Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
NOAH
Plaster falls to the ground as a bullet lodges into the wall beside my head when I reach for the door handle, ready to rush in and see what the fuck they set on fire in my warehouse.
There's a loud crash as glass windows break, swift pops of bullets following.
When a second bullet nearly clips me in the head, I dive for the nearest cover I can find.
The stack of crates isn't much, but it's enough to guard me from the next round of bullets that come flying my way.
"Fucking hell." I peek around the crates, firing off a couple of shots at one of the men when the shooting stops.
It's too quiet. I don't trust it.
The smoke grows thicker and darker, pouring out of the broken window now. Flames emit an orange glow from inside the building, people pouring out the door.
When my men aren't met with gunshots, they look around.
And then the wall of bullets comes.
Men drop to the ground, their blood pooling around their bodies.
Some of them don't die with the first shot, but when the second wall of bullets comes, they're dead.
My stomach turns and clenches tight.
I'm not looking forward to the moment when I have to speak with their families. I'll have to do everything I can to have their funerals covered, their widows and children set up with funds to last them for the rest of their lives.
That's a problem for later, though. Right now, I have to get into the building before all the ammunition inside is gone.
I whip out from behind the crates, grabbing the handle and yanking open the door, the metal uncomfortably warm against my hand. It's painful, but I don't think it's going to do worse than a minor burn.
Thankfully, the fire is at the other end of the warehouse.
I rush to the office, heading straight for the main control for the sprinkler system.
When the system was installed, we put manual controls around the building, no sensors.
One of the men should've pulled one of the alarms before now. Why they didn't is beyond me.
It's something that'll have to be addressed with the survivors.
Why the fuck they're letting my merchandise burn, I don't know, but if I had to guess, this is the kind of stunt that has Lynde written all over it. Those bastards likely flipped the men who worked here and used them against me.
I let out a deep breath and lean against the wall, more gunshots cracking outside. "For fuck's sake!"
This isn't the way I wanted my day to go.
I was supposed to be at home, figuring out where the hell I was going to take things with Summer. I was trying to figure out if the things she wants align with what I want.
I need to get back to her and talk about this, talk about the future as if it's actually a possibility instead of a pipe dream.
And then I have to figure out some fucking way to keep her safe while giving her the freedom she craves...which I don't think is possible, but for her sake, I'm going to pretend to try.
Or maybe I could actually try to let go of a little bit of the control, but after this long, I don't know if I'm going to be able to.
Killing Robert has to become a priority, but I still haven't figured out how deep this shit runs. I have no clue who's tied to him and who still remains loyal to me.
Hector's already taken care of a couple of people, but even he is having a hard time finding out who is messing with me.
I don't know how any of this is going to work, and now another warehouse is on fire.
"Fuck this fucking day." I punch the wall hard, my fist going through the drywall. I shake my hand out, a dull ache in my knuckles.
"That's one way to put it," a voice says behind me.
I turn, only to find a gun leveled at my head and Aiden looking at me on the other side of the barrel.
The corner of his mouth twitches, but there's a hard look in his eyes. One that tells me he's not about to give me any grace again.
I should've seen this coming.
Hell, I did see this coming when Hector said there was a problem at the warehouse; I just didn't account for Aiden being here. I thought he would have gone to the house to get Summer.
Fuck. She's still in the car.
Robert surges through the door, his gun high, his finger wrapping around the trigger and pulling it.
The shot goes wide, seeming like it was more aimed at me than Aiden, but it doesn't matter.
Aiden's distracted long enough for me to dive out of the way and head through the side door, out into the rest of the warehouse.
Shots crack outside, one fired after another, increasing until they all blend together.
I'm hoping Summer has the sense to drive away, but I know her. She's not going to do it. Hell, I doubt she's even going to stay in the car despite me telling her to.
Which is why I need to get to her before Robert does.
I race for the door, sticking to hiding behind pallets of melting coke bricks and crates of bullets. Most of my inventory is about to be ruined thanks to those fuckers.
I'm done playing nice. I've been holding back since I've had Summer, but this shit has to come to an end. I can't keep putting up with it. Tolerating it for her sake isn't worth the millions of dollars I'm losing.
Summer is going to have to decide which side of this she's on.
And I doubt I'm going to like that decision.
Even my own family turns against me when the time comes for them to go off and find something they think is better. What the hell reason do I have to think she's going to choose me?
I don't know, but I have to get to her before they do. I need to get to her.
Right now, the warehouse can burn down for all I care. The cops could come, and I could spend the rest of my life in prison.
It'd all be worth it to know she's safe.
