AGONY TWISTED THROUGH me. My abdomen screamed with an insurmountable pain I had never felt before. But Zillah was safe. She was safe. That was all I cared about. She was screaming but safe. At least I knew she was still alive.
I couldn’t say that for the rest of us, though. I tried pushing myself up off the ground but couldn’t move. Fuck me. The searing pain was white hot. I had been punched before. Stabbed. Shot. But nothing compared to this. This was more. It was darker. It was deeper. My vision faded in and out. Shit. Was I dying? I couldn’t be. I needed to survive. For Zillah. If her father had a hand in this, I needed to survive to keep her as far away as possible from that bastard.
“Zillah,” I croaked which turned into a fit of coughs. Something metallic coated my tongue. Fuck me.
“Shit.” Greyson’s face came into view. He had a scratch on his cheek and some dirt on the other, but he was breathing. Thank fuck he was breathing. “You’ve been shot. Twice from what I can see. But it looks clean.”
“It hurts like a bitch.” I groaned, trying to sit up.
“Don’t move.” He applied pressure on the left side of my stomach. “Where’s Zillah?”
“Behind the bar.” I realized then that she was no longer screaming. “Shit. I need to go to her.” I tried moving but Greyson held me down.
“I’ll go to her.”
“Please, Greyson.” I rose to one elbow, pushing myself back until I hit the wall.
The gunshots had stopped but it didn’t mean that it was finished. It was just done for now. The aftermath of the attack was far worse.
“Tray.” A cough sounded, followed by a wheezing.
I turned, finding Butcher crawling toward me. My stomach sunk. “Butcher.” I rushed to his side as best I could, grimacing through my own pain.
He pushed himself to a sitting position and leaned against the wall.
I sat beside him, pressing my hand against a gaping wound in his side. “What the fuck kind of gun did they use?”
“A shotgun,” Butcher wheezed.
“Did you see who?” I pushed my hand firmer against his side.
He winced. “Mayhem.”
Fuck. My head whipped around. “Greyson.”
“She’s fine.” He pulled Zillah to her feet.
Her wide eyes met mine. “I’m fine,” she repeated.
“Stay there, Beauty,” I told her.
“You’ve been shot.” She rushed to me before Greyson could grab her.
“No. Zillah, you need to stay over there.”
“Like hell I do.” She pulled off her sweater and pressed it to my side. “You need the hospital. You both do.” She looked around us. “Where’s Catch? Where’s your wife?” She asked Greyson.
“Eve’s fine.” Catch came running toward us. “Her, Jaron, and Cyrus are in your room. Psycho and Sunny are standing watch.”
“Fuck me.” I had never been happier to see Catch than I was at that moment. “You’re fine. You’re alive.”
“You`ve been hit.” He dropped to his knees in front of us. “Both of you have.”
“You need the hospital,” Zillah repeatedly gently.
“I know.” I met Greyson’s gaze.
He nodded once. “Zillah, I need you to come with me.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “No. I need to stay with you.” She grabbed my hands. “Please.”
I swallowed hard. “I need you to stay with Eve and the kids. You’ll be safer there. If your …” I coughed. “If your father did this shit. I don’t want you near any part of it.”
She chewed her bottom lip. “But …”
Greyson grabbed her under her arms and lifted her to her feet. She screamed, struggling against him but he was much larger, and lifted her like she weighed nothing.
She would be pissed at me. She probably would be for a long while, but I would rather that than for her to watch us kill her dad. Brother. And anyone else who got in our way. As much as I didn’t like it, they were her family. She grew up with them, but she also didn’t know any better.
“Guys.” Butcher coughed. “We need—I need you to find my son. Find Sammy. Please. For Trixie. For me.”
My head whipped around. “You’re not going anywhere, brother.” I grabbed his hand.
“I—” He coughed again, blood splattering his lips. “Yeah, I am.”
“No. You’re not. You’re strong. You got this. We got this. We’ll get you to a hospital.” I squeezed his hand. “Don’t you dare fucking give up on us. On your boys.”
