Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

Seb and Rafe pushed away from each other, and Seb hurried over just as Ethan heard a familiar “pop.” On instinct he turned and grabbed Calvin, bringing him down to the floor as Rafe lunged for Nina and shouted to the crowd.

“Get down!”

Everyone hit the floor as a spray of bullets shattered Dekatria’s glass windows and splintered the wooden beams, tearing through everything and anything. Screams and shouts echoed through the room as everyone scrambled and dropped to the floor. Ethan covered Calvin with his body, shielding him from the falling glass and debris. Tires shrieked as a car sped off. Ethan’s adrenaline kicked in, and as soon as the noise stopped, he looked up and out the front. It was clear. He swiftly got to his feet and pulled Calvin up with him. They needed to check on everyone, see if anyone was—

“Oh God, please, no. No.”

Ethan turned, a gasp caught in his throat. No.

r /> “Lobito, what did you do?” Seb cradled Hudson in his arms, his lips pressed together in an attempt to keep himself together as Hudson coughed and sputtered blood. “Why?”

Hudson smiled, tears in his eyes as he placed a bloodstained hand to Seb’s jaw. “We both know why.” His bottom lip trembled, and his face crumpled as the tears fell. “I’m so sorry. For everything.”

Rafe pulled out his phone and called emergency services while Nina knelt beside Hudson, shouting for Bradley, who came running with the Therian First Aid Response kit. He handed it to Nina, the rest of Destructive Delta joining them. Rosa and Sloane rushed to Hudson’s side.

“Shit.” Sloane looked Hudson over, swiftly inspecting him. “I found an exit wound.” He pushed his hand down against Hudson’s side. “Where else is he hit?”

Rosa put her hand on Seb’s shoulder. “Seb, you need to lay him on his stomach. One of the bullets is still in there, and he’s losing a lot of blood.”

Seb ran his hand over Hudson’s head. “Please, don’t leave me. Not like this.”

“Seb!” Sloane ordered in his most authoritative voice, knowing it was the only way to get through to him.

Seb gently laid Hudson on the floor on his stomach. He removed his tux and folded it up, placing it under Hudson’s head before taking hold of Hudson’s hand while Rosa and Nina went to work trying to stop the bleeding. In the distance sirens wailed. Ethan joined Seb on the floor, kneeling beside him. He put his arm around his brother, letting him know he was there. Behind him Dex, Ash, Letty, and Cael were checking up on the rest of the guests to see who else might be injured and how badly.

“You’re going to be okay,” Seb told Hudson, brushing Hudson’s hair away from his brow as Nina and Rosa worked furiously to stop the flow of blood until the EMTs arrived.

Hudson appeared to be having trouble breathing, and he looked as if he were on the verge of passing out. His face had gone pale, his brow beaded with sweat. He looked over at Seb and smiled.

“I know it’s… selfish, but… please stay with me?”

Hudson looked scared, but Seb held on to his hand, his expression determined.

“You know I will. It’ll be okay.”

The EMTs arrived on scene and rushed through the doors. Ethan stood to one side to give them room, but his brother remained at Hudson’s side, though he was forced to step back while the team swiftly got to work preparing him for transport. The moment Hudson was on the gurney, Seb was beside him again holding his hand. He followed them to the ambulance and climbed in after him. Before the doors closed Nina called out to him, telling him they were right behind him. She ran off with Rafe close behind. Ethan wanted nothing more than to go after them. His brother needed him, but so did the people inside Dekatria. He had a job to do, and tonight’s party had become a crime scene. Luckily, the majority of the guests were agents. They knew the drill. Ethan still couldn’t believe this was happening. Had someone found out about the bar full of cops and decided to make a statement? Had it been personal?

Dex rushed over, wiping his bloodied hands on a cloth napkin. “How’s Hudson? How bad is it?”

“I don’t know,” Sloane said, shaking his head. “One of the bullets went straight through, but the other is still in there. He had his back to the front of the bar.”

“He was protecting Seb,” Calvin said quietly. “When Rafe called out, Hudson threw himself at Seb. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to bring Seb down, but he did it anyway, protecting him. Even after telling Seb he wanted him to stay away.”

Everyone went quiet for a moment. Hudson had tried to push Seb away, yet none of what he’d told Seb had been true. Hudson loved Seb as much now as he did then. Ethan hoped Hudson pulled through this okay and realized how much he needed Seb. For all he knew, this incident wouldn’t change anything between them, but Ethan was hopeful. Sloane was the first to break the silence.

“Seb and Hudson will get whatever support they need from us, but right now, we need to contain this situation and track down whoever’s responsible for this. What have we got?” he asked Rosa.

“We’ve got several wounded, but luckily no fatalities or critically injured other than Hudson. The ones who heard the ‘pop’ first hit the ground, the rest the moment Rafe sounded the alarm. We’re lucky we’ve got mostly agents and law enforcement here. EMTs are taking care of it.”

Sloane nodded. “Did anyone see what happened?”

Ethan shook his head. He tapped his ear.

“Ethan heard the first shot. Then we heard the tires,” Calvin replied.

“So this was a targeted attack.”

Ethan frowned and put his hand on Calvin’s shoulder. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?