Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
Liam
This was bound to happen. I heard people mentioning that police are outside the property, searching people’s cars.
Apparently, whenever someone pulls up, the police are stopping them.
The party drew too much attention by having hundreds of cars parked all over the place down the highway, and it might be time for me and Teddy to get out of here.
It still pisses me the fuck off that someone dosed him without his permission, but I’ve done an excellent job of not finding them and knocking their teeth into their fucking skull. Restraint. I’m doing it for T, I don’t want to ruin his mind with all that negativity.
The party has easily tripled since we arrived, so I’m surprised that people are still filtering in through the gate even though I can see the blue flashing lights from cop cars.
Why aren’t they rushing in here to shut the party down?
Maybe it’s just the cars blocking the highway that’s the issue, but honestly, good fucking luck with that.
These idiots crammed their cars in whatever small space they could find.
Yeah, I think we should go before things get even crazier than they are.
It won’t be long before the police work their way inside.
I turn around to head back and hear the beating of helicopters.
My eyes dart to the sky and sure enough there’s two helicopters flying above us with their spotlights scanning over the party.
Oh fuck. I take out my pack of cigarettes and throw the remnants of my blunt from earlier on the ground.
Even if a cop does stop me, they’ll have no real reason to detain me.
Everyone seems to freak out when they notice the helicopters.
People start running in all directions like ants.
I pick up the pace and trudge back up the driveway to get Teddy, but when I get there, I notice the patio’s empty.
What the fuck? I go over the caution tape and head toward the door leading into the mansion.
The bright lights in here burn my eyes, blinding me for a second.
I rub at them and look around. Then I hear it, yelling coming from my right.
My pulse ratchets up in my throat. Please, I just need to find Teddy and leave. Please let him be okay. I couldn’t have been gone for more than fifteen minutes. I don’t understand what could’ve happened in that short amount of time.
I follow the noise toward a set of closed French doors.
“Get on the ground!” someone yells, and their voice sounds muffled as if they’re wearing a mask.
Oh fuck. I hear the front door bust open and boots stomping on the marble floors.
I turn around and am met with at least five cops.
Can they even be in here right now? Do they have a warrant? None of that matters.
“I think my boyfriend’s in there, something’s going on,” I yell through panting breaths, and they rush past me kicking the doors straight in.
My mind is swimming and I wish I hadn’t drank at all.
Everything is confusing me far more than it should, and my reactions are slow and sluggish.
I didn’t realize how drunk I was until this very moment.
I turn around and follow behind the officers.
“Everybody, down on the ground now! Drop the gun! No one move!”
Gun? The word echoes in my head, ricocheting painfully.
I squeeze past an officer and my heart stops.
Teddy is standing with his palms up, utter confusion written all over his pale face, and about ten feet from him, a person in a black ski mask has a gun trained on him.
Mad is off to the side, eyes darting between them. Sweat pours from his agonized face.
“Leave him out of it,” Mad reasons. “He doesn’t have anything to do with this shit, just let him go. I don’t even know him.”
The masked person doesn’t have a chance to say anything because I rush forward.
I run for Teddy. I don’t even think about how smart or dumb that adrenaline-filled decision is.
As soon as my feet move, I hear it—shots go off and echo through the large room.
A whirlwind of chaos ensues as I land on top of Teddy, toppling us over.
Shouts and bangs turn into a loud ringing in my ears.
I look down into Teddy’s wide blue eyes, frozen with fear.
But then they move, cataloguing me, and I see where they stop. My shoulder.
He gasps and his face morphs in fear. A blood-curdling screams rips through him, piercing my ringing ears.
I look down and my breath dies in my throat.
Blood. My hand shoots reflexively to press against the wound to stop the bleeding, but it won’t stop.
I start hyperventilating. Strong hands grip my shoulders and move me around.
I start to struggle out of their grip, but Teddy’s voice stops me.
“S-shot. He’s shot. He’s b-bleeding,” he stammers, and that’s the last thing I hear before blackness creeps from the edges of my vision and plunges me in darkness.