Butcher cupped the wound in his side. “Kill them. Kill all of them and find my son.”
“Butch.” Greyson knelt beside him. “You …” His voice cracked. “You can’t leave us.”
“Well it looks like those bastards had other ideas for us.” Butcher cupped Greyson’s face. “You keep doing what you’re doing. Make Hell’s Harlem a better name for itself. Make Demitry proud.”
“Fuck me.” Grey’s eyes shone. “I can’t do this shit without you.”
“Trixie needs me.” Butcher’s eyes fluttered closed.
“No,” I yelled, grabbing onto his jacket and shook him.
His eyes popped open. They were glassy, his skin ashen.
“We need you. All of us need you. We need to find your boy. We need you with us. You need to move on. You … You …” Fuck me, I was rambling.
“Tray.” Catch cupped my shoulder.
“No.” I shoved him off.
“I love you guys,” Butcher whispered. “Take care of my boys.”
“We will.” My throat tightened. “Fuck, of course we will.”
“Trixie,” Butcher croaked, his eyes closing.
“Butcher.” I slapped his face. “Wake up. Wake the fuck up.”
Greyson pressed two fingers to his throat. “Shit, brother.”
“No.” I met Grey’s wide-eyed stare. “Don’t say it.”
Greyson swallowed noisily and then again. “He’s dead.”
(Zillah)
“You’re making me nervous. You’re making all of us nervous.”
I ignored Eve and continued pacing back and forth. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Besides the house getting shot at, there was something more. Something else. Something darker. Something more depraved and vile.
“I can’t stay in here.” I tried the door knob again, but it wouldn’t budge. “Eve, please. He’s your husband. Tell him I need out of here.”
Eve shook her head, holding her son against her. “I can’t do that.”
Cyrus only sat beside her. Silent and still. His eyes wide and unsure. I wondered if he knew that his twin was missing. Or that his father had been shot.
“Please, Eve. I need out. I can’t—” The door suddenly opened, revealing a disheveled Greyson. Blood was spattered on his white t-shirt. His eyes were dark and red rimmed. “Oh, God.” I clapped a hand to my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Eve rushed to her husband’s side. “Tell me.”
He cupped her cheek. Coming further into the room, he walked to his dresser and pulled off his shirt. Grabbing a new one from one of the drawers, he slipped it over his head.
“Greyson.” Eve took the shirt from him and put it in the hamper. “Talk to us.”
He took Jaron from her arms. Holding him tight, he hugged his son against him.
“Greyson,” Eve whispered. “Tell me please.”
“Butcher,” Greyson croaked, shaking his head.
“Oh, no.” Tears ran down Eve’s cheeks.
“What happened to my dad?” Cyrus yelled, jumping from the couch.
“Shit.” Greyson handed Eve back their son, closed the distance between him and the boy, and pulled him into an embrace.
“Uncle Greyson.” Cyrus struggled in his arms. “Tell me. Where’s my dad? Where’s my brother?”
Greyson mumbled something to him.
Cyrus wailed, falling against him.
My knees gave out from beneath me. I landed on the floor, wrapping my arms around my middle. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t …” Sobs wracked through me that this family had lost another one of its members.
“No.” Greyson crouched in front of me. “It’s not your fault, Zillah. I’m sorry I said that before. But it’s not. These bastards had a hit already out on our house. It’s how they work.”
I met Greyson’s sad gaze then. “But it’s my family.”
“I know.” His jaw ticked. “You need to make a decision.”
I nodded. I had a feeling all along that I would have to choose.
It would either be between my dad or Tray. Two men I loved. One treated me like I was his world while the other treated me like a little girl but loved me just the same. But he was my dad. Nero Wolf was my father. Shadow. A lethal bastard who clearly had every intention of blowing up the place, even after finding out I was there.
I rose to my feet and left the bedroom.
“Zillah?” Eve called after me. “Where are you going?”
I didn’t answer her. I knew the decision I had to make and, either way, I would lose someone I loved.