

I stand there, alone, as she’s carted away. Cillian is taken somewhere with Axel to have the baby checked out. Emily, the woman responsible for it all, is gone. I didn’t even see them take heraway.

Makena’s blood is still on the floor, but it isn’t long before someone comes and starts to clean it up. I can’t move, can’t breathe. I just keep seeing Makena’s face as she shouts for me to protect thebaby.

Hereyes.

She’d known the woman would shoot. And she was willing to sacrificeherself.

I want to strangle her, and tie a gold fucking medal around her neck at the sametime.

“Sir.” Someone is talking to me, but there’s a buzz inside my skull, and I keep replaying the scene over and over in myhead.

Was there anything else I could havedone?

Maybe if I’d tackled the woman sooner. But I’d been worried about harming the baby. I grip my hair andcurse.

“They’re wanting yer statement, sir,” a man in uniformsays.

“I need to know when she gets out ofsurgery.”

“Of course. Just come withus.”

I don’t know how much time passes, but it feels like days as I repeat the events multiple times, to multiplepeople.

“I’ve already told ye twice. Her name’s Emily Hudson. She works for me. If ye want any more information, ye can talk to my manager. I gave ye his number.” I stand up quickly, making the flimsy plastic chair I sat in fly backwards. “But, I can’t be here rightnow.”

Not when Makena’s fighting for her life somewhere in the hospital. I know they said they would come find me when she was out of surgery, but I’m tired ofwaiting.

“Shane.” Owen’s deep voice stopsme.

I turn, feeling the last shred of strength fall away when I see my bestfriend.

“What the hell happened? We’ve been outside for hours. The hospital’s been onlockdown-”

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