“You’re not coming,” he says blocking the closet door with his arms across his chest and his feet planted apart.
“I am.” I put my hands on my hips and glare at him.
“No, you’re gonna stay here. I don’t know what the fuck happened tonight, but I don’t want you there.”
“Sven—”
“Maggie, I’m not fucking around. You are not coming. As soon as I’m gone, I want you to set the alarm, keep your phone on you, and stay put.”
“I’m coming, Sven, and if you think I’m not, you need to think again, because the minute you leave, I’m in my car following behind you, so you can either suck it up and let me ride with, or—”
“Fuck!” He tilts his head back and looks at the ceiling then his eyes drop to meet mine. “Why the hell couldn’t I fall for a chick who does what the fuck I tell her to do?” he asks, and I feel my eyes go squinty.
“You would have been bored out of your gourd with a woman like that.” I tell him the truth; he would ruin a woman who didn’t stand up to him.
“You stay at my side. You are not out of my sight, not even for a second,” he barks, and I fight my smile, ‘cause I know he won’t appreciate me gloating right now.
“I’ll stick to you like glue,” I agree.
“Don’t make me regret taking you.”
“You won’t.” I smile, then walk past him out of the closet and then rush down to his Suburban before he can change his mind.
Driving past the club into the back parking lot, my head turns as we drive past the chaos. There are hundreds of people gathered on the sidewalks out front, along with police cruisers and fire trucks blocking the road.
“I thought it was a small fire in one of the bathrooms,” I mutter to Sven as I swing my head back around to face the windshield when I can no longer see the front of the club.
“When you’re dealing with any kind of fire in a club like this, they evacuate everyone and every cop and fire department in the city shows up,” he says, pulling into the parking space reserved for him.
“I hope no one was hurt.”
“The alarm sounded, they followed procedure, and they got everyone out. No one got hurt.”
“It’s kinda weird that the fire was in the bathroom.”
“People rarely follow the rules. My guess is some kid was smoking in one of the bathroom stalls and either tossed a joint or a cigarette into the trash. It’s not the first time something like this has happened,” he says, shutting down the Suburban, unbuckling his belt, and hopping out. Unhooking my belt, I open the door then take his hand when he helps me down.
Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he leads me to the road then moves us toward two police officers who are trying to disburse the crowd.
“I own this—” Stopping midsentence, Sven turns and shoves me to the ground. My hands hit the concrete right before my knees do. Starting to push myself up, his body covers mine and his arms wrap around my head. People around us scream and the sound of gunfire registers.
“Stay down!” someone yells as the windows explode, causing glass to rain down on us.
“Sven!” I scream when his big body jolts on top of mine.
“Shhhhh.” His hands wrap tighter around me, and I feel the top half of his body lift an inch and I cry out.
“Don’t leave.” Wrapping my hands around his arms at my head, I hold on tight.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers gently, and tears fill my eyes.
“They’re gone!” someone close by yells, but Sven doesn’t let me up. He stays on top of me, and I notice his breath is shallow and his weight has gotten even heavier.
“They’re gone,” I whisper, digging my fingers into the skin of his arms. Rolling him to his back, I scramble to my knees, pressing them to his side as I lean over him. Running my eyes over his torso, I see his grey shirt is turning red near his ribcage.
“Help!” I shriek, pressing my hands over the wound at his side.
“Are you okay, baby?” he asks, sounding short of breath, and my eyes swing up from my hands to his face, noticing his eyes look glossy and his face is pinched in pain.
“Stay still. Don’t talk,” I whimper, resting my forehead against his.
“Tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay, and so are you.” I kiss him then lift my head when a shadow falls over us. “Please,” I breathe, looking into the eyes of the firefighter across from me. Jerking his head once, his hands move over mine and he pulls them away, and then he yells at someone behind me.
“Miss, I need you to stand back,” an officer says, wrapping his hand around my bicep. Tilting my head back to look up at him, I feel tears fall from my eyes and down my cheeks.
“I need to stay with him,” I whisper, and his eyes fill with concern.
“I promise you won’t be far, but the paramedics need room to work.”
