Bill’s eyes widen, and he slams his back against the wall. “What? No.” He throws his hands in the air. “Why didn’t they shoot me?”
I reach for his hands, and he lowers them into his lap. They’re trembling, and I put a hand on his forearm for a second, silencing him with the shake of my head. We don’t have time for him to grieve just yet. She needs us to be strong.
“Bill, listen to me. I need you to carry my stuff and cover me.”
“Okay.”
“Grace, I’m going to have to pick you up.”
She nods.
“Wait, let me take her,” Bill says, touching my arm.
“No. I’m carrying her.” I pick her up, my right arm under her legs and my left arm cradling her back. She rests her head against my chest. Somehow, I get my legs moving and turn down the hall. My eyes fix on the doorway I need to reach. I pick up my pace and call out his name in a desperate tone.
“Cole!”
His footsteps echo behind me, and Zeus pants beside me before I have to say it again. My arms burn with her weight. Her head bobs against my chest.
“Grace, stay awake,” I say. She moans in response.
Cole’s breath catches when he sees me.
“Shit,” he says. “How bad?”
My eyes meet his briefly, and that’s all it takes. He closes his eyes, because he knows. I don’t need to say it out loud. He curses and then prays under his breath before saying, “How can I help?”
“Open … the door,” I say breathlessly. I hook a right, and Sutton’s office looms in front of me. I step over the carnage of the hallway and stop at the door, panting and sweating.
Grace is slipping away even as I hold her.
Cole bangs on the door, pushing it open. At first, we don’t see anyone. But then I hear the rummaging of papers and boxes and know they must be in the closet.
“Bruno?” I ask in a shaky voice.
“Over here,” Bruno says. He’s in the closet, out of our view.
Cole stops me for a second. He leans over and kisses Grace on the forehead. “Love you, girl.”
“Love you,” Grace says back.
Roméo leans out, and his face turns white. He drops the papers in his hands, but he doesn’t move an inch.
My arms go weak. I start losing my grip, and Cole takes her from me, carrying her in to Bruno who’s rounding the corner of the closet into the main office. I lean against the doorframe to keep from falling. Bruno looks up and sees her. His eyes go wide as his mouth falls open.
The world freezes.
“Grace!” He darts to her, takes her from Cole, and collapses to the ground, holding her like a little child. And she looks like one, curled in his arms. Her skin’s developed a greenish undertone to its rich ebony, and her eyes flick open when she hears his voice. He pulls her shirt over and sees where she was shot. With a groan, he rocks back and forth as he shivers. He doesn’t even care that blood’s pouring over his arms and chest. “You’re going to be okay,” he says.
“Honey—”
“Stop. You’re not gonna die.”
“I’m so sorry,” Grace says. Her voice comes out in a whisper, and I have to strain to hear what she says.
“Cole, go find help!” Bruno says. Cole stands there and puts his hands on his head. “Now!” Bruno demands. Cole gives Bruno a slight head shake, his jaw twitching and his eyes glazed over.
“There isn’t anyone,” I say through my ugly cry, stuck in the doorway, unable to move.
“I’m begging you.”
“Bruno, please … ” I say. “She needs you right now.”
Bruno shakes his head, clenches his jaw, and looks down at Grace.
Bill wraps his arms around me and guides me into the room. Then he turns around with his gun pointed toward the hallway in case guards decide to come. Even as he keeps watch, tears leak down his face. His gun shakes in his hands.
Cole meets me and pulls me into him. I sob tears and snot all over his shirt. He holds me up as all my strength leaves me. I turn my head to the side to watch Bruno and Grace’s last minutes together.
“Grace, don’t leave me.” Bruno’s voice cracks. “Not now, not like this.”
Grace coughs for a few seconds before gaining enough oxygen to speak. “Bruno, there’s something … ”
My stomach clenches. Cole’s labored breathing makes his chest shake. I brace myself for the words that are about to tear Bruno’s world apart.
Grace lifts her hand and rests it on Bruno’s cheek. She strokes it with her thumb, and she blinks fast, her breathing increasing as the seconds speed by.
“I didn’t tell you,” she whispers. “Because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Bruno scrunches his forehead. “Tell me what?”
Grace sobs, and tears spill over her face. “We’re having a son.”
A gasp.
Then stunned silence.