“Keep talking, Owen. Keep talking.” I glanced at Ayda, a silent message passing between us as I stared into the eyes of the woman I loved. And in that moment, as she stared back and held my gaze, I knew this wasn’t the last time I’d see her alive.
I knew because of the fire and grit that shone back at me, even with blood staining her skin and bruises swelling her cheek.
She wasn’t afraid.
She was pissed.
She was the fiancée of the president of The Hounds of Babylon.
Owen’s finger twitched on the trigger, his legs moving and forcing him to stumble to one side. I glanced down at his leg again, the one leaking blood and causing him pain. Then, I closed my eyes for just a few seconds, and I prayed to Pete and Harry for them to save us all somehow before I looked up at her again.
Ayda didn’t move for a moment. Her blue eyes were so intently focused on me that she appeared to be frozen. But then her hands dropped from Owen’s wrists; her left grabbing the hilt of the knife and twisting the blade in Owen’s leg harder. She didn’t wait to see if he’d pull the trigger or not, she just dropped to her hands and knees, the bloody knife still in her hand while Owen screamed like he’d been gutted.
I took one step forward before Eric moved, his walk calm and controlled as he shot four bullets directly into Owen’s body.
Shoulder.Bang
Arm.Bang
Leg.Bang.
The hand that was holding the gun.Bang.
“Don’t kill him!” I yelled, holding my hand out to Eric as I ran like I’d never run before, storming up the porch steps, unable to hear the guttural cries of Owen when I slid onto my knees without thought, dragged Ayda away from him as far as I could, and scooped her into my arms. I put my back between her and Owen, not caring if he somehow managed to raise a gun in his last attempt at strength and fire it at me. I didn’t care about anything or anyone but Ayda as I turned her over in my arms, pulled her chest and head to me, and I fucking rocked her like she was already dead.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed down on her in a rush, my hand finding her hair. Ayda held onto me tightly, one hand fisting my cut, the other hanging limply, barely hanging onto the knife. She tried to pull me closer, her voice hoarse, but unmistakable when she whispered to me, “Kill him.”
“Soon,” I whispered again, curling my arms impossibly tighter around her as I heard my men charge behind me, shouting and cursing at Owen who was laid out, drowning in his own agony. “His death can wait. You’re my priority. Just breathe with me for a second. Let me feel your heartbeat.”
The longer I held her, the more her body began to tremble in my grip. From the aching, the pain, or the adrenaline, I wasn’t sure. Releasing my cut, she pushed her palm against my chest, directly over my heart and gazed up at me.
“You kill him, Drew. It has to be you, and it has to hurt. Just in case.”
I frowned, my eyes searching hers wildly. “In case what?” I whispered.
Ayda trembled and held my gaze. “In case…” she paused and drew in a deep breath, ballooning her cheeks as she released it. “In case I’m pregnant.”
The word hung in the air, swinging between us while we stared into each other’s eyes. Me, looking at her like I’d misheard her. Ayda was looking at me like she was waiting for me to react.
“W-what?” was all I could breathe, my entire body freezing.
“I’m not certain, I just—” Cutting herself off, she swallowed and tried again. “I thought he was going to kill me. I could hear his finger on that trigger, and I realized the stupid things. I hadn’t told Tate that I loved him today. You and I, we haven’t had enough time. I was thinking of all these crazy things, and that’s when I realized… I haven’t had my period in over six weeks. I never noticed because so much has been going on. But, when I thought I was going to die…” She reached up, her hand cupping my neck as I searched her eyes, too lost in numbness to do or say anything. “Drew, Owen punched me in the stomach.”
My lips parted as I stared down at her; unable to form the words she needed to hear me say. I could barely feel the things I needed to feel. The porch felt like it moved beneath me, wooden slats shifting and creating a big black hole for the two of us to sink into while the rest of the day carried on, the sun shining brightly on a life we could have lived.
Pregnant.
Babies.
Kids.
Then all that panic seemed to fade away when Ayda’s eyes misted over in front of me, and that’s when the anger, thefear of losing something I didn’t even know I had, all rose like a slow burning fire, starting at my toes until it hit me in the gut at once. I flinched with her in my arms, forcing my fingers to flex around her.
Those muscles in my jaw ticked when I clamped my teeth together and let the violent shaking take over my limbs, but I tried to stay calm. I tried. Dear Lord, I fucking tried.
“Pregnant.” I swallowed.
“I don’t know for sure,” she whispered, her eyes closing for a second. The pressure made a single tear fall and trail down her cheek.