Chapter 43

“Vince!” Allie bolted upright. “Aidan, tell me he’s alive.” She sobbed, her breath coming in great ragged gasps.

“He’s fine. Just breathe. I promise it wasn’t a life-threatening wound.”

“But there was so much blood!” Her heart thundered in her chest and her vision grew dark.

“I swear he’ll be fine. After a minor surgery to repair the damage to his heart. But he’ll recover.”

“Surgery?” All the blood rushed from her face, and she felt woozy. Something wasn’t right.

“I did everything I could. That’s why I wasn’t there for you.”

“She’s slipping fast,” Imogen cried. “We could be in real trouble here.”

“She’s white as a sheet, and her pulse is thready. She’s lost way too much blood,” Aidan said.

“Are you ssssayin’ I’m dying?”

“I’m afraid so,” Gen answered truthfully.

“But I’m Immortal.”

“Hush, Allie. She just means there’s only so much even our bodies can take, and yours has had enough,” Aidan said. “You could slip away for a while. Just to sleep and regenerate, but it could take weeks for you to recover. Trust me, you don’t want to…”

“Stay with me!” he shouted when her eyelids drooped. “Gen, I need you to get that bullet out. Now! I’ll do what I can for her pain.”

“Aidan, it’s shattered! And we’re in a moving car. You want me to operate with a pocketknife and what? Prayer?”

“Just do it! I’ll take care of everything else.”

“He’s right,” Scott said from his vantage point in the back. “We can’t let her bleed out. Darius and I will do what we can to help.”

“Allie, I need you awake for this,” Imogen said. “It’s the only way we’ll know if I’ve gotten it all. If I miss even the smallest particle, it could have unpredictable consequences. I’m not going to lie, this is going to be brutal, but I need you stay with me. You do not want to do this twice. And I need you, little brother, to keep her pain under control.”

“No, Aidan! Don’t,” Allie cried when she realized what he intended.

“You’re in no condition to stop me.” He lay back on the seat, pulling her against his chest. He wrapped his legs around hers to keep her still. She felt a pleasant sensation course through her body when he touched her with his gift. She instinctively resisted.

“Alexis Ann, do not fight me! Not now!”

“I’m not putting you through this! Please don’t, Aidan!”

“You’re wasting energy, you stubborn, redheaded pain in my ass. Now, stop fighting and just look at me.”

She relented, opening herself up to his calming influence. The chaos faded and her senses dulled.

The pain began in some distant corner of her mind but quickly rose to the surface when Imogen gently probed the gaping hole. The pressure increased, and she screamed in anguish when Imogen sliced through her flesh not once but three times.

“Sorry! Just scoring the entry. I’ll try to move faster now.”

Allie screamed like a wounded animal as Imogen searched for the bullet fragments, the point of her dagger scraping against bone.

“What’s going on back there?” Liam growled, driving like a shot through the night. “Focus, Aidan!”

“Just drive!” He held Allie locked in his powerful gaze, but his eyes filled with tears. His hands trembled as he tried to take on her pain.

Allie was drenched in blood and cold sweat, her breath coming in shuddering gasps.

“Hold on, baby,” he whispered.

“Stop! Please stop!”

“Sorry, Allie, we can’t stop now,” Imogen said as Allie kicked and thrashed her feet. “Aidan, you have to get her under control!”

“Darius, help me! Hold her legs!”

“Concentrate, brother,” Scott said calmly as Darius crawled into the backseat to kneel beside Imogen.

“Take a few deep breaths. You’ve got this,” Darius said. “Hey, killer, you too. Deep breaths.” But her eyelids fluttered closed.

“Gen, she’s dying!” Scott shouted. “She’s gray and clammy—she’s not breathing!”

“She’s in shock! Aidan, you have to get her through this!” Imogen worked feverishly, her hands slick with Allie’s blood.

“Aidan, keep your cool, she needs you,” Scott said softly.

Allie’s eyes rolled back in her head. “Wake up! Look at me!” Aidan slapped her hard. “That’s better, focus on me,” he whispered when her eyes finally opened. He used his gift to force her lungs to take slow, even breaths and her heart to beat steadily.

“Concentrate on my voice.” Aidan put everything he had into keeping her pain at bay. He was sweaty and breathless. His face paled as blood poured from his nose. He was pushing himself way too hard.

“St-stop, Aidan!” she begged. “Pl-ease don’t!”

“Don’t you know—I’d do anything for you, Allie?”

Gen carefully removed another particle, and a burst of clarity shot through Allie’s mind. She drew a ragged breath. “Gen, you got it.”

She shook violently, heaving great gulps of air into her lungs. Aidan’s hold on her mind shattered, and he collapsed in a sweaty heap.

Aidan?

He didn’t move, but she felt his relief at the return of their connection.

I’m fine. Just rest, baby.

You too, schnookums. She managed a weak smile. She knew he couldn’t help the way he thought of her.

You’re teasing me now? He reached for her hand, brushing a kiss across her cracked and bleeding fingertips.

It’s how I roll.

Imogen finished bandaging her shoulder with strips of Aidan’s shirt and promptly slapped him across the face, bursting into tears.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“That’s for making me torture you both!” She sobbed.

“Don’t.” Allie reached for her hand.

“You’re too young!” She shook with sobs. “Too young to be living this life already!”

Allie felt Aidan’s gift touch her once more.

“Stop. You’ve done enough. I’ll be fine.”

“Save your arguments for someone else.”

“Please, take it easy, little one,” Liam said anxiously, reaching back with his injured arm to grasp her hand.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” Allie asked.

