Page 51 of Never Say Never

That was all I could think as I heard the click of a gun and felt fire as it ripped through my shoulder. My eyes widened. I reached for my gun, but my hand wouldn't function as the pain stole my breath away. Paul rushed to my side as I collapsed.

"York? York! What the fuck are you doing here?"

The other man fled. I watched as he disappeared into the shadows while my hot, metallic blood hung in the air. My heart raced, pumping my blood even harder, and I knew it was just quickening my death.

"Hey, don't close your fucking eyes," Paul snapped. When my eyes fluttered, I gasped as a sharp, stinging pain connected with my cheek. "Don't you dare." Paul pulled his phone out, blood covering it as he dialed for an ambulance. "Stay awake, York."

"M—My girls," I choked out.

"You're not dying, so shut the fuck up!"

The pain flared all over again as he pressed down on my wound. It stole my senses, making my head dizzy as I blinked up at Paul. He faded in and out of view as my brain became foggy. I couldn't think straight.

Please, let me get out of this alive.

Antiseptic burned my lungs with each sharp inhale I took. The blinding white paint was overbearing, driving me out of my mind. It wasn't enough that York's blood was soaked into my clothes and clung to my skin. I scratched at my hands, wanting it off. I wasn't squeamish, even a little bit, but for some reason having York's blood on me made my skin crawl. I need to get it off of me. No, that's not important. Where is York?

I looked around hoping to see a doctor or someone who could update me on my boss's status.

A sharp sound grabbed my attention. Snapping fingers in front of my face wasn't the smartest decision someone could have made while I was so irritable. I grabbed the police officers' wrists and twisted them, forcing them to bend in half.

"Shit, we need backup," someone said.

Arms wrapped around me, pulling me away from the fucktard who snapped their fingers in my line of sight. I didn't hesitate to flip the guy over my back. He crashed into the man in front of me. I let him go and both of them fell to the ground in a pile of limbs. I'd kill them right here and now if they continued.

"Wait, sir." One of the other men in the waiting room stepped up to me, his hands open like he was trying to get a wild animal under control.

I blinked a few times, my heart racing, hands shaking. I'd lost control. I didn't do this, I wasn't that crazy teen anymore. Maturing taught me there was always a time and place for violence. In a hospital waiting room, nervous about an update on my boss, wasn't one of them. A shallow breath was about all I could muster as I tried to rein it in.

Nothing was working. I wanted to break every single one of their necks. Find a baseball bat and crack their skulls open. Only then would the unease and rage leave me.

"Paul?" A sweet little voice carried over the static, clouding my ear drums.

I glanced over in time to see Navy and Nyra in their pj’s, standing there, watching me with wide eyes.

"Girls, what are you doing here?"

Shelly pulled both of them away from me. Her death was already planned. Executing it would be easy; she was a target that wouldn't take any time at all. One moment she was there and the next she wasn't.

"The hospital called," Shelly finally said. "What are you doing here?"

I stepped toward the girls, but the officers got in the way. I reached in my coat pocket ignoring the way they all jumped and got ready to attack. Flashing my badge, most of them eased up. The two I'd hurt, on the other hand, were eyeing me with fear. As they should.

"Agent Gallo, we still need to ask a few questions," one of the uniform officers said.

"I'll send over a report."

"With all due respect, sir, but?—"

I got in his face and lowered my voice so that he understood I didn't want the girls to hear. "I will be in later once I make sure that my boss and his family are okay. You can stand here with your dick in your hand, or you can go do something useful like finding the bastard that attacked an agent."

He stared at me. I could see the challenge in his gaze, but I wasn't sticking around to push against it. I'd said what I needed to. Glancing down at my hands, I sidestepped to the hand sanitizer pump on the wall. I filled my hands with the cool liquid and scrubbed my flesh until it was red. Even then I added more. The blood wasn't there anymore but I could still feel it; hot and sticky as it squished through my fingers.

I turned to the girls. The officers whispered amongst themselves but they weren't my priority before the girls came and they weren't my priority now.

"I want to go to Paul," Navy said. She broke free and ran over to me.

"Navy, have you lost your mind? Get back over here. He’s a stranger!”