Everything exploded in chaos after that. Damien and Hunter and Sean with guns drawn, roaring for Mark to drop his. Mark screaming back, a crazed, wild look in his eyes as he alternated between pointing the gun at Sasha and waving it them. I could still feel my blood pounding in my ears, the hair on the back of my neck prickling as the raw fear and fury of the moment blasted through me.
The screaming was getting louder and louder, every single second feeling more and more tense until there was no way it couldn’t shatter.
That’s when it all went dim around me.
That’s when I suddenly tuned it all out, ignored all of it, and concentrated on one thing.
I looked up, almost in slow motion, and locked eyes with my friend. I weighed the gun in my hand — cool, heavy, full of purpose. I squeezed it, running my thumb over the ridges of the grip and feeling my breath slow to a crawl. Everything around me slowed to nothing, the yelling and gun waving tuning out until it was just me, the gun in my hand, and my best friend.
I looked up and locked eyes with her.
She nodded.
Sometimes you just have to jump in.
I raised the gun in my hands, my fingers curling around it as I looked right at Sasha.
“Jump,” her lips said silently.
I pulled my eyes from her, locked them on Mark, centered the gun, and squeezed as hard as I could.
The gun exploded in my hands, and for one quarter second, everything was frozen.
And then just as suddenly, itroaredback to full speed.
I was dimly aware of the gun in Mark’s hand dropping to the ground as he seemed to fly backwards, his arms up in the air. I was aware of Damien, Hunter, and Sean lunging forward, the gun dropping from my own hands, and then my own voice screaming.
Arms caught me, familiar, protective arms.
Sasha.
I fell into her, wrapping my arms around her as all the emotions poured out of me.
It was over, and she was okay.
We were all okay.
16
“That wassome damn good shooting, you know.”
I turned to Hunter and smiled. “Thanks, I know.”
The guys laughed warmly as I grinned at my own joke.
We were back in New York City, cleaned up, exhausted, and just being together in closeness after what had happened. The glassed-in roof deck at the very top of the building that housed Camelot Holdings was dimmed, with only the lights of the city illuminating us all.
Luke and Jordanhadin fact broken out of their “house arrest” hotel and flown back home. Sasha was safe and sound back with them, and an immediate doctor’s visit had confirmed that the baby was just fine. All pending interest in her two men being involved in her kidnapping was obviously dropped.
Mark was in critical condition, but alive. I’d apparently hit a one in a thousand shot of hitting him in the chest but missing his heart. We’d been told he was currently in the ICU coming out of surgery.
There were plans to arrest him the second he came to, and this time, they were going to throw the book at him.
“You seriously pulled out a shot like that on your first try?” Sean raised a brow at me.
“Beginner’s luck?” I shook my head, looking into my glass of champagne. “I knew I couldn’t miss.”
Hunter grinned, leaning over to kiss the top of my head.