Liam was driving slowly out of downtown, crossing the Lorain Avenue Bridge into Ohio City. Allie looked up just in time to see the Guardian statues—her favorite feature of the Art Deco city. That she could focus on such a normal thing at this moment was proof that she was still in shock.

“Liam, you got shot!” Allie cried, but he barely flinched as Darius worked to extract the bullet lodged in his bicep. “How are you not screaming like a banshee?”

“With age comes perspective. Pain and I came to an understanding a long time ago.”

“Show off.”

“We’ll head back to the marina soon,” Imogen said. She absently brushed Allie’s damp, tangled curls from her face. “Once we get to the safe house, we can figure out our next move.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Where’s Lucien?” Allie asked.

“He’s meeting the others to go look for Quinn. I can’t help but worry. He’s still so young.”

“Gen, you’ll always worry as long as your husband is three hundred years younger than you,” Darius said.

“I hardly notice the age difference anymore, except on nights like this.”

“My lady’s out there somewhere, and she’s way older than me. I am one hundred percent okay with that.” He waggled his eyebrows devilishly. “Liam’s girl is nearly two thousand years younger. That wait has got to suck.”

“Sometimes, the wait isn’t so bad,” Liam muttered. “We’re here. Let’s do this quickly.”

“Aidan,” Allie said as he carried her on board the boat. “If Liam’s my brother, and he’s your uncle… does that make me your—”

“Nope. Not unless you bond me as your nephew, and I promise I will not reciprocate.”

“Good.” She sighed. “That would be creepy.”

“I can feel him,” Liam said suddenly. “Quinn’s in the air—somewhere to the west but not far. I won’t be able to pinpoint his location until they land, then we can do something.”

“Call Lucien on the burner phone so he can get everyone organized,” Imogen said.

“Will we get him back?” Allie asked.

“We’ll certainly try,” Liam promised as he headed up to the fly deck.

“I’m going up with him.”

“No, you’re not. Sit,” Aidan snapped.

“Don’t baby me.” She glared, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Sit!” His eyes flashed right back at her. “You’ve just had a barbaric surgery, and you’ve been beaten so badly I wouldn’t recognize you if it weren’t for the red hair and smart mouth. Now, sit!”

“I need to be with Liam.”

“She’s just bonded him,” Darius said. “It’s only natural she wants to be with him now. I’ll take her up.”

“You’re looking a little green, sweetheart.” Liam frowned when Darius helped her up the stairs.

“Watch this one, will ya? Don’t let her wander off again.” Darius got her settled and left them alone.

“I do not like getting shot.”

“Yeah, it sucks, especially the scars.”

“Scars?”

“I guess you didn’t know. I forget—”

“How much I don’t know? Yeah, yeah, that’s my theme song.”

“I guess you probably hear that more than you’d like.” Liam smiled ruefully. “Magnetic related injuries leave scars, and that’s a nasty looking gunshot you’ve got there, Allie. I received these mementos when I was about your age.” He lifted his shirt to reveal tracks of lashes across his back.

“I guess I was destined to be disfigured.” She sighed. “But what am I going to tell Vince?”

“You’re not going to tell Vince anything because your boyfriend has no business anywhere near that … area,” he said gruffly.

“It’s almost summer, Liam. Bathing suits?” she said patiently.

“Kahlynn’s not dating till she’s forty.” He scowled.

“When did you bond me?”

“During our first conversation the night before the games. Scared the hell out of me.” He chuckled.

“Is that normal?”

“Definitely not. Especially for me, but it just sort of happened. And, might I add, it took you long enough to reciprocate. It can be uncomfortable and emotionally painful when a family bond is only one sided.”

“Sorry. I just don’t understand how I didn’t see it right away.”

“We’re here, and it looks like Nae’s waiting for you.” The boat scraped against the sandy lake bottom. “Brace yourself, she’s frantic.”

“Allie!” Naeemah ran along the dock to meet them. “Oh, Allie-girl!” She sobbed, flinging her arms around her. “Your poor face! What did they do to you?”

“She’d be fine if you’d stop mauling her,” Aidan said.

“Why are you both covered in blood? What happened?” She anxiously checked Aidan for injuries.

“I got shot,” Allie explained, “but Gen removed the bullet. I’m fine, Naeemah, just tired, hungry, and very happy to see you,” she said tearfully.

“You performed surgery? In the car?”

“Your son insisted,” Imogen said. “It was awful.”

“Why would you put her through that? Why would you put yourself through that?” Naeemah smacked him on the back of the head.

“Would you all please stop hitting me?” He sighed in exasperation. “I couldn’t let her slip away. Anything is better than that.”

Speaking from experience?

You don’t want that in your head, Lex. Not tonight.

“We’ll be leaving now, Ma,” Darius said as he and Scott headed back to the boat.

“I want to be on the mainland when his plane lands,” Liam added.

“Liam, please be careful!” Allie was afraid to let him out of her sight.

“I promise, little one.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek, pressing his forehead against hers. “You are as much my sister as if we were born of the same blood. Never forget that,” he murmured, turning to go.

“The others are waiting for you,” Naeemah said. “Please keep us informed.” She turned toward the cabin.

“Allie?” Emma cried when they neared the porch. “What did they do to you?” She burst into fresh tears. “This is monstrous, even for the Coalition.”

“I’m okay, please don’t cry.” Allie choked on her own tears. She felt a huge surge of guilt. “It should have been me.” She sobbed.

“Alexis Ann Maree Carmichael, don’t you ever say that! My son is strong and capable, and he will come home! This is not your fault.” She glowered so fiercely Allie uttered a quick “yes ma’am” before she could blink.