Biting my lip, I look from him down to Sven, drop my body forward, and press my mouth to his ear.
“I’m not going anywhere, but they need to look after you, honey.” He doesn’t reply or even move, but when I lift my head above his, his eyes lock on mine. “Promise I’m not going anywhere.” I lean in and press my mouth to his, holding it there as I try to control my tears.
“We’ll stay close,” the officer says as he places his hand on my back. It takes everything in me to go with him, moving away from Sven. All I want to do is lie down next to him, to absorb his pain, to make him better. Reaching down, I grab his hand, squeezing gently, feeling his fingers tighten on mine before releasing. Moving back with the cop, I watch the paramedics and firefighters swarm, blocking him from view.
“Let’s get him in the ambulance,” I hear an EMT say, and I feel my world falling out from under my feet.
“Can I go with him in the ambulance?” I ask the officer at my side as my arms wrap tighter around my waist, trying to hold myself together.
“I’ll find out for you. If not, I’ll take you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper shakily then look toward the front door of the club. My skin prickles as I watch Zack, Teo, and Lane make their way toward me. Each looking worried and seriously pissed off.
“Maggie,” Zack says, and a fresh wave of tears fills my eyes and I move quickly in his direction.
“Sven,” I choke out on a sob, and his arms wrap around me.
“I’m so fucking sorry. We were talking to the cops inside when we heard the shots start. They wouldn’t let us out ‘til now.”
“He got shot,” I tell him, pulling away and moving my hands over my cheeks in a jerky movement. “Who would do that? Who would shoot at us?” I ask, panting, and his eyes move over my face.
“Can you ride with Sven in the ambulance, or do you need a ride to the hospital?” Lane asks, cutting in, and my eyes turn to meet his.
“I…I don’t know. A…an officer was going to find out,” I stutter out, noticing my body has started to tremble.
“Miss, I’m going to take you to the hospital. There’s no room in the ambulance.”
“I’ll take her,” Zack says, and I look at him then to the cop, and I know I have a much better chance of getting to the hospital quickly if I’m in a cop car.
“I’m go…going t-to—” Placing my hand to my stomach when a sharp pain hits me, my eyes try to focus, but blackness seeps in around the edge of my vision until I see nothing.
Hearing low murmurs, I wonder who Sven’s talking to as I fight to the surface of consciousness. Blinking my eyes open, I know I’m missing something; something’s not right. Then everything comes back to me, every detail.
“Sven,” I breathe, tossing the cover over me back as I groggily attempt to sit up.
“MoonPie!” my mom cries, rushing to my side and holding me down.
“Where’s Sven?” I ask frantically, and my dad moves to my other side and places his hand against my chest.
“Stay down. Sven’s okay,” Dad says, and I look at him and search his face, seeing a deep
sadness in his eyes.
“I need to see him. I need to know he’s okay.” I lift my hand and notice an IV line then look down and see I’m in a hospital gown.
“You’ll see him. The doctor should be back in soon. Until then, you’re going to lay down.”
Feeling confused and lightheaded, I ask softly, “Why would I need a doctor?”
“Oh, MoonPie,” Mom whimpers, and my eyes fly to hers.
“What’s going on?” I question, seeing tears in her eyes.
“You were pregnant,” Dad says, and my head swings in his direction.
“What?” I whisper as my hands move to rest over my abdomen, and now that it’s been brought to my attention, I notice a slight pain there and can feel some kind of gauze or something under my gown.
“Mom,” I whisper as she settles herself at my side near my hip and runs her hands down my hair like she used to do when I was little.
“It was a ectopic pregnancy. Your tube ruptured and they had to rush you into surgery. We got a call from a guy named Zack, and he told us Sven was in surgery as well and that we needed to get here.” She presses her lips together and more tears gather in her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”
Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against the pillow as a feeling of loss washes over me. I didn’t even know I was pregnant, didn’t even have any inkling, but knowing I was and knowing I’m not anymore, my heart hurts.
“I need Sven,” I whisper, hearing my mom sob.
“You’ll be able to see him soon enough. He’s being taken off the ICU floor as we speak and should be here with you soon.”