Chapter 153 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE: THE SHOT AT THE FUTURE.

Chapter 153 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE: THE SHOT AT THE FUTURE.
AIDEN
The air is crisp, splashing over my face and keeping me alert.
I look at Rylan with his gun pointed in my face. For the first time, I don't see the man who tried to steal from the Knight group. He looked like he had completely lost it. His hands were white against the trigger. His eyes were red, reflecting the fire burning in the barrel next to him. 
“Say hello to the devil for me," he hissed. 
Time slowed down. The humming in the air was louder—the sound of Silas leading the police and his men towards us.
The sound of my heartbeat escalated. The thought of Zara, the baby she was carrying. I had not even had time to meet them yet. I couldn't leave them… not now. 
“Rylan! Don't!" I barked, but it was too late.
The crack of the gunshot echoed through the air like thunder. I didn't feel the pain immediately. The force of the bullet lunged into the air, whipped through the air and tore the side of my arm before falling to the floor. 
I stumbled back, my hand flying to my arm as blood began to seep through my fingers. My legs gave way, and I fell back. 
"Mr. Knight!” Silas’s voice echoed through the darkness. 
I blinked, trying to get back up. I couldn't let him escape like that. Not after getting to this point. Rylan cocked the gun again and pointed it at me, but the next second, multiple red laser dots painted his body. 
"Mr. Knight," Silas moved again toward me. He helped me up. 
“I am fine," I muttered, feeling my heart rate pumping. “Get him, secure him!" I screamed to Silas, who was trying to get me to safety. 
“But you are bleeding," he said in shock. 
"It's just a graze," I gritted. I looked down at my arm, blood seeping through the whiteness of my shirt. 
Silas gave a signal, and Rylan was tackled from behind. The gun clattered across the floor, and he was pushed into a lying position with his arms secured with cuffs behind his body. 
I pressed my hand through the bleeding in my upper body and blinked at Rylan, who was now cackling and muttering incoherent words. 
“It was supposed to be all mine. As soon as I took you out, I'd have nothing to worry about." He sounded crazy. “You think you've won? You are just like the rest of us. Alone and…”  
I groaned and hovered over him. “Give it up, Rylan. It's over." 
The police moved through and secured all of his men, moving them out of the room. I let out a shaky breath. The adrenaline that had been pushing me suddenly slowed down. 
The pain suddenly shot through my body. I groaned, and Leo rushed to me. “The madam is going to kill me," he muttered as he dialed emergency services. 
“Not the hospital," I managed to speak. “The mansion… Zara is waiting." 
She’s at the hospital, Aiden,” Leo said gently, helping me into the back of the SUV. “Silas called her the moment the shot was fired. She’s already there.”
The journey to the hospital was a blur of siren lights and the heavy scent of antiseptic. I tried to stay awake, but the blood loss, combined with the weeks of sleeplessness and the terror of the docks, was pulling me under.
The next thing I knew, I was on a gurney, the bright fluorescent lights of the hallway blinding me.
“Aiden! Aiden!”
I knew that voice. It was the only sound in the world that mattered. I turned my head to the side. Zara was running alongside the greenery. 
Her eyes were hollow and her face deathly pale. Her hand was in mine, a strong grip. I tried to move, but pain shot through my body again, as if in reminder. 
“I am here, mi reina," I whispered, feeling her hand tremble against mine. “I am here; I am not going anywhere." 
"Madam, you need to stay back. You can't go past this area," a nurse said, trying to pull her off me. 
“He is my husband," she screamed. 'I have to be there.' 
I felt her hand slowly leave mine, coldness replacing the warmth. They wheeled me to a private room. The curtains closed, and I was left alone. The smell of antiseptic filled the air. 
I felt the sting of the anesthetic and the pain as the doctors worked through the stitches in my hand. I didn't care. I just kept staring at the door. 
When the doctor finally stepped away, the door burst open. Zara stepped in and took shaky, large steps until she reached me. She collapsed into the chair by the bed and let out a shaky breath. 
She grabbed my good hand and pressed it to her face. Shoulders shaking with trembling sobs. 
“You idiot,” she choked out, the tears streaming down her cheeks and onto my knuckles. “You absolute, reckless idiot. You told me you’d be safe. You promised!”
“I am sorry," I whispered. I didn't like seeing her like this, but I knew that I would do it over and over again if I had to. The only thing that mattered was keeping her and the baby safe. 
“I had to be sure that he was gone for good. That he couldn't touch you or the baby again." 
“Do you only care about me? What about your life? What am I supposed to do if you leave me? What if the baby was born without knowing the man behind the…” She paused with a choking sound. 
“I promised Zara," I whispered, using my thumb to wipe off the tears from her cheeks. “A knight always makes good on their promise." 
“I don't care about that. I just care about your…” She couldn't finish the sentence. She just buried her face in the edge of my mattress, her hand clutching mine like a lifeline.
“The doctor said the bullet just took a piece of the muscle,” I said, trying to soothe her. “I’ll be back at the office in a week. I’ll be back in our kitchen tomorrow.”
“No,” she sniffed, looking up and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked at my bandaged arm and then back at my face. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying in bed, and I’m going to be the one taking care of you for once.”
I smiled and stared at her. “For real?” she nodded eagerly. “I like the sound of that," I muttered. 
She leaned in, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead. She stayed there for a long time, her forehead against mine, our breaths mingling in the quiet hospital room.
“Rylan is gone?” she asked.
“Forever,” I promised. “Silas has the backups. The board has disowned him. He’s going to a place where the Knight name can't buy him a way out.”
Zara let out a long, shaky breath. She sat back and placed my hand on her stomach. It was still flat, but in that moment, I felt the weight of the future. The war was over.
“We’re okay,” she whispered, more to the baby than to me. “We’re finally okay.”
I closed my eyes, finally feeling peace wash over me. If everything I did was for this moment, then it was worth it.