Ruined (Barnes Brothers #4)(5)

Smith had pulled away—laughing. People who had been standing around just staring reported that they heard him laughing. Then he pulled out a gun.

Sebastien, still bleeding, had ripped the knife from his side and rushed him.

When it was over, mere seconds—somebody had timed it at seventy seconds—Hanson Smith and Monica Dupré were both dead. Sebastien had collapsed next to his former girlfriend, his hand on her cheek.

“Marin?”

She looked up as Denise and Ron Barnes appeared in the doorway.

“Oh, thank God,” she whispered, rushing for them.

In a moment, she was enfolded in an embrace more familiar than that of her own parents.

***

Hours ticked by.

Another bag of blood drained into him. She’d donated earlier, although the staff had told her that they wouldn’t have hers tested in time to use for him. There were always shortages, though. She’d gone through with it for one reason: Sebastien was alive because somebody else had donated blood. She could do the same thing.

She was still queasy about it. Marin hated needles.

Hated them with a passion. She had a horrible phobia, but because others had done it for him, she’d gone through it. Now she stared at him instead of watching as some stranger’s blood was slowly fed into his veins.

She couldn’t stand the sight of blood, either.

She’d slowly managed to conquer her problem with the stage blood used in some of the movies she’d starred in, but real blood? That was a different story.

“He’ll be okay,” Denise said quietly.

“Of course he will,” Marin said, her voice wobbling.

“He will.” The words were firm as Denise looked at him, her blue-green eyes solemn. “I know my boy. He’s too stubborn to go down like this, because some jealous son of a bitch came at him like that on the street. He’s not going to die.”

“Mom?”

Marin all but leaped from her seat at the sound of that voice. “Zach.”

She would have rushed for him, but he was already on his knees in front of his mother, so she went to Abby instead.

“Thanks for being here with him,” Abby whispered, her voice thick and choked. “We got here as quick as we could.”

“Of course I’m here. He’s . . .” Marin hesitated.

“He’s family,” Abby finished as she drew back.

“Yeah.” She smiled. The smile was exactly as it needed to be and her tone was perfect.

But it was a lie.

She didn’t think family when it came to Sebastien, and she hadn’t for a long time. She thought family when it came to Zach and Abby and Zane and the twins and their parents. But Sebastien?

No.

“Have they given you any grief about being here with him?” Abby asked.

Marin rolled her eyes. “No.” Lifting one shoulder in a shrug, she said, “The current rumor is that we’re getting married once we wrap up production . . .”

Her voice broke, and she clapped a hand over her mouth as the enormity of the night’s events hit her. “Oh . . . Oh, f*ck . . .”

Her knees buckled and if Zach hadn’t moved to her side at that exact moment, she would have hit the ground.

A storm of emotion broke over her and she started to cry.

***

The low, monotonous beeping was annoying the f*ck out of him.

It was almost as bad as the pain jabbing into his side.

It was even worse than whatever the hell that weird smell was.

It was almost like a . . .

His eyes flew open.

Brilliant white met him and he squinted.

“Hey, sunshine. Welcome back.”

The sound of his eldest brother’s voice had him groaning. Bright lights, Zane, headache. Had he gotten drunk? Was he hungover?

“Honey?”

“Mom?” he said. Or tried. His throat was so dry, he didn’t get a thing out. Clearing his throat, he tried again, but the pathetic whisper was so soft, he barely heard it.

“Yes, honey. I’m here.” A hand slid into his. “We’re all here.”

“Who’s we?” he said. “Where’s here?”

He tried to look around and realized he could see only with his right eye. Something covered the entire left side of his face. “What the . . .” he reached up, the movement uncoordinated and stiff. He’d barely touched the covering when Zane caught his hand. “Hold up, kid, okay? You gotta leave the bandage alone.”

Sebastien stilled. “Bandage?”

Zane’s face went taut.

Fear fluttered inside him. He looked around, understanding dawning. He was in the hospital.

“What’s going on?” he asked, forced to crane his head awkwardly so he could see everybody in the room. All of his brothers, his sister-in-law, Abby, along with Zane’s girlfriend, Keelie, and the woman Trey was dating, Ressa. He didn’t see his nephew, Clayton, or Neeci, Ressa’s niece and ward.

Instinctively, he looked away from Marin. Since she seemed to be doing the same, he didn’t see the problem there.

Nobody answered.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, his voice rising.

“Baby, it’s going to be okay,” his mother said gently.

He slammed his fist down. She stilled.