Men and women shoved him hard, and he was gritting his teeth as he tried to protect his woman. He saw Riley coming out of the main changing areas with his parents behind him. Everything seemed to slow down as the noise dimmed. Jacob watched a man approach the main changing area, going into his jacket. Even from the short distance, he saw the rage. The gun was drawn, aimed, and before Riley could do anything, the man shot three times. Jacob let go of Lou as everyone started to scream running for the exits. He grabbed his gun, aimed, and fired. The man got hit and went down. His brothers and the Moores were the only people within the basement as most were clamoring to get out of the exits.
“No, no, no, no, no,” Lou said, rushing toward Riley.
Jacob kept his gun trained on the man on the floor, bleeding out, and Abel took over.
Blood pooled on Riley’s shirt, and Lou pressed down on each patch of blood. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
“You hold in there, Riley. Don’t leave me okay?”
“That’s … going … to … be … diffi … difficult.”
“Call an ambulance,” Lou said, not taking her eyes off her brother. Jacob was already dialing.
He gave them the location, not caring if this would put the Moores in a difficult position.
“Who is he?” Lou asked, pointing at the man on the floor.
“He lost a fight,” her mother said.
“What? He lost a fight? What happened to security?” Jacob asked. “Tonight, there was overcrowding in this fucking place. What happened to the security keeping an eye on people who enter?”
One promise was all Loud had asked, and right now, he’d broken that damn promise.
“It was fucking greed,” Lou said. “Wasn’t it? You just couldn’t handle turning money away.”
“Lou…” Riley said, coughing.
He was getting paler, and the blood beneath him was pooling out. Jacob stared into his eyes, and knew there was no way he was going to be able to save him.
“Take … care … of … her.”
“Riley, shut up. Don’t say things like that,” Lou said.
“Listen … to him … Lou. Don’t … be a … bitch.”
“Stop it, Riley. Please stop.”
“It’s his … time … to take … care of you.” Riley did his best to smile. “Love you.” He stroked her cheek, and Jacob saw the brotherly affection there. A second later, his hand fell. He took a breath, and all was silent.
“Riley? No, no, no, Riley.”
The doors opened, and Jacob grabbed Lou, pulling her off the body and holding her.
Riley was dead, and he wasn’t coming back.
****
Later that night, Lou sat in the waiting area at the hospital with her knees drawn up against her body. She was tired, but she felt nothing. Part of her was empty inside, and when she stared down at her hands, she saw his blood, her twin’s. Abel and Gideon were watching her, and Jacob was taking care of everything. She felt nothing other than relief that she still had him. He was the only rock in her life, the man she loved.
But Riley was dead.
Dead.
Her throat was thick, and she rested her head against her knee.
“Oh, honey,” Charlotte said, coming to kneel in front of her.
She couldn’t even bring a smile.
“Hello.”
“Has she seen a doctor?” Charlotte asked.
Abel shook his head. “There’s no need for her to. This is how to—”
“To deal with losing a loved one,” Lou said.
“Would you like to stay with us tonight?” Charlotte asked.
“What happened to my parents?” she asked.
“They’ve been taken into custody,” Maddox Denton said. “Would you like us to see about getting them released?”
She shook her head. Her parents were the reason Riley was dead. Lou couldn’t order their deaths. She wouldn’t want that on her own conscience, let alone that of her man. She shook her head. “I want you to make sure they can never get out.”
Jacob entered the room. She felt him, and looked up to see the concern in his eyes, and the guilt. No, she didn’t want his guilt. This was not his fault. She needed his love, and to know that everything was going to be okay with his arms wrapped around her.
“Everything is done.”
“You don’t want your parents to get out?” Charlotte asked.
“I want them to rot in prison for the rest of their lives.” She got to her feet, and Charlotte stood. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m going to go home to bed.” She moved toward Jacob, taking hold of his hand. Her rock. He squeezed her. “Thank you all.”
Lou didn’t remember the drive home, nor did she recall the shower, and how she got to sitting on the end of the bed with a brush in her hand. Jacob came into the room, kneeling in front of her.