“Get out of my fucking club now, Zane, and take him with you,” Callum says, motioning toward Carter.
I look around for Annie, but she’s not where she was a moment ago. I’m silently praying to God that she’s crept out and is calling the police, not just hiding behind the bar. I’m trying to be inconspicuous as my eyes roam around looking for her. The last thing I want is to alert anyone to her departure.
“Okay fine, we’ll go,” Zane says, moving toward Carter, who looks less than pleased.
“Like fuck we will,” he growls. “This shit owes us money.” He points toward Danny. “And this one broke my nose and a rib. He’s lucky I haven’t killed him already,” he snarls over at Callum. A cold chill runs to the base of my spine; it feels like ice as I shudder and grip the back of Callum’s shirt, curling my fingers into the fabric.
“You know what?” Carter says to Callum with a sinister laugh. “I think I will shoot you. An eye for an eye and all that.” He raises the gun toward us and I hold my breath and screw my eyes shut tight,
“Oh God, please don’t shoot! Please!” I cry.
The next few seconds play out in agonizing slow motion. Cole rushes Carter in a tackle, barging his head and shoulder into his side and knocking Carter over. The gun fires so loudly my ears pop and Daniel makes to grab it from Carter while Cole attempts to wrestle him to the ground. Another shot fires, the noise ricocheting around the club. It suddenly smells as though fireworks have been let off, and Callum spins, pushing me down to the floor as Zane rushes toward us. My head hits the floor hard and my vision swims as an intense heat blossoms down my neck and across my back. The floor is cold against my clammy body and I hear growls and shouting mixed with the sounds of thwacks and scuffling. Chairs are getting knocked over and tables are toppling as the guys roll and kick furiously. Another shot fires, the sound piercing through the scuffling. Callum’s weight falls full-force on top of me, stealing my breath and pinning me to the ground. My face is smothered against the crushing weight of his chest. I kick and attempt to scream for him to get off of me, trying to move from under him and take a breath. I’m suffocating, and my attempts are useless and draining. Everything sounds muffled and another shot rings through the room, only it sounds much quieter this time as the dizziness takes over and my eyes begin to flutter.
This is it. I’m about to die.
The overwhelming weight disappears and my lungs scream as I pull in a strained breath, coughing and rolling onto my side. Cole is pulling Zane from on top of Callum, and I manage to slide from underneath both of them, struggling as I gasp and grapple, desperate to pull in more oxygen. The air tastes like a mixture of copper and smoke. I put my hands out to steady me but they slip against the slick wet floor.
My hands are red. Why are my hands red?
The metallic tang of blood registers and I scramble to my knees as Cole looks at me wide-eyed.
“Shit, Robyn?”
“It’s not mine!” I scream. “It’s not my blood! Oh my God, Callum!” He’s groaning as Cole frantically drags him up to a sitting position, shouting at him and asking if he’s okay, then patting him down looking for the source of the blood he’s covered in.
He answers, “Yeah, I’m okay,” and I collapse against him, sobbing, as he pulls me into his side. My body folds into his, my arms circling around his waist. My heart feels like it’s resting by my feet, the terror of thinking it was Cal’s blood makes me feel physically sick. I take a deep breath and look around the room before wishing I hadn’t.
“It’s all right, Tweet; you’re safe,” he tells me as my eyes fall to Carter, an unmoving heap on the ground. Zane is quiet, too, and a shiver runs across my back at the thought that maybe he’s dead. I pat Cal down, running my hands over his chest and back, wanting tangible evidence that the blood’s not his, that he’s really okay. I’m blinking away tears of relief and then realize there’s someone missing.
“Danny!” I call as I search for him, my head whipping from side to side, scanning the floor.
“I’m here!” he calls in a strained whisper from behind one of the tables, and I sigh against Cal in relief. My sobs and Callum’s shushing mingle with the sound of the sirens that filter into the room.
3 months later.
HOW YOU PERFORM in a crisis reveals a lot about your character. Cole’s first reaction was to protect his brother. There were no moments of conscious indecision; it was an instinct that propelled him into action as he watched Carl Carter raise his hand and point a gun at his brother. It’s said that blood is thicker than water, and Cole’s actions support that theory, but Callum would have been the first to tell you he had two brothers. Zane was more than just a friend, he was regarded as a member of the family too. Maybe not in blood, but in every other way that counts.
Sometimes the people we hold the closest to us, the ones we choose to bring into our lives—our friends—are the people that cross us quicker than a stranger. I know Callum’s pain because I feel the same betrayal. When the going got tough, Daniel disappeared. And when he was faced with the prospect of being in danger, he chose to protect himself. There’s nothing wrong with his actions, but for someone who was supposed to love me, he didn’t look back as he attempted to run from the club when the opportunity arose.
Carl Carter and Zane Lector were stretchered out of Reveal that day and are now awaiting trial for their actions. Cole’s connections have made certain that they’ll be tried for the maximum penalties possible. It’s nothing less than they deserve. Personally, I hope they both rot in jail for the rest of their miserable lives.
Unsurprisingly, Daniel vanished from the hospital without a trace. I guess some things never change. I’m disappointed more than upset; you can never escape your problems when you carry them within you.
And then there’s Callum. He put his life on the line without a second thought. There was no hesitation; his priority when faced with danger was me. I’ll never be able to express how much that means to me. I have no words to describe the complete safety and contentment I feel when I’m with him. He’s been my savior on more than one occasion, and when I was sure that the universe was conspiring against me, and nothing was going my way, it brought me him.
I was pushed down a path that I’d never have taken if my hand weren’t forced. And while the road has been bumpy and fraught with difficulties, I would choose that path again given the chance. Thinking back on the tarot cards that Athena read for me that night, I guess they were pretty accurate. The Death card did symbolize a goodbye to the past and new doors opening. The Two of Swords sure as hell indicated my need to make decisions and not let them escalate. The Ten of Swords dramatically revealed sudden tragedy and betrayal. Annie still maintains that anyone can interpret those cards in a way that will fit with their lives. That may be so, but the coincidence is enough to fuel my belief that Athena knew what was in store for me.
When a door closes, it forces change, and the opportunity to discover something even better. If you’re strong enough to say goodbye to your old life, fortune will reward you with a new hello. Callum and Reveal are my hello. I’m in New York City doing what I’ve always dreamed of—dancing. Only now, my dreams don’t measure up to my reality because Callum is my reality. When I turned the page on my old life, I realized that my book wasn’t finished. There’s a whole set of blank pages waiting for me to write my own fairytale.
I once owned a notebook with a Gandhi quote that read:
Our beliefs become our thoughts.