Chapter 229

Lucas stood just outside the main doors of the ballroom, holding a glass of champagne he hadn't taken a single sip of.

He’d told himself he just needed a minute to breathe. That was all. He needed to get away from the sight of Blair looking , so bright beside Alexanderlooking happier than she had any right to look while he felt like he was falling apart at the seams.

Yet he couldn't actually bring himself to leave.

He stayed right there near the entrance, half-hidden behind the heavy drapes. Through the glass, he could still see them. Blair. Alexander. Mave.

Lucas looked down at the floor, letting out a heavy breath. “Don't,” he muttered to himself.

He raised the glass, intending to drink, but the thought made his stomach turn. He set it down on a nearby side table instead. He knew he should walk out to the driveway, get in his car, and go home. There was no point in standing around torturing himself like this.

And yet, his feet felt glued to the floor.

A tiny flash  of movement high above caught his eye.

Lucas frowned, tilting his head slightly as he looked up toward the second-floor balcony.

For a second, he didn't see anything just shadows and ornate railings. He held his breath, staring for another moment, before looking back down. He was probably just seeing things.

He glanced back into the room, his eyes finding Blair again before he could stop himself. She was laughing. Mave was bouncing on his heels between her and Alexander, holding up his toy spaceship as if explaining something completely life-changing.

Lucas's chest tightened, his expression softening for a quiet heartbeat.

Then he spotted him.

Not down on the floor. Up on the balcony.

Lucas’s eyes narrowed. From where he was standing, he couldn't make out the guy's face, but the silhouette was clear the person was crouched slightly, keeping himself low against the railing.

The stranger wasn't taking in the room. He wasn't looking at the crowd, or at Alexander, or even at Mave.

His eyes were fixed entirely on Blair.

Lucas slowly straightened up, his whole body going rigid.

“Who the hell is that?” he whispered under his breath.

He didn't take his eyes off the shadow upstairs. The man shifted his weight slightly, and Lucas caught the quick, movement of his hand reaching inside his jacket.

A cold, heavy knot dropped right into the pit of Lucas’s stomach. Something was very wrong.

He didn't stop to weigh his options. He didn't pause to think. He just moved.

Lucas shoved his way through the dense cluster of guests, his focus razor-sharp.

A man in a tuxedo stepped directly into his line of sight, lifting a glass. “Excuse me—”

Lucas didn't even acknowledge him, brushing past his shoulder without breaking stride. His eyes were glued to the upper level.

The figure on the balcony shifted his weight again, stepping forward out of the shadows. His hand wasn't inside his coat anymore.

Lucas caught the dull, metallic glint of a gun barrel.

His heart slammed into his throat. “Blair.”

He broke into a dead sprint.

Down on the floor, Blair was still laughing, completely oblivious to the shadow looming directly over her. Alexander was bending down to hand Mave a small pastry when the stranger on the balcony brought both hands up, aiming straight down into the crowd.

Time seemed to bend and stretch.

Lucas didn't pause to process the consequences. He just ran.

“BLAIR!”

Her head whipped toward the sound of his voice, her brow furrowing in total confusion. “What—?”

CRACK.

The boom of the gunshot shattered the room, followed immediately by a wave of sharp, piercing screams

.

Lucas covered the last few feet just as a second shot echoed off the high ceiling.

He threw his entire body forward, slamming into Blair with enough force to knock her off her feet, wrapping his arms securely around her to shield her body with his own.

They hit the hard floor together .

For two terrifying seconds, Blair’s mind went completely blank. The air was knocked clean out of her lungs, and she couldn't register what had just happened.

Then she felt the dead, heavy weight of Lucas pressing down on top of her.

“Lucas?” she gasped, her voice small and trembling.

He didn't move. He didn't say a word.

Panicked, her hands pushed against his broad shoulders, trying to roll him off her chest. “Lucas?”

His face was ghostly pale, his jaw slack as he rested against her shoulder.

Then she looked down. A deep crimson stain was rapidly soaking through the white fabric of his dress shirt, right near his ribs.

Her breath stopped in her throat, a cold shock seizing her entire body. “No…”

Across the room, Alexander’s authoritative roar cut through the chaos. “SECURE THE ROOM! NOW!”

Chaos erupted instantly. Security guards drew their sidearms and charged the stairwell, while terrified guests threw themselves beneath tables, dropping champagne flutes as they scrambled frantically for cover.

Somewhere in the background, Mave was sobbing, his small voice lost in the thunder of footsteps and screaming.

Blair didn't hear any of it. The entire world, the entire room, had shrunk down to the wounded man lying over her.

“Lucas!”

She managed to shift him onto his back, her hands instinctively flying to his side, pressing down as hard as she could to stem the heavy flow of blood. Warm crimson spilled over her fingers, staining her gown.

Lucas’s eyelids fluttered open.

He didn't look at the screaming crowd. He didn't look up at the balcony or toward Alexander. His hazy, unfocused eyes anchored entirely on her.

“Are you… okay?” he rasped out whispering.

Blair stared down at him in utter disbelief, her lips trembling violently. “You…” Her voice cracked, tears brimming over her lashes and running hot down her face. “You took a bullet for me.”

Lucas swallowed hard, every shallow breath coming as a visible struggle. He looked at her wet face, at the horror in her eyes.

“You idiot,” she sobbed, pressing harder against his chest as if she could force the life back into him. “Why would you do that? Why?”

A faint, fleeting shadow of a smile touched his pale lips.

“Because it was you,” he murmured softly.

Blair shook her head, tears dripping off her chin and landing on his cheek. “No, no, no…”

Behind them, Alexander was shouting over the radio, ordering a perimeter lockdown and calling for emergency medical team.

But Blair couldn't tear her eyes away. She couldn't breathe.

“Stay with me,” she pleaded, her fingers clutching tightly at his torn shirt. “Please, Lucas. Stay with me.”

Lucas kept his heavy gaze locked onto hers, his chest barely rising. “I’m… trying.”

Then, slowly, his dark eyelashes fluttered closed, and his body went completely limp beneath her hands.

“Lucas!”

Blair’s frantic scream tore straight through the madness of the ballroom.