Page 127 of Wicked Games

The window above us shatters, causing glass to rain down on me and Jace. I do my best to cover Felix as needles of pain explode on my neck and shoulders, and Jax throws himself over his brother to protect him.

Felix is whimpering in my arms, and one of the twins, I can’t tell who, grunts in pain.

“Okay,nowI’m pissed,” Jace says, and relief courses through me at his voice and Jax’s agreement. They’re both okay.

I take a second to make sure Felix is too. He doesn’t seem to be cut, but I can’t say the same for myself.

Jace holds up the mirror again, and two more bullets embed in the side of the car.

“Gotcha, fucker,” Jace says. “I see him.”

“Where?” Xave and Jax ask together.

“Ten o’clock. He’s using a tree as a blind.” Jace tosses the mirror to Xave. “He’s stepping out each time he shoots. You’ve got a two-second window, max.”

Xave lifts the mirror and angles it toward where Jace said he saw the shooter. Two more bullets hit the trunk of the car, and Xave tosses the mirror onto the ground. “Got him.”

“Can you make the shot?” I ask.

He nods.

“Here.” I unceremoniously dump Felix into Jace’s lap. “I’ll distract him.”

“No!” Felix reaches for me. “Don’t go out there.”

“I’ll be fine.” I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile, then flick my gaze to Jace.

He nods. We don’t need words for him to know I’m telling him to protect Felix at all costs, no matter what happens to me.

“I’ll go,” Jax says.

“No.” I shake my head. “He’s after Felix, and we look the closest from a distance. I’m the best chance we have of drawing his attention away so Xave can do his thing.”

Jax nods and sets his mouth in a grim line. He wants to argue with me, but he doesn’t because he knows I’m right.

The twins have long dark hair, and Xave’s is golden brown. Felix and I both have medium brown hair and wear it in similar styles. Our body types are different, but we’re both in jeans and dark hoodies. From a distance, and with our backs turned, we’d look almost identical to anyone who only caught a glimpse of us.

“You good?” I ask Xave.

He’s already in position, his gun at the ready.

He nods.

I pull in a deep breath, and I fix my gaze on a break in the trees about twenty feet away. If I can get to it, it’ll give me enough cover in case Xave can’t make the shot.

If not, then I’m good as dead.

I count to three in my head, then take off toward the break as fast as I can with my head down so the shooter hopefully doesn’t realize I’m not his target.

I’m halfway across the space when a bullet whizzes past my head and embeds itself in a nearby tree. Less than a second later, two shots ring out, the sharpcrackof them loud and jarring. I keep running and don’t slow down until I’m safely through the break.

“Fuck yeah, motherfucker!” Xave shouts.

I peer out from behind the tree I’m using as cover and see Xave standing, his gun at his side and other arm raised in a victory pose.

I’m already running back to them when Jax climbs to his feet and reaches down to help Felix and Jace up.

The relief on Felix’s face when he sees me warms my chest, and surprisingly, so does the way he’s clinging to Jace like he’s his lifeline.

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