96

AURORA

“Get down!”

Orion collides with me like a brick wall. Together, we tumble to the ground and all air is forced from my lungs upon impact. Orion uses his own body to cover my own and his hands are like claws, gripping my shoulder and my head while he curls over me.

The entire world slows, time passing like the trickle of sand in an hourglass, and I can only watch through messy strands of hair and the gap at the crook of Orion’s elbow. The car slows and bullets pour from the vehicle, cracking through the air like lightning strikes.

The windows of the restaurant crack and shatter into a thousand shards, wooden supports splinter, and the cloth of the canopy rips into a tattered mess. Wine glasses explode, plates shatter, and flowers are ripped of their petals. Blood sprays like a fountain from the bodies of those unfortunate to be in the path of the bullets, and they collapse with muted screams.

Through the gap, I spot Lucian huddled on the ground with crimson soaking into the back of his shirt. My blood runs cold. I can’t breathe; not from the pressure of Orion above me but because of the cold fear that grips my heart in a vise. The feet of several guards are visible as they sprint to protect Lucian while firing back at the car, though their weapons pale in comparison to whatever exists inside that vehicle.

The entire carnage lasts about thirty seconds, then the car screeches back into life and tears off down the street. They round a corner and vanish, leaving a deathly silence that falls over the street.

I blink for the first time since I landed on the ground, gasping for air. Slowly, Orion moves off me and his hand takes mine. He pulls me upward, even as my legs refuse to work and the shock turns me into jelly. Bodies litter the front of the restaurant, and the remaining wooden pole supporting the canopy creaks and then breaks. The fabric flutters to the ground.

Suddenly, the most bloodcurdling noise fills the air, and my veins turn to ice. The anguished howl cuts through the silence like a molten blade. All the surviving guards hurry about, moving to a plan that only they know. As they move, the cause of such an anguished sound comes into view—if Orion had not already been supporting me, I surely would have collapsed.

Lucian sits on his knees holding Selene’s limp body in his arms. Blood pools across the front of her dress. He cradles her to his cheek and makes such a gut-wrenching sound of agony that tears immediately spring to my eyes.

She’s been shot.

The hospital is cold. Silent.

No one speaks. No one moves. We all sit in a numb silence, with the same thought held in our minds.

Please let Selene be okay.

She was alive when we made it to the hospital. They rushed her away immediately with Lucian by her side, who fought off all attempts by doctors to get his own wounds treated. He didn’t care that he’d been shot and likely didn’t even feel the pain.

Nothing could compare to holding his daughter in his arms while she bled out like that.

Cotton fills my mouth while the shoot-out plays over and over in my mind. How such carnage can happen so quickly is beyond me, and my pregnancy is so far from my mind that I’ve almost forgotten.

Orion stands by the door, a rigid statue staring out into the hallway. Occasionally, he glances back into the waiting room, but his expression is unreadable behind those glasses. I suspect it’s the same shock and horror on the faces of every other guard seated here with me.

They’ve all received various forms of treatment. I was seen to as well, but other than a few gravel scrapes, I’m completely fine.

Heartbroken, but fine.

Again, the scene replays in my mind and a cold shiver crawls slowly down my spine, blooming at my tailbone. The tingles make me shift in my seat and as soon as I move, the plastic chair creaks. Every eye is on me, immediately and the cold shiver is replaced with a hot flush.

“Sorry.”

Everyone is on edge. Understandable.

Who would do such a terrible thing? With a child present. I want to ask Orion but at the same time, I think I already know the answer.

The one man who seems to have it out for everyone, if Cassian’s experience is anything to go by. He’s the culprit, surely?

Restlessness has me rising, ignoring all the looks from the others. I pace up and down the side wall to distract myself. The movement helps ease the itch in my limbs, but it does nothing to calm the frantic pace of my mind.

What will happen if Selene doesn’t make it? What will happen if she does?

I can hear my mother in the back of my mind, scolding me with an I told you so. These men, this life. It’s all death and pain. All destruction and anger until they kill each other off.

I hope, harder than I’ve ever hoped for anything, that Selene will make it.

She has to.

Eventually, the pull at my bladder brings me to the door where I attempt to slide past Orion. His hand latches onto my arm immediately and he tilts his head down.

I wish I could see his eyes to know what he was feeling.

“No one leaves.” His voice is hard. Cold. It doesn’t sound like him at all and my stomach twists.

“Well,” I say softly, my throat pulling from under-use these past few hours. “Unless you want me to piss in the waste basket, you’re gonna have to let me go to the bathroom.”

Orion’s mouth twists as if he’s really contemplating making me go to the bathroom here, in front of everyone, just to keep an eye on me. I stick my head out the door and peer past his shoulder.

“Look, the bathroom is right there. You can see it from here and you can watch me all the way down. I’ll even prop the door open and piss as loudly as I can.”

Any other day, that would have made him smile. Not today.

Today is a cold day.

“Fine.”

He releases me and his lingering palm print burns into my arm.

“Make it quick.”

I understand his cold demeanor. He’s hurting. He likely blames himself for not being there. But as I hurry down to the bathroom, my chest aches for a different reason. I want to be held and comforted, told this is all going to be okay even if it’s a lie. Just for a little while.

Or I want to be strong enough to provide that comfort for them.

Reaching the bathroom, I glance back at Orion, who looks the same as ever with those glasses. The heat of his gaze warms my skin, so I give him a little wave and head inside. Using the fire extinguisher from the wall, I prop open the door and hurry into a stall to do my business.

Peeing while tense is a challenge, and the more I try to relax, the harder it is to pee. The longer I sit on the toilet, the more I fear Orion will send a guard to kick down the door which makes peeing even more impossible.

