Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Asher’s POV
Gunfire erupted the moment I stormed into the building with Luca and Marcus. The scent of gunpowder and blood filled the air, mixing with the sharp cries of men dropping to the floor.
My heart pounded, but I barely registered the chaos. My mind had only one thought: Ivy.
I scanned the dimly lit warehouse frantically, my pulse hammering in my ears. My grip tightened around my gun as I pushed forward, ducking behind a stack of crates.
Then, through the haze of bullets and bodies, I saw her.
Ivy.
She stood near the back of the room, bound and struggling, her dark hair wild, her face pale. My breath caught in my throat. She was right there. So close. But she wasn’t alone. Taylor stood in front of her, a knife gleaming in her grip.
Panic crashed through me. I turned to Luca and Marcus. “Be careful! Ivy’s right there!”
Luca gave a sharp nod, his jaw clenched as he took cover and fired precisely at Taylor’s men. Marcus moved beside him, dropping two of them with clean shots. I barely noticed. All I could focus on was Ivy.
I had to get to her.
Pushing forward, I took out another henchman, my feet moving on instinct. I was close, just a few more steps.
Then it happened.
A sickening gasp split through the air.
I froze.
I looked up just in time to see Ivy jerk forward, her body shuddering as she desperately tried to break free from the restraints. My world stopped. Taylor’s knife was buried in her abdomen.
No.
Ivy’s legs gave out, and she crumpled to the floor.
A roar ripped from my throat as I bolted toward her, my gun forgotten. The bullets still flying around me didn’t matter. The bodies falling around me didn’t matter either.
All that mattered was her.
I slid to my knees beside her, hands shaking as I scrambled to untie the restraints cutting into her wrists. “No, no, no,” I muttered, voice breaking.
Ivy’s breath came in short, pained gasps. She was too pale, too still. Blood pooled beneath her, warm and slick, staining my hands as I pressed down on
her wound.
“You’re okay,” I choked out, desperation clawing at my chest. “I’ve got you. Just hold on.” Tears flowed freely down my cheeks.
Her eyelids fluttered, but she barely had the strength to open them.
My throat tightened. I needed to stop the bleeding. I needed to do something, anything.
Then I heard it.
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Chapter 126
Agim clicking behind me.
Hooked up just in time to see one of Taylor’s men standing a few feet away, his gun aimed straight at my head.
I couldn’t move. I was trapped between protecting tvy and saving myself
Then, a gunshot rang out.
But it wasn’t me who got hit.
Marcus
4 turned just in time to see my brother stumble back. His gun slipped from his fingers as he crashed onto the concrete floor.
No.
Another gun fired, and Taylor’s man dropped, a bullet straight through his chest. Marcus had shot him, but he’d left himself exposed in the process.
“Marcus!” I gasped.
I could see his chest rise and fall unevenly, his face twisting in pain. Blood seeped through his shirt, dark and spreading fast.
No. No, no, no.
I was going to lose him.
1 I was going to lose them both.
My hands hovered uselessly over Ivy. She lay in a growing pool of blood beside me, barely clinging to consciousness, and Marcus was slipping away, his
breaths shallow.
I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to do.
“Asher,” Marcus rasped, his voice weak.
I shook my head violently. “No. Don’t talk. You’re gonna be fine. Both of you are gonna be fine.”
Marcus let out a breathy, pained chuckle. “You’re an idiot.”
I swallowed back a sob. My hands trembled as I pressed harder against Ivy’s wound. Her skin was cold beneath my touch.
“Asher,” Marcus’s voice cracked.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I turned to Ivy, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.” My voice broke.
Then I turned back to Marcus, my vision blurred with tears. “I love you, man. I’m so sorry.”
The gunfire in the background was fading, but I barely noticed.
Then movement caught my eye,
Taylor.
She was running.
Every part of me screamed to chase after her. To make her pay.
But then Luca locked eyes with me. His expression was hard, determined. Without a word, he nodded before taking off after her.
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Chapter 126
I let out a shaky breath, turning back to the two people I couldn’t lose.
Ivy’s fingers twitched slightly against my arm. She was still holding on, but barely.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered. “I swear.”
Then, heavy footsteps thundered toward us.
“Asher?”
Janine’s voice rang out like a gunshot.
She stormed into the warehouse with backup behind her, gun raised. But the second she saw the scene before her, she stopped cold.
Her eyes widened, taking in the blood, the bodies. Marcus on the ground. Ivy unconscious in my arms.
Her gun lowered slightly, and for the first time since I’d known her, Janine looked completely shaken.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
I didn’t respond. I just held Ivy tighter, my breathing ragged.
The fight was over.
But I had already lost too much.
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