I turn toward Luca, when I catch a glimpse, a glimmer of something through the window. My heart drops into my stomach; my pulse rate explodes. I open my mouth to yell a warning, and the windows explode.
26
Elsa
One moment, I’m sitting next to Seb; the next, he’s thrown himself on top of me. I’m thrown from the chair, and somehow, he manages to get under me and cushion my fall. Then, in a move worthy of Keanu Reeves inThe Matrix,he flips me over so I hit the ground on my back with his body sprawled over mine.
The breath is knocked out of me, the heat of his body slams into me, and all around me, I hear the sounds of glass breaking, of pops that sound like firecrackers… No, not firecrackers. It’s someone shooting at us. As the popping sounds escalate, I realize it’s more than one person. Perhaps it’s a group of people shooting at us? The sound intensifies until they are coming so close together, it feels like a particularly loud hailstorm, with the hailstones coming at us with such speed that the sound merges together into one continuous screech.
My heart slams into my chest and my pulse pounds at my temples. Above me, Seb grunts and his body shudders. Oh, my god. "Seb," I try to scream, but the sound is stuck in my throat.
The weight of his body seems to grow heavier. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the sounds fade away. Silence descends, broken only by the sound of something falling to the floor and shattering. I flinch; someone screams… One of the women? Is she hurt? More silence follows, then the sound of a car’s engine breaks the silence. It seems to galvanize everyone, for I hear the sound of people jumping to their feet, followed by footsteps running out of the room.
"Everyone okay?" a man—Michael?—asks.
Seb jumps to his feet and holds out his hand. I grab it and touch something wet. I retract my hand and see blood on my fingers.
"Seb, you’re hurt?" I rake my gaze up his arm, to where blood blots his sleeve. I spring up and my knees seem to give way. He grabs my shoulder with his un-injured arm and hauls me to him. For a second, I rest against his broad chest. Thud-thud-thud. I absorb the beat of his heart against his ribcage. Draw the scent of Seb into my lungs. Some of the tension fades. I’ll always be safe with him.
He’s promised to break me, and while I hate him for saying it with such confidence, I can’t help but look forward to him trying. I can’t wait for him to subdue me. Can’t wait to stand up to him. But first, he’s hurt. OMG, he’s hurt. I pull back in his grasp. His grip loosens, and I take in the blood that stains his shirt. I yank at his sleeve and pull it up to reveal the blood oozing from a gash on his bicep. He winces.
"I’m fine," he protests.
"You’re bleeding, Seb." I must be yelling, because almost immediately, Aurora appears next to me.
"Sit down," she orders.
He seems like he’s about to protest, but Christian appears on the other side of Aurora.
"You heard the doc; sit your ass down,stronzo." He pulls a chair upright—the chair I was sitting on before Seb pushed me to the floor. He probably saved my life. Oh, my god, he saved my life. If he hadn't pushed me out of the way... My breath catches in my throat and I whimper.
Seb whips around to face me. "You okay, Princess?"
I don’t reply as Christian pushes down on Seb’s shoulder. He doesn’t have a choice but to sink down into the chair.
I can’t take my gaze off of the blood that saturates his shirt sleeve, OMG, he pushed me to the side, and the bullet hit him. It could have killed him. It could have maimed him, or scarred him. My mouth dries, I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. My pulse thuds at my temples, but this time, it’s not because I fear for my own safety, but for his. If anything happened to him… I wouldn't be able to bear it. My head spins and I feel faint. In response, Seb pulls me into his lap.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
"Making sure you don’t faint and hurt yourself."
He sounds so angry. I glance up into his face and those golden eyes of his bore into me. I flinch, try to pull away, but he winds his good arm around my waist and refuses to let go.
"Give me your jacket," Aurora holds out her hand and Christian pulls off his jacket and hands it to her. She presses it to Seb's wound, then grabs Christian's hand and places it over the jacket. "Hold this in place, please."
Christian complies.
Seb winces. "Cazzo, that hurts."
"Don't be a baby," Christian huffs.
Aurora elevates Seb's arm then asks, "Is there a first-aid box in the restaurant?"
"Here." Michael materializes next to us. He’s holding Karma’s arm as if he can’t bear to let go. In his other hand, he has a first-aid box. He places it on the table.
Axel stalks over to join us; his arm is around Theresa. The fabric of his pants over one thigh is ripped and blood stains the fabric surrounding it. He glances at Seb, then at Christian, before turning to Michael.
"This cannot happen again, Don," Axel growls.