Alexei climbs behind the steering wheel while Damien takes the passenger side, already making a call to wherever we’re taking Demitri.

The tires screech as Alexei reverses, and then the SUV darts forward, and I fight to keep my hands pressed to Demitri’s wounds. His head rolls to the side, falling against my bicep.

Turning my head, I press my mouth to his hair.

God.

My body begins to shake as flashes rip through me. Ilia aiming at Alexei and me. I just reacted, knowing how important Alexei is to Demitri. I don’t know who took the first shot.

Alexei shoved me down to his feet, and then… then… the blasts echoed loudly.

I looked for Demitri and saw him shoot at Yuri.

I watched as this man, who I only met three weeks ago, killed my brother. I felt nothing. There was no relief. No satisfaction.

Alexei yanked me up and behind him, and then the gunfight died down as quickly as it started.

I gasp as I remember Demitri turning around and seeing the blood. His face was already too pale.

My body shudders, and closing my eyes, it feels like my soul is being ripped from my body.

“Please,” I whimper. “Don’t leave me.”

I begin to pepper kisses to Demitri’s clammy forehead, my lungs desperately trying to function when all I want to do is shut down.

I survived my mom getting Alzheimer's and forgetting me.

I survived my dad dying.

I survived my brother wanting me dead.

I won’t survive losing Demitri.

Please.

Not you. I can lose everything but you.

Alexei brings the SUV to a jarring stop outside a dilapidated house, and I have to move quickly to get out of the way so he and Damien can pull Demitri from the car.

I hear another vehicle and see Carson and Winter stop next to us, and then I run after Alexei and Damien as they carry Demitri into the house.

A middle-aged man who looks more like a butcher than a doctor shows them to a room where an elderly woman and man wait. Alexei and Damien place Demitri on a slab of steel, and then Damien pushes me away from the doorway.

My mind is crystal clear, and I even notice the dustmotes hanging in the air.

Alexei comes out of the room and pulls the door shut behind him, and then he stares at the blood on his hands.

“They’ll… they’ll save him, right?” I ask, not recognizing my voice.

Slowly Alexei lifts his eyes to mine, and there’s no sign of the deadly assassin. He can only nod at me, but the fear on his face gives me a different answer.

Unlike the times before when I got terrible news, I’m unable to break down. It’s as if I’m suspended in time, and the only way I can move forward is with Demitri by my side.

“How the fuck did he get shot?” Damien snaps angrily. “It’s fucking impossible!”