Page 8 of Possession

I should do the same, but I can’t because my fiancé is in my face. With a gun in one hand, he grips my arm so tight I scream when he flips me around, fitting my back to his chest.

He’s using me as a shield.

“You’re not going fucking anywhere,” he growls in my ear through the chaos. He wraps his arm around me—my neck is caught tight in the crook of his elbow. He’s holding me so close, the stench of his breath seeps into my already haywire senses.

I yank and pull at the sleeve of his jacket. “You’re choking me!”

Though, I doubt he can hear. People are fleeing, yelling, or have fallen into piles around us. Shots continue to echo through the centuries-old church.

Blood.

So much blood.

“Boss, get to the side. We need the wall at our backs.” Boz is crowding us and grips Damian by the shoulder, shoving us against the flow of guests.

I’m bumped, prodded, and fight for oxygen.

Shots continue to rain from the balcony.

I drop the bouquet to the floor. Damian trips over it and almost takes me down with him, but Boz has a death grip on him. I try to scream but the noose Damian has around my neck is just too tight.

“Did your fucking father do this?” Damian bellows in my ear through the commotion.

I can’t speak, but I try to shake my head.

“He’s fucking dead, you get me? I’ll still marry you and make sure he knows I’m gonna make his precious daughter’s life a living hell right before I kill him myself. No one fucking goes back on their word to a Marino.” He shakes me from where he’s holding me around the neck. Pain vibrates down my spine. Bullets are the least of my worries because my future husband is cutting off my oxygen. “You’re not getting off easy, you little bitch. I’m going to make sure you personally pay for this in every way. Your family will never cross mine again.”

I gasp when we hit the wall with such force, the side of my head bounces off the stone. I yank and pull at his arm with what little energy I have left. He’s going to suffocate me before he has a chance to make me pay for anything, because I’m sure this is not my father’s doing. There’s no way he could pull off something like this. This requires more manpower than my father has.

Damian shoves me against the stone again as his malevolent words pierce my eardrums worse than the gunshots. “You’ll never be the same once I get my hands on your sweet body. I’ll use and abuse you any way I want. Because of this, it’ll be even worse. You’re mine and will be forev—"

Then…

Another gunshot.

This one stands out among the rest.

My ears ring.

It’s close and loud and…

Holy hell, I can breathe again.

But … red.

I’m covered in it.

So much blood.

I push away from the wall and turn in Damian’s hold that’s now loose and weak.

His eyes are frozen wide, and his expression is set to shocked.

The side of his head is also blown off.

I shriek.

Boz looks from me to Damian as he lets go of his boss, and we both watch him fall at our feet.

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