“No. No, no, no,” Ash said, terror overtaking him.

“Oh God.” Graham rushed to Kincaid. He cradled her head in his hands, all traces of anger gone. “Baby…” He looked to Ash. “She’s hurt. I didn’t mean to. I swear…oh God.”

Ash’s heart was going to beat out of his chest. “Listen to me. We need to pick her up and get out of here,” he said, his voice shaking. “Someone has a gun.”

Graham blinked. Ash could hear screams now coming from the gym, a steady pop, pop, pop sound. It was like being in a nightmare, everything moving too slow and too fast at once.

“A gun?” Graham asked as if coming out of a fog.

Ash needed him to move and stop asking questions. “We have to—”

“Yeah, a gun,” said a cold voice.

Ash’s and Graham’s attention whirled to the entrance of the alcove. The barrel of a black gun was aimed right at them, Trevor Lockwood’s eyes looking deadly serious as he glanced down at Kincaid’s slumped form on the floor. Graham jumped to his feet, hands going upward.

Ash shifted in front of Kincaid, blocking her with his body, his limbs shaking with adrenaline.

Graham took a slow step to the side, distracting Trevor from his aim at Kincaid and Ash. “Whoa, dude, put that away. That’s not funny.”

Trevor swung his aim toward Graham. “Oh, it’s not funny? Good observation, Lowell.”

Ash’s throat had gone so narrow he didn’t know if he could force out words. “Trevor, please. Don’t do this.”

Trevor cocked his head to the left. “Get out of here, Isaacs. You’re not on the list.” He peered down at Kincaid. “But these two are.”

Ash wet his lips, his body numb with fear. “I’m not leaving her.”

“Oh, but her boyfriend’s expendable, huh?” Trevor asked, the gun trained on Graham.

Ash froze, no words coming out of his mouth.

Trevor’s gaze went hard. “Good call.”

“No!” Ash cried out.

Graham lunged to tackle Trevor, but Trevor was too quick. He pulled the trigger twice, hitting Graham right in the chest. Ash screamed, the sound lost to the deafening shots exploding in the small space, and his vision dotted with black. No…red.

Trevor looked at Ash after Graham slumped to the floor. Ash lay across Kincaid, his whole body racked with tremors. They were going to die.

“She’s all yours now.” Trevor smirked, his eyes cold and empty. “You’re welcome.”

And then he was gone, jogging down the hallway and toward the sounds of chaos in the gym. Ash gasped for breath and was shaking all over as he crawled to Graham’s side. Graham was breathing but barely. “Graham, it’s going to be okay. I’m going to get help. Just hang on, man. Please.”

Graham didn’t open his eyes, but his lips moved as he struggled to whisper something.

Ash didn’t understand. “Graham.”

“Get her out,” he whispered, voice strained. “Go.”

Tears fell down Ash’s face. “I’ll send help. I’m sorry, man. I’m so fucking sorry. She loves you, okay. I lied. I made it all up.”