Daisy had found hers in Marcus, even though he was who he was to the world; he was something else to her.

I’d found my good in Hank.

Shirleen, wel , I didn’t know about Shirleen but I suspected she was no longer looking. Instead her longing was the saving grace of a child, a child just like Hank.

Tears hit my eyes and my hand reached out, found hers and I held on tight. I could only guess that I was correct at what was causing her emotion. What I did know, it was there and she was letting me see it. I also knew instinctively, this emotional display didn’t happen often.

She squeezed my hand and then pul ed hers away and downed her glass of champagne.

“I’m dry,” she announced, breaking the mood and not even looking at me. “Where’s that boy with the champagne?” she was looking around. “Hey! You!” she yel ed then walked away from me to pounce on a waiter with a tray of champagne.

She didn’t look back.

I didn’t get a chance to process her words because I felt a touch on the skin at the smal of my back. It was so light, there and then gone, it was almost like I imagined it. When I turned to see if it was real, I got an eye-ful of a tanned throat coming out of a light gray shirt surrounded by a black suit.

I looked up.

Luke.

“Where’s Hank?” he asked, deciding against any unnecessary pleasantries like “Hel o”. He was scanning the crowd and looking unhappy. I’d never seen Luke look unhappy. Mostly, he just looked hot or sometimes amused (which was just another form of hot). Now he looked plain, old unhappy (which was also somehow hot).

“He’s talking to Marcus.” I replied then went on. “You look nice,” and I moved a bit away from him mainly because he did look nice, real y nice.

His arms were at his sides. When I moved away, his hand came out to curl around my waist and he pul ed me back to him. I figured this was part of his not-outside-touching-distance bodyguard gig and decided to reassure him. “It’s okay, Luke. Hank’s here somewhere and Lee’s keeping an eye on me.”

I heard a cel phone ring somewhere but I ignored it because Luke looked down at me.

“You don’t move away from me. We’re findin’ Hank.

Now,” he ordered.

Immediately at his words and his tone, I felt fear crawl along my skin.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

Luke wasn’t looking at me anymore; he was looking across the room. I fol owed his gaze and saw Lee, cel to his ear, his eyes on Luke. Lee’s face was tight and he jerked his head towards the door. At the same time, he was repositioning Indy, moving her around to face one of the several doors leading out of the room. She looked up at Lee questioningly but that’s al I saw as Luke’s fingers pressed into my waist insistently.

“Let’s go,” Luke said.

He started moving me toward the door. I noticed something happening; Eddie and Carl either both sensed imminent danger or had received non-verbal, badass-boