Seducing Texas (So not Prince Charming #2)(71)

From the corner of my eye, I see Tang run for the door. Cyn gets off another shot and hits him in the leg. He’s bleeding profusely and crawls toward the exit.

I gasp for air and can’t seem to take in a lungful. Aedan pulls me closer to him but doesn’t squeeze.

“I can’t breathe,” I choke out.

Cyn looks at me and then Shane. From her pained expression, she’s torn between the two of us. She checks the vest. “It didn’t go through. You’ll be okay.”

I touch my chest, and there’s no blood. I gesture for her to go to him. Shane staggers up from the bench, stumbling toward us.

Oh God, he’s badly hurt. He can barely walk, but he hurries toward Cyn.

As he jets behind a crate, he motions for her to get down. A volley of gunfire hurls over our heads. A bullet pierces through a crate next to my face, and I flinch.

“Move,” Shane says, pointing to the back and picking up my rifle.

Aedan picks me up and carries me out while Shane and Cyn back toward the window we came through. Their rifles point toward where the gunfire came from.

Shane doesn’t fire and indicates to Cyn not to either, probably to not give away our position. He’s barefoot and his big toes are smashed, and I almost cry out from the blood and bones poking through the ripped skin. The toenails are completely ripped off.

I think I’m going to be sick.

We crawl through the window, which is quite the feat for Shane. Cyn helps him, but he’s grimacing in pain.

“You sure as shit didn’t listen to me, princess,” he says, using his battered arms to push himself off the sill.

Cyn used to scowl at her nickname, but now she relishes in the warmth in which he says her pet name. “It’s a good thing. Now, we’ll die together.”

“No, we won’t,” he says.

Taking in staggered breaths while grunting, he crawls outside into the bright sunny day where anyone can see us.

Cyn scoots through the window last. She slings her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes. I’ll marry you.”

Shane grins and kisses her naughtily, his hand groping her butt and pushing her into his groin. All the while, he grits his teeth in pain. “We’ll discuss this later, princess—in private.”

She gives him a half-hearted grin, tears forming at the edge of her eyes. “Oh Shane, how are we going to get out of this?”

“We will,” he says. “There aren’t many of them here yet, but more may come. Wong is waiting on a heroin shipment. It should be at the docks anytime now.”

My chest hurts, and I can’t really draw in a full breath. “Doesn’t that mean more drug traffickers will show up?” We’re not out of the woods yet.

Aedan lets me stand. My chest feels like a baseball smacked me right in the center. We reach the bins close to the docks where we left Fay and Tanner.

“Where are Fay and Tanner?” I ask, looking around.

Shane holds me back behind him. “Where were they?”

“Here,” I half sob.

Cyn raises her rifle and points ahead of us. Shane stalks slowly in front of her, his rifle raised and his body erect despite the injuries.

The gunfire hasn’t stopped, and I don’t know where it’s coming from. Who are they shooting at? Are Fay and Tanner in a gun battle? I don’t want her to die.

As we creep up to the next storage bin, Shane tells us to halt with a signal of his hand. When I peek around the corner of the bin, my stomach climbs into my throat, burning it raw.

Tanner lies in a puddle of blood, and Fay is slumped over in her captor’s arms. The Asian man has a gun pointed at her head, and I feel sick. No. Using the back of my arm, I wipe the flood of tears flowing down my cheeks.

“Wong, let her go,” Shane orders in that deep growl of his. The rifle is pointed at Wong’s head.

“You need to walk away,” Wong says, visibly shaking. “I will take her with me, and you will give me my money.”

Blood drips from Fay’s head, and I want to go to her, but Shane holds us back. From the way she’s leaning over his arm, I can’t tell if she’s dead or alive.





Chapter Cyn


I stand there frozen while Wong holds my sister. If he leaves with her, she’ll end up dead like Lindsey. I couldn’t stand that, even if we don’t stand a chance given all the gunfire. It’s coming from the docks, and I haven’t had the chance to see what the hell is going on. The explosions and rapid report of automatic weapons storm in my ears. It sounds like a war.

Tanner hasn’t once stirred, and we need to get to him. Don’t let him be dead. It’ll crush Fay. He seems like a good guy, and she deserves him, like I deserve my not so Prince Charming.

I lift my rifle and take careful aim. Shane hasn’t moved from his position where he has Wong in his crosshairs. Like his brother Red, he’s an excellent marksman.

Fay’s eyes flutter open. When her gaze lands on Tanner, she screams and struggles against Wong’s hold. She needs to hold still. This * is not going to take my sister.

I don’t threaten or even speak. Holding my breath and waiting for her to relax, I shoot, my bullet finding its target and drilling a hole through his head.

Fay screams even louder and scowls at me. That was a clean shot.

“Great shot, princess,” Shane says. I can hear the smile and pride in his voice.