Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 173(@200wpm)___ 138(@250wpm)___ 115(@300wpm)
The sound of motorbikes filled the air. Broken glass, gunshots, and screams erupted.
Claire acted on instinct. She ran to her friend, pushing her down to the ground, covering her as more bullets rang out. Her head was dizzy from the noise. Her heart raced and she kept Rhianna on the ground as it continued to erupt. What the hell was happening?
She didn’t know how long it lasted for, a lifetime, maybe longer, but all of a sudden, the noise stopped even as her ears ached. The silence was almost deafening.
Cries, shouts.
“What’s going on?” Rhianna asked.
“Stay down.” She whispered the words at the sounds of bikes roaring to life and taking off.
Lifting her head, she glanced around. Some people hadn’t made it. A couple of bodies weren’t moving, and she glanced over the room to see the waitress who’d been serving her and Rhianna was on the ground. Part of her head was missing. She felt like she was going to be sick.
Chapter Eight
Gabriel entered the hospital and felt like he was going to throw up. He hadn’t made it in time before the ambulances took everyone away from the crime scene. The news had already been rife with speculations.
Bikers were involved and the suspicion was some kind of turf war. He knew what this was. It was a warning.
Entering the emergency room, he heard the cries and screams. The news had let the entire world know where the victims were being taken. His sister and his woman had been in that very café.
He was pissed off that they hadn’t called him yet. He couldn’t see them.
“Claire! Rhianna!” He called out to them. He did this repeatedly even as a nurse asked him to step outside. One of his guards took the nurse aside and let her know there would be funding to the hospital if she allowed him to search for his loved ones.
He didn’t pause for a second at the mention of loved ones.
One of the curtains opened and there was his sister. He quickly went to her, pulling her in his arms. There were times he hated his sister because she was such a royal pain in the ass. He had the right to hate her and find her annoying, but he wouldn’t have anything happen to her. He loved her.
“We’re fine. We’re both fine,” Rhianna said.
“Me too.” Claire’s voice sounded so distant. She sat on the edge of the bed. Cuts marred her pretty face.
He moved Rhianna aside and cupped Claire’s face, tilting her back. She could have been shot or worse.
“She stepped in front of me,” Rhianna said. “Protected me. Bullets came all over the place and she put me first.”
Claire pulled out of his hold and turned to her friend. “I wanted to protect you. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
“You could have gotten killed,” Rhianna said. “Then who would I get to dress up like a doll?”
Claire laughed. “I’m fine.”
“Why are you both here if you’re fine?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” Rhianna said, speaking up first. “Claire made sure I was out of the way. Her body covered mine. The doctors just want to make sure she’s fine. She hit her head pretty hard on the ground and some of the glass, as you can see, cut her.”
“You could have been killed,” he said.
“But I wasn’t. I’m fine. I’m all fine.”
“Let me go and get a doctor.”
Rhianna left, closing the curtain behind her. He couldn’t resist, slamming his lips down on her, cupping the back of her neck and holding her in place as he ravished her mouth. “Don’t ever do anything so fucking stupid again,” he said.
“Saving your sister is stupid?”
He cradled her face and stroked her cheek. “You get the hell out of the way. I don’t care. You save yourself.”
She covered his hands with her own. “I’m fine.”
“Look at you. You’re cut and bleeding. You’re not fine.”
She blew out a breath. “Rhianna knows.”
“She knows what?”
“About us.”
“And?”
“And, right now, I can’t think. It was a bunch of bikers, Gabriel. I saw them. There had to be at least twenty of them. What do they have against a café? It was completely harmless. No one in there was going to hurt them.” She sniffled.
He pulled her into his arms and that was how Rhianna and the doctor found them.
“Right, Claire, you are free to leave.”
“Yay,” she said.
“You do need to remove more of the glass that’s in your hair, so please be careful with that. We would do this for you, but we’re short-staffed right now, and you’ve made a point that you want to leave. Are you the husband?”
“No.”
“Yes,” he said, speaking over Claire.
“She needs to be monitored. If she goes to sleep, she’ll need waking up every couple of hours. Rest, Claire. You’re a hero today.”
“Rhianna’s been telling everyone that I saved her,” Claire said. “I’m not a hero.” She released a yawn. “I’m so tired.”