A Whole New Crowd (A Whole New Crowd 1)

I shoved his hand off and glared at him. “I said no.” Then I yanked my knife out, tore off the bottom of my shirt, put the knife next to his ankle, and tied my shirt around it. I yanked on the knot, making it tighter, and then I grabbed Gray’s chin and forced him to stare into my eyes. “Get. The. Fuck. Up.”

He gave me a half grin, but I could see the strain. Pain flashed over his face and he grimaced. “You’re such a bitch.”

“Yes.” I stood, grabbed him by both arms, and yanked him up. “I’m also selfish, and on that note, we’re leaving. I don’t give a shit how long it takes us.” I pulled out the gun and held it in front of me.

”Hold with both hands. Keep the thumbs separate. Firm grip. Support it and it will support you.”

Jace’s instructions came back to me and I closed my eyes for a moment. We couldn’t run any further, but there weren’t a lot of footsteps. There was still hope. I could shoot them and we could keep going. Taking a breath, I let it out. Inhale. Exhale. Gray stood behind me and I waited, my heartbeat sounding in my eardrums. The person was close.

”If you shoot, aim for the chest, it’s the biggest target. The shoulder will wing. The leg will stop them. The gun is an extension of your arm. It’s a part of you. The firmer the grip, the better your aim will be.” Jace had been standing close to me when he said those words. We were at a gun range. It was years ago, but it was now too. I felt Jace there. He was still teaching me, as I was getting ready to shoot his men.

Gray knew what I was doing. He placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me support and I raised my gun.

Two seconds.

I wasn’t going to shoot the shoulder or the leg. I was going to shoot the chest. Whoever was coming, it was him or us. It was going to be him.

One second.

My throat was suddenly dry. My finger went to the trigger. I was ready.

“Taryn!”

My finger started to squeeze, but I saw who it was and a guttural scream ripped from me. I dropped the gun, and bent over as I dry heaved. My heart was pounding. Oh god. I lifted my eyes back up, horrified. It was Tray. I choked out, “I almost shot you.”

His eyes were wide, so wide that the whites of his eyes blinded me. He raked a hand through his hair, but dropped it and shook his head. “We have to go.”

A thousand questions flashed through my head. What was he doing there? What did it mean? A look passed between us and we both knew there wasn’t time. I jerked my head in a nod, then went to retrieve the gun. Tray went to Gray, studying his ankle. “Can you run?”

“Yes,” I said. He would have to.

“No,” Gray said, casting me a wary look. “She braced it with her knife, but I can’t run.”

Tray clipped his head in a nod, then moved so he was in front of Gray. “Get on my back. I’ll carry you.”

Relief crashed through me, causing a riptide of hope among the panic and terror. We weren’t done. We could still get out of this.

Gray glanced at me. He bit down on his lip.

I stepped towards him. The relief faded and the panic surged once more. My voice trembled, “Get on him.”

“Taryn,” he started, but Tray kneeled in front of him.

Gray frowned, and then Tray threw him over his shoulder. He grinned at me. “Let’s go.”

I nodded and started forward again, putting the safety back on, but I kept it in my hand.

Tray was right behind me.

Gray groaned. “My head is in your crotch.”

“Yeah. Don’t get too excited.”

There was laughter in Tray’s voice. Still going, I closed my eyes as the relief came back in. We could do this. As we kept running, I felt Tray behind me. He was urging me faster so I kicked it up a notch. We needed to get out before they headed us off. Another quarter mile passed. Tray’s breathing was steady. I glanced back. He had a firm grip on Gray, who had wrapped his arms around Tray’s torso to keep from bouncing around.

Could we go faster? The unspoken question passed between us and Tray nodded. He moved around me and began to lead. I couldn’t smile. I couldn’t enjoy this, but the sight of him pulling ahead of me almost brought tears to my eyes.

I pushed forward with a new burst of speed, and we were sprinting, going faster than Gray and I had been going.