Page 48 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“Get inside!” Tristan yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside the house. He shut the door quickly and faced me. “Are you okay? How is he? Is he hurt?” Tristan asked, touching my face and searching for any signs of injury on my body and Kayden’s.

“We are okay,” I said breathlessly.

There was another gunshot when he reached to take Kayden from my arm. We all ducked, trying to dodge the shards of glass that came flying from the windowl.

“Everyone, get down!” Tristan shouted.

I held Kayden tightly to my chest as I crouched to the floor. He buried his face in my neck and tightened his grip around me.

“Don’t worry, baby. Everything will be okay, just close your eyes,” I whispered, stroking his hair.

The gunfire didn’t stop. The lunatic kept shooting, breaking every glass in the way. Some artifacts and paintings shattered on the floor.

I said a silent prayer, hoping this nightmare ended soon. Things kept falling and breaking into pieces. My heart jumped when the big chandelier fell to the ground, shaking the building. I felt Kayden flinch in my arms. I pressed my body to the corner of the wall I was using as a shield.

The person wanted all of us dead. Why else would the person want to bring the whole house down?

“Shit, I left my phone in the kitchen,” Tristan groaned at the other side of the room.

I watched him crawl toward the kitchen.

“What are you doing? You might get shot.”

“I need to call for help. Stay here.”

“Tristan—” I argued.

“I will be fine,” he cut in, holding my gaze from across the room.

I wanted to beg him to stay, but my lips remained sealed. I held my breath as he left. I counted every second, waiting for him to return. I wanted this to be over. I kissed Kayden’s head multiple times, telling him how much I loved him, and sang his favorite song softly to him.

“Close your eyes, baby. Everything will be fine. It’s just a bad dream,” I whispered, blinking the tears away.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the gunfire continued, shattering the glass panel. This was far from how I’d imagined my life to end. Kayden still had a long way ahead of him, to live his life to the fullest and make memories. I vowed to myself to make sure he made it out of this alive even if I had to be his armor. If I could negotiate with the shooter, offer myself to whoever it was for Kayden’s life to be spared, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

The gunfire ceased.Has the person run out of bullets, or is the person loading more?

I waited a few minutes for any sound or noise from outside, but I heard nothing. I exhaled in relief and put Kayden down. He was quiet, but he looked disoriented and frightened. I checked his body for any injuries. I kissed his cheeks and hugged him.

“It’s okay.” I smiled. I pulled away and looked at the wreckage around me.

Tristan?!

“Tristan!” I stood up, taking Kayden in my arms.

I jumped over all the broken stuff in my way. I froze when I got to the dining room. My heart sank at Tristan’s unmoving body on the floor. I forgot how to breathe as I saw the blood on the right side of his stomach and on his left arm.

“Tristan!”

I put Kayden down gently and ran to his body. I checked his pulse and sighed in relief when I felt his heartbeat. He was losing so much blood. I got up and ran to the kitchen to get something to stop the bleeding.

I paused, horrified when I saw Morris on the floor in a pool of blood.

“Oh my God. Morris!”

I reached down and felt his pulse. I exhaled loudly when I saw he was still breathing, but I didn’t know how long he’d last from the weak pulse.

“Okay, take a deep breath. You got this,” I whispered to myself as I trembled. I felt like passing out. My mind fumbled for the right thing to do. I tried to stop panicking, find my breath, and get myself together.

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