BANGS ECHOED OFF the walls, almost deafening me as a gun went off near me. I crouched down quickly, ducking behind the workbench unsure what to do. I watched with wide eyes as the people from Lazlo’s organization instigated a full-on firefight with the police.

“Fuck!” I hissed. I guess I’d never get a happy ending.

Everyone was shouting, gunshots were blasting, people were scuffling and fighting around me. I could barely move.

Brett ran past and took cover behind a huge metal tool cabinet. He had his gun drawn as he looked around the corner of the cabinet, sending off a couple of shots in the direction of the police.

I knew I was supposed to help, and usually if there was trouble I would be there instantly, not hesitating to get involved. This was different, though; those weren’t thugs or bad people who I could beat the crap out of, those were cops. There was no way I was drawing my gun and firing on innocent police officers. I was a booster who did a few bad things, but shooting a gun at someone? Not a chance of that happening.

My wild eyes flicked over to the right. Shaun was crouched a little way away, hiding behind a smaller desk that he’d flipped onto its side. He looked terrified. He had his gun drawn too, but he wasn’t firing; his hands were shaking as he looked over and caught my gaze. He nodded at his gun, but I quickly shook my head, telling him not to get involved. The Lazlos had started this; there was no way they were going to win even with our help. The police were wearing body armor; their trained eyes were making short work of the people who were fighting against them. The Lazlos were dropping like flies. I could already see Damien down on the floor; blood seeping from a wound in his neck. Dominic was kneeling over him, his face contorted in rage and grief. He let out a gut-wrenching primal scream and fired randomly at anyone who moved.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion; the shots were so loud that each one made me flinch as I stayed behind the desk. I debated making a run for it. There was a door off to the side. While everyone was distracted I could dash for the door and try to get the hell out of here, but I knew there was probably no chance of me making it; a bullet would get me as soon as I moved away from the desk.

Suddenly Dominic jerked, his hand flailing as he fell backward awkwardly. I gulped and watched as blood slowly trickled out of a hole on the side of his head. The smells of blood and urine filled the air as he lost control of his bodily functions. I gagged, pressing my hand over my mouth. Things were calming down now; the shots were only coming from one place.

Brett.

A couple more shots sounded, but then everything went quiet, so quiet that if it weren’t for the shrill ringing that sounded from my eardrums, I would have thought I’d gone deaf. I breathed a sigh of relief that he’d conceded. Hopefully his lawyer would fix this somehow; I had no idea how, but hopefully he could make some sort of deal. I kept that in mind as I heard the sound of shuffling feet behind me.

“Show me your hands!” a voice demanded. Gulping, I instantly put my hands up, making sure they were visible over the top of the desk so that the cops could see that I wasn’t a threat. Shaun did the same thing, sliding his gun out across the floor to show that he was unarmed. From the corner of my eye, I saw a couple of other people put their hands up, too—three more from Brett’s team, and one I recognized as one of Dominic’s goons.

“Keep them where I can see them. If you move even an inch I won’t hesitate to shoot!” the cop growled.

I closed my eyes, hating this whole situation. I was in so much trouble; there was no way out of this at all. My mind flicked to Ellie as disappointment washed over me because everything we’d planned would be ruined. There was not a chance we were getting to go away tomorrow now. I’d ruined everything.

A guy in full uniform stepped tentatively around the corner, his gun pointed at me. “On your stomach! Put your hands on the back of your head,” he ordered as I saw someone advance toward Shaun, instructing the same thing.

I nodded quickly, lowering myself down onto the dusty floor, my hands linking together on the back of my head. A weight suddenly pressed between my shoulder blades. I winced, groaning as the guy kneeled on my back, almost crushing my ribs. The gun was pulled from the back of my jeans as I struggled to breathe. “Do you have any other weapons?”

I tried to shake my head, but it was impossible where I was pinned to the floor. “No,” I croaked.

Something snapped around my right wrist, and the click of the handcuffs made my heart hurt. I closed my eyes and silently cursed everything and everyone. When my hands were pulled behind my back, my other hand was cuffed too, and I was hoisted to my feet.

As the guy patted down my body, checking for weapons, I looked in Brett’s direction, watching as a cop went over there. I saw him crouch down, I assumed to put the cuffs on Brett, but a few seconds later the cop stood back up and stepped out from behind the cabinet alone.

I frowned, confused until he shook his head. “This one’s dead.”

“What? No!” I cried, shocked. I immediately thrashed, catching the cop by surprise, causing his grip to loosen. I threw off his hold and my feet moved of their own accord, running six or so steps forward so I could see for myself if the guy I’d always had a fatherly respect for was dead.

As I took the last step, I saw it was the truth. He lay facedown, a pool of blood seeping out under him; his eyes, which were so familiar to me, were wide and vacant. Grief washed over me. My mouth dropped open in shock as a strangled gargle sounded in the back of my throat. Dead? Brett was dead? It hit me harder than I ever would have thought it would. My chest tightened and my hands clenched into fists as I stared at him in disbelief.

I barely had time to react before three guys crashed into me from behind, slamming me into the wall harshly. Air rushed out of my lungs quickly as they pinned me there heavily, securing me. A gun pressed into the back of my neck with bruising force as I felt the last of my hope run out of my system. I closed my eyes as one of them gave me the little speech about my rights. I’d heard it all before.