Chapter 21 Shep
SHEP
THE SECOND THE shots rang through the air, I was moving.
And so was everyone else.
Screams rent the air as the realization of what was happening had everyone scrambling to escape, but I only had one thing in mind, and that was getting to Theo.
He’d been nearly off the red carpet, but not soon enough, and panic struck my heart as another shot rang out.
“Theo, get down,” I yelled as I ran toward him, only for him to turn around in the wrong goddamn direction, like he was seeking out the gunman. “Theo, no—”
I could hear the other Kings in my ear, shouting out orders, but I couldn’t focus on a word they said as yet more shots rang out.
As everyone around me ducked or ran in the opposite direction, I finally reached Theo, slamming into him hard and tackling him to the ground.
He grunted beneath me on impact, and I scrambled to make sure I covered every inch of his body with mine.
“Are you okay? You’re not hit?” My voice came out stronger than I felt with the fear dominating. I held him close, keeping his head tucked into my shoulder as I scanned the chaos of the red carpet to see where the fuck the gunman was.
“I-I think I’m good.”
Lachlan was yelling in the earpiece, and it took me a second to realize he had eyes on Ari. “Beneath the banner moving in on Shep. I can’t get a clear shot—”
“On it,” King growled, sounding like he was running hard.
“I’ve got Theo,” I said.
“Shep—” Theo shifted beneath me and I tightened my grip, not letting the fucker trying to get to him have even an inch of open space.
“Don’t move.”
“You’re an open fucking target,” Theo shouted. “Get somewhere safe.”
“You are safe. I’ve got you.” I lifted my head, searching in the direction of the banner where Ari was, and that was when I saw him.
His slicked-back black hair had come loose in the front, pieces falling over wild eyes that locked with mine.
It felt like everything turned to slow motion then as he lifted his arm, pointing the gun directly at me.
A slow, unhinged smile curled his mouth, and for the first time I could see the monster that had been lying in wait.
No more polished and put-together businessman, the tux he wore nothing more than a facade.
He walked toward me and I secured my hold on Theo. If I reached for my gun, I’d leave him exposed, and I wasn’t going to risk it. Ari would have to get his number two on the list, because he sure as fuck wasn’t getting number one.
I was going to die. Right here on a red carpet protecting the man I loved.
It was worth it.
“I’ve got the shot—” Lachlan shouted.
“Hold your fire,” King said, “I’ve got—”
Someone slammed into Ari out of nowhere, sending his gun flying out of his hands as the figure tackling him threw him to the ground.
All I saw was long, dark hair as the man straddled Ari, jerked him up by his shirt, and punched him so hard in the face that I could hear the cracking sound.
Holy shit. Alessio.
He reared his arm back, hitting Ari in the face again and again, blood spattering his fist and the front of Ari’s shirt.
Fuck, he was going to kill him, and that honor belonged to Theo, no one else.
“He’s down,” King said, both to us and to Alessio as he reached them and grabbed hold of Alessio’s arm to stop him. “Lachlan, are there others?”
“Negative. The only shots fired came from Ari, but I’ve got my guys searching the perimeter.”
I was so focused on the scene happening in front of me that I didn’t notice Benoit and Lucien looming, protectively blocking us as they searched the scene. Many of the attendees had scattered, some of them, along with press, hiding inside the venue.
“He’s secured,” King said, and I looked back to see Ari face down on the ground, his hands bound behind him with handcuffs. But there was no police in sight, at least not yet, though their sirens screamed through the night as they headed in our direction.
“Don’t kill him,” Theo grunted under my hold. “He’s mine.”
“Shit,” Lucien said, worry in his eyes as he looked down at us. “Is one of you hit?”
I lifted up off Theo, fear back at the thought that I hadn’t gotten to him in time. That he was too in shock to notice he’d been shot.
“Shep? Oh God. Are you bleeding?” Theo sat up, scrambling toward me as I rolled off him, a searing pain suddenly shooting through my arm.
