“I’m better now.” With a sniffle and a quick inhaled breath, I brushed the tears from my cheek. “I can’t believe you came.”
“Of course, I came. No way in hell I wouldn’t.”
I’d never been happier to see him and hugged him even tighter. “Thank God you did because I’m not so sure we would’ve gotten through this thing without you guys.”
“Well, it’s done now. It’s over.”
“What about the fire?”
“It’s out. You don’t have to worry.”
“I still can’t believe any of this happened.” I took a step back and glanced down at Drake’s lifeless body. I had to fight back the tears as I said, “I thought we were prepared for anything, but it all happened so fast. One minute there was a fire, and then there was all the shooting. I had no idea what the hell was going on.”
“None of us did.”
Grayson walked over to Jackal, and like Widow had done just moments before, he knelt down beside him and placed his hand on his chest. He whispered a few words, then sighed with a shake of his head. After several moments, he stood and made his way back over to me. I looped my arm through his and whispered, “I’m so sorry about Jackal.”
“I am, too. He’s gonna be missed.” Grayson brought his hand up to my cheek. “Are you really okay?”
“I am now.” My voice trembled. “But earlier, I was a mess. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my whole life. There was a point when I honestly didn’t think we’d get out of here alive.”
Without responding, Grayson reached over and took me in his arms once more. After several moments, he kissed me on the temple, then stepped back as he looked down at Drake. “You got any idea who this Drake guy is?”
“His name is Drake Coburn. We had a few classes together, and he asked me out a couple of times, but I always refused. Other than that, I really didn’t know much about him.” I shrugged. “I had no idea until tonight that he was a dealer, and I certainly didn’t think he was interested in joining forces with me.”
“So, this was all about you two joining forces?”
“Yeah, those were his words, not mine.” I shook my head. “He’d never mentioned anything about that until he showed up here tonight. I’d always thought the creepy stares and small talk were because he liked me.”
“Oh, he was definitely into her,” Braylon added. “You could tell just by the way the asshole was looking at her. Besides, he would’ve just wiped us out and taken things over for himself if he was only interested in the goods. If he’d played it right, he would’ve gotten the weed and the girl.”
“So, this guy really is a whack job?”
“Definitely.” Braylon dropped his head in shame as he continued, “But he wouldn’t have gotten as far as he did if I hadn’t fucked up. I’m so sorry about all this.”
“This isn’t your fault, Bray,” I argued. “There’s no way you could’ve known this was going to happen.”
“You’re wrong, Kiersten. This was all on me.” Anguish marked his face. “It was my job to watch over things tonight and keep this place safe. I dropped the ball, and we lost—”
“No,” Widow interrupted. “This shit is on all of us.”
“But I was the one in charge of the cameras tonight, and I let myself get distracted with… Mia? Where’s Mia?”
“She’s okay,” I assured him. “I told her to get Regan and leave.”
“Thank God. I don’t know what I would’ve done if...”
His voice trailed off when the rumble of motorcycles pulled his attention to the parking lot. Hawk immediately went over and looked out the window, then announced, “Viper’s here with Shotgun and Doc. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as Hawk stepped outside, Widow turned back to Braylon and said, “Now that he’s here, we need to get with Doc. He can check your wounds and fix you up.”
“What? No. This isn’t something for Doc. Bray’s been shot and lost a lot of blood,” I fussed. “He needs to get to the hospital!”
“Yeah, he does, but what’s he gonna say when they ask him what happened? When they ask who shot him?” Widow gave me a scolding look as he helped Bray to his feet. “’Cause they’re gonna want to know those things. And they’ll want to bring the cops in, and there’ll be an investigation—”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” I looked back over to Braylon as I asked Widow, “But will Doc truly be able to help him?”
“This isn’t Doc’s first rodeo, Kiersten.” Widow took hold of his upper arm, being careful not to get too close to his wounded shoulder and led Bray over to the door. Before they walked out, Widow assured me, “Doc will have Lynch and your boy fixed up in no time.”