“Fuck,” I mutter, eyeing the No Smoking poster on the back of the stall door. “Breathe, Aurora. Just breathe. And pee. Just…pee.”

I thought of everything from rainbows to oceans before my body finally relaxed enough for me to relieve myself. A tiny victory on an otherwise horrific day. Washing my hands, I stare at myself in the mirror, almost unable to recognize myself. My hair is a rat's nest, my make up is streaked from tears and the shadows under my eyes hang heavy and dark.

“Fuck.”

Heading outside, I make it past the bathroom door and the presence of someone walking past makes me halt.

Lucian.

He stops an inch away, staring at me with eyes so dark it’s like his soul has up and vacated his body. With a thin mouth and his skin pale, grief clings to him like a second skin and my heart breaks for him.

“Lucian…” I have no idea what to say. No idea what to do. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing I can do to help him feel better.

He stares at me, and the nerve in his jaw ticks, just like it did the last time I saw him angry. Angry is good, I think. It means he’s still functioning.

“How … how is Selene?”

The million-dollar question catches in my throat. Lucian’s thick brows pull together, shadowing his eyes.

“In surgery.” His only response is that, and his words are so tight that they sound thin.

With little thought, I reach out and grasp his wrist. “I’m so sorry.”

For a moment, the anger fades and immense hurt bleeds onto Lucian’s face. He looks ready to crumble and sob. As quickly as it appears, it vanishes and the stoic fury returns.

“Where is Orion?”

I nod toward the waiting room. “Everyone is in there.”

Together, we head down to the waiting room and Orion’s gaze watches us every step of the way. As soon as we reach the doorway, every guard inside leaps to attention. No one says a word, and from the few uncertain glances I see, no one knows what to expect.

Lucian doesn’t speak, but as soon as he stops, Orion does.

“We found the burnt-out shell of the car,” Orion says tightly. “One body inside is being examined to see if we managed to kill him or if he died from the fire. What’s left of the car is useless but we’re using CCTV from the surrounding area to track who left the scene. We’re also walking it back from the restaurant to see where the car came from.”

Lucian nods, and a single curl escapes his tightly packed hair. With a grunt, he turns away but as he takes a step, Orion follows.

“Lucian.”

Slowly he turns back.

“How is she?”

Lucian stares at Orion without a word, and I get the strange feeling that a wordless conversation is happening right in front of me. After a few seconds, Orion nods slowly and returns to the doorway. When Lucian turns back up the hall, I move to step back into the waiting room, but Lucian’s hand darts out and grasps my wrist.

“What—”

He drags me, mostly willing, down the corridor and into the supply closet a few feet away from the waiting room. Darkness closes around us. He shoves me up against some shelving that cuts into my back; then his mouth collides with mine in a kiss so biting that I’m not sure if I’m enjoying it or in pain and just thankful to feel something.

His hands are just as rough. He tears at my clothes, pulling my bra straps taut over my shoulders and my panties sharply against my hip as he fights to get at my body.

I let him. Something is better than nothing. When we kiss, his teeth sink deep into my lip. His tongue dominates my mouth, his hands fist into my hair and pull so hard that my scalp hurts. I gasp and whimper, seeking to touch him but the moment I do, he pulls away. Flipping me around, he shoves me back against the shelves. Bottles and unseen items clatter against one another.

Then Lucian is against me, pressing his heated body against my back. He pulls down my pants, shoves my panties down as far as he can and then he’s inside with a thrust so powerful it punches all air out of my lungs.

I clutch at the shelves and gasp as he fills me too full, too fast, but there’s no time to adjust. Lucian begins fucking me hard and fast, pounding me into the shelves. Every powerful slam of his hips slides his cock so deep into my pussy that my core aches, and he barely pulls out before the next thrust comes. And the next. I can’t keep up.

And it feels amazing. We’re raw and exposed, like nerves seeking connection and he fucks almost violently. Bottles clatter to the floor, a metal pan clangs somewhere to my left, and Lucian grunts like a beast in my ear. I hang on for dear life, unable to balance through the barrage of thrusts. His teeth lock into the meat of my shoulder and he grunts, holding on as he fucks harder, faster, deeper.

All his pent-up energy pours into each movement and I drink it up like a parched woman.

Despite it all, our moans are minimal. Pleasure swells fast but my desire escapes in gasps and whimpers. I want to make him feel good, I want to give him something other than grief so I’m happy to give him my body.

I’m happy to take his too.

Lucian releases the bite on my shoulder and his mouth presses against my cheek. Lips parted, the dampness of his saliva coats my skin as he grunts and his thrusts change. They’re harder. Three powerful slams of his hips and he comes with a growl.

The last thrust from this angle brings my orgasm crashing over me like a wave and I whimper against the shelving, panting harshly.

Everything hurts. I’m like an open bruise surrounding the open wound of Lucian’s pain. Muscles ripple and pleasure pours through us. Lucian’s hips twitch, then still.

We stay like that. Joined together. Connected.

Nothing breaks the silence but our combined panting. Then his cock softens and he pulls himself free.

I sag against the shelves and bite back a groan, enjoying the throb in my core from such a rough fuck. When I turn around, Lucian is already redressed, and he holds the door open, basking in the sickly fluorescent lights of the hospital.

I want to say something, but words fail me.

He turns back to me and cups my face, holding my gaze. A thousand words flood his eyes, but he utters nothing. Whatever he wants to say remains hidden behind his lips. Instead, he kisses me so hard that my lips bruise, and then he’s gone.

Back to being at his daughter’s side.

As I redress myself, the dampness between my thighs brings my pregnancy roaring back to the forefront of my mind. There’s no way I can mention such a thing when Selene’s like this. If she doesn’t make it…I can never mention it.

Ever.

What the hell am I going to do about a baby?