A bullet clips my arm as I push through the door outside, rounding the corner of the warehouse. I hiss at the pain, but it's easy to push it aside for now. I have to get out of here and get back to her first. I need to make sure she's going to be okay.
Except, before I can make sure she's safe, Aiden appears behind me, shots firing my way, one grazing my calf.
"For fuck's sake!" I keep running, though it hurts a lot more now.
I dart down the pier, hoping to lead him far enough away that I can loop behind some of the crates stacked along it and double back.
Aiden keeps coming after me, but fog is rolling in, and it's making it harder to see. It's working in my favor, so at least I might not fucking die today.
With a quick glance over my shoulder, I can see Aiden is starting to get lost, his gun not quite lowering, but he's not firing either. It's got to be the small wins that count today.
And fog keeping him blind to where I am is a small win.
Sooner or later, he's going to hunt me down. I don't have to worry about the cops getting here first. Aiden will put a bullet in my head, and then he'll drag Summer back to the life she hates.
My hand tightens around my gun, and for a moment, I entertain the thought of killing him right here and now.
I could end it.
Summer would never forgive me, though. Even if she's willing to overlook everything else I've done, there'd be no way for us to move past it.
Still, as I raise my gun, I have him in my sights. It'd be easy.
The fog gets thicker, ship horns sounding, some of the light fading from the sky as dark gray clouds pass in front of the sun.
I lose sight of Aiden, and when I find him again, I don't have a good shot. Not one that's going to look like a stray bullet clipped him.
Fuck. Fuck this. Summer. Get to Summer.
I wait until Aiden passes by the row of crates I'm hiding behind before sprinting back to the warehouse. As I creep around the side, dodging the dead bodies and the blood staining the ground, all I can do is hope that Robert hasn't gotten to her yet.
And that she hasn't fucked us all over and gotten out of the car.
To my surprise, Summer is still in the car, but that might have to do with the men I recognize surrounding it. They have to be working for Robert since nobody loyal to me would be surrounding her. The orders went around weeks ago to leave her alone and stay far away from her.
I take aim, firing off a shot at the man closest to her.
It sinks into his shoulder, and he whips around while the others run for cover.
Several of the men still aim at her, bullets pinging off the windshield.
Aiden appears beside me, pressing his gun to the side of my head. "This is done. Now."
"Fuck off." I whip my own gun at him, catching him in the side of the face and sending his head rocking back.
He straightens, stumbling a step as more people press in around us. "What the fuck."
"Men have Summer surrounded, so if you'd like your sister to live through this shit, you're either going to leave me alone or watch my fucking back because I can't trust my own people."
Aiden glances around me at the car, the color draining from his skin before he glances to the men behind him. "Anyone currently aiming a gun at Summer is to be killed. Got it?"
The men nod and take off, all of them disappearing into the fray.
Aiden turns his attention to me. "What's the plan?"
"You going to shoot me in the back?" I don't wait for an answer, already creeping forward, heading for the car and trying to use the cover the fog is providing to help me. It's a little thinner here than it was on the pier, but it's enough to make everything a little hazy.
Trusting that Aiden isn't going to put a bullet in my back is a lot, but Summer is more important. My heart pounds with every step I take forward, my grip on my gun tight.
Summer shifts in the car, a gun in her hands. She sits tall, watching another bullet ping off the windshield.
Thank fuck I sprang for the bulletproof glass.
I run toward her as the men start surrounding the car again.
One body after another falls to the ground. Blood stains the ground, Aiden's men pressing in from all directions, Robert's men surging out of other warehouses and cars, still coming at Summer.
Like fuck he's going to take her.
I aim at one man, the bullet sinking into the back of his head. As he goes to the ground, I take aim at another.
The body falls.
Summer turns and looks at me through the window, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping open. She shakes her head, pointing at something behind me.
I don't care. I keep running for her.
She scrambles to open the car door, throwing it as wide as she can.
As I get in, a hand clamps on my shoulder, hauling me back and tossing me to the ground. The pain from the bullet wounds, combined with the pain from my head cracking against the ground, has my head spinning, stars dancing across my vision.
"Noah!" Summer screams.
The stars are still dancing across my vision, and when I prop myself up to look at her, there are three different Summers swaying in front of me.
Robert appears in front of me, gun aimed at my head. "You should probably say goodbye. You're not going to survive."
I look to Summer, hoping she's going to run. I want her to scream and run, to find her brother and get somewhere I know she's going to be safe.
She doesn't do any of that.
Please go. You can't watch me die. I can't bear the thought of you watching me die.