He reached for me, blood smearing his fingers when he touched the arm of my jacket.
“Putain, get this off,” he shouted, his voice shaking a little as he pushed my jacket off my shoulders and carefully down my arms.
That was blood, all right. Soaking through the white sleeve of my right arm.
Theo tore open my cuff and lifted the sleeve up, but fuck, all that red stuff was starting to make me woozy. That wasn’t usually a problem for me, but then again, it’d never been my blood I’d had to deal with.
“Don’t look at it,” Theo said quietly when I listed to the side and caught myself. I closed my eyes, but when he cursed, they flew back open.
My forearm had a deep gash tearing down the side of it, and it hurt like a bitch, but there was no bullet lodged inside. I didn’t think. It was hard to tell, and I closed my eyes again as nausea threatened.
“You’re okay. It’s just a graze,” Theo murmured, and I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or himself as he took off his cummerbund and wrapped it around my arm. “Sorry.”
“What are you sorry f— Motherfucker,” I cursed as he tugged the ends of the silk material tightly together to stanch the blood flow.
“That. We need to stop the bleeding.”
I nodded, knowing he was right, but that didn’t stop the painful throb in my bicep.
This was the last thing I needed or wanted.
For the first time since Theo had been threatened, we had the fucker responsible under our control, and I’d be damned if I let a mere graze keep me from going a few rounds with him.
“Good, it’s stopped. Now let’s go. I want—”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Theo said as I tried to get to my feet, “except the hospital.”
I scanned the crowds of paparazzi and partygoers as they all huddled for cover, some of them crying, some of them shouting, while others were silent and wide-eyed. But me? I was none of those things. I was pissed. And there was no way I was going to the hospital.
“Fuck that.” I made a move to get to my feet again, but the burning pain that shot through my arm had me sucking in a gulp of air.
Jesus, that stings.
“Shep,” Theo said, reaching out to cradle my face, his eyes full of worry as he studied me. “You were just shot. I need you to get checked out.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a flesh wound.”
“That could be worse than we think.”
“It’s not—”
“You don’t know that,” Theo said, a little firmer this time. “What if there’s bullet fragments in there? What if you’re in shock? What if—”
“Theo…” I reached for him, my hand going to the back of his neck and pulling him in close enough that I could rest my forehead to his. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“But there’s so much blood.”
“It’s not the first time and won’t be the last,” I whispered, and when our eyes met, I saw the love swirling in his.
“You could’ve died.”
“But I didn’t.”
“But you could have.”
“Kind of like you in Wales and Brazil?”
“That was different. He was after me. That bullet was meant for me, not you.”
“And it didn’t get either of us. Not how he wanted.”
Theo shut his eyes, and I squeezed the back of his neck, trying to reassure him, but I knew firsthand that only time would do that. Time to see I wasn’t going to drop dead at his feet.
“Uh, guys?” Benoit’s voice filtered past the rapid beats of my heart. “I hate to break this up, but you might want to finish this elsewhere. People are starting to come back around.”
“Benoit’s right,” Lucien said, after a quick glance over his shoulder. “You should go now, and we’ll stay here and take care of this. I’m guessing you two have somewhere else you’d rather be?”
“Oui. I want to get Shep to—”
“Libertine,” I interrupted, stubborn as ever. “Where we all said we’d meet.”
Benoit held up his hands. “I’ll let you two hash that out.”
“There’s nothing to argue about,” I said, finally getting to my feet, and when Theo stood opposite me, I braced myself. The last thing I needed was to pass out or fall over in front of him. I’d never hear the end of it.
“My arm is fine. It’s nothing. Plus, I want a piece of this fucker who tried to kill you again. Don’t deny me.”
Theo’s jaw bunched as he gave me another quick once-over, then he finally relented. “Okay, but if I think for one second you need a hospital—”
“Then I’ll go.”
“All right, then, let’s get out of here. I have a few questions for this asshole myself.”