“Go back to where we came in,” I tell her quietly. “We should avoid the southern entrance.”
As we drive, I fill the men and Victoria in on what happened after I chased Luca down. With every word I speak, Marcus’s grip on me tightens, and I can practically feel him vibrating with latent worry beneath me.
“That was fucking reckless, angel,” he murmurs in a rough, angry voice, burrowing his face deeper into my hair until his mouth finds the skin of my neck. He nips at me, and I know it’s supposed to sting. He’s pissed that I could’ve gotten hurt. Could’ve gotten killed.
I rest my hand on his thick forearm, feeling the play of muscles beneath my fingers as he grips me tightly.
“It was,” I admit. “But I couldn’t let him get away. I had to end it.”
Eager to turn the conversation away from me, I make them tell me everything that happened around Genevieve’s grave while I was gone. My heart thuds unevenly as they describe it to me, and I understand the anger in Marcus’s voice earlier even more.
They all came close to dying. More than once.
In the end, what saved them was the fact that Gabriel and Michael were going up against each other too. Gabriel ended up taking out Michael, and that gave Victoria and the guys a chance to take down Gabriel. A few of their men ran, but most ended up dead on the ground.
I don’t know what will happen next. The power dynamics in Halston have shifted wildly overnight, and although most of the city isn’t aware of it yet, it won’t take long for them to find out.
But I can’t think about that right now. All I can think about is the fact that my men are still alive, and that Dominic is quietly bleeding out in the back seat.
The street is dark as Victoria pulls up the drive to her house, and when she rolls into the garage and cuts the engine, I grab for the door handle and quickly slide off Marcus’s lap.
I want to insist on helping carry Dominic inside, but instead, I let Theo and Ryland bring him in. Theo grabs his legs and Ryland carries him beneath the arms, and I try not to notice the way Dominic’s head falls back, his entire body lax and boneless.
He looks like he’s already dead.
Marcus’s jaw clenches when Victoria directs the men to carry Dom into a room at the back of the house, and I know it’s the same room she must’ve kept him in while he was recovering from his injuries.
Theo and Ryland deposit Dominic inside, and to my vast relief, Doctor Brenson arrives just a few moments later. Victoria ushers him in and then kicks us all out to let the doctor work.
She’s still limping, and blood stains her ankle and her shoe, soaking into the fabric of her pants.
“You got shot,” I note, stating the obvious because I’m too tired and worn out to say anything else.
“Yep.”
She brushes past me, heading for the stairs.
“Aren’t you gonna get it looked at?” I ask, grimacing. Between the blood and the way she’s walking, I’m guessing it’s more than a graze. It obviously didn’t shatter bone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s still got a bullet lodged in her calf.
“I will.” She shrugs, shooting me an almost annoyed glance over her shoulder. “When Doctor Brenson is done.”
She disappears upstairs after that, moving stiffly. I get the feeling she was annoyed at me for highlighting the fact that she’s letting her doctor take care of Dominic first—as if any act of kindness is an act of weakness.
Well, fine. If she doesn’t want to talk about it, I won’t. I’m not exactly interested in heaping praises on her anyway, even if I am grateful to her for helping my brother.
Caleb.
The name floats through my mind.
I’ve never been able to think of the dark-haired man that way before. Even after I found out he was my brother, he stayed Dominic in my mind. I had to force myself to think of him by the other name.
But in the graveyard, when he’d been shot and I had no idea if he was dying, I screamed out his name—and the word Caleb burst from my lips as if by instinct. I don’t know how to feel about that.
Theo and Ryland head down the hall toward the bathroom to wash off some of the dirt and blood, both theirs and others, that’s spattered over their clothes and skin. I should probably do the same, but I can’t get my feet to move. I stand in the hallway staring at nothing until Marcus steps up and wraps his arms around me.
The feel of his body jolts me out of my chaotic thoughts, and I press my forehead against his chest, burying my face in his warm shirt.
He’s the only one I haven’t told yet, and without any conscious command from me, the words pour from my lips. I tell him everything I know and suspect about Dominic—about who he really is.