Page 4 of His to Keep

And then it all went to hell.

There was someone else beside him, slipping up from the gloomy alley to their side. A shadow, detaching itself from the darkness nearby.

The bouncer's head whipped around, but it was too late. He'd been focused on Liam, distracted.

And the newcomer seized that opportunity.

Liam had heard gunshots before — in this part of the city, with the mafia families scrapping like wild dogs, they were hard to miss.

But he'd never heard them this close before. He flinched from the bang, slapping his hands over his now-ringing ears.

And in front of him, the bouncer crumpled to the ground, blood streaking the pavement.

Before Liam could process what had just happened, the assailant stepped over the fallen man. Another gunshot rang out inside, followed by shouts.

Liam got low, dropping to the ground. But he wasn't the only one there — the bouncer was still lying on the ground

Despite everything, Liam's training won out. He found himself shifting over to search for the man's pulse, kicking into emergency mode. He felt strangely detached, as if he was watching his hands move from somewhere else, somewhere far away — somewhere safe.

It was too late. There was nothing Liam could do for the bouncer.

Then, as quickly and as inexplicably as it had started, the gunman burst out of the door again. Only a few seconds had passed. Liam lurched out of the way, falling back on his ass. He pressed himself against the wall as the gunman raced away, leaping down the steps.

In an instant, more people burst from the door, guns in their hands. One of them whipped around and trained his gun on Liam.

Liam's hands shot up in the air. Inside, his mind automatically spooled off an incident report.Older male, maybe late thirties. Stubble. Strong jaw. Piercing eyes, unfazed by the sudden violence. Knows what he's doing.

Hands are steady on the trigger.

Please, lord, let his hands stay steady on the trigger…

"He— he went that way," Liam managed, pointing.

The man with the gun glared, his expression violent, before jerking his head at more men. "Go," he commanded. At his word, the other men ran like dogs.

Clearly, this man had decided that Liam wasn't the shooter.

But he kept his gun trained on Liam anyway.

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded, his voice a low growl that sent shivers down Liam's spine.

Liam sat there, frozen. The only sounds he could hear were the ringing of his ears and the pounding of his heart. "I— I—"

But then a sound cut through his panic.

From inside the bar, there was a groan of pain.

Liam's pulse raced, his breath hitched in his throat as the reality of the situation slammed into him. The shock of the sudden shooting had temporarily made him freeze up, but treating people was his job.

This situation was bad — but he couldn't justleave.

Saving lives was his purpose, even in the worst of circumstances.

Keeping up a steady mantra ofShit, shit, shit…!in his head, Liam swallowed. "I'm a doctor," he said simply, meeting the man's eyes. "I'm here to save someone's life."

Chapter two

With the man's grip iron-like on his arm, Liam was forcibly escorted into the bar. His heart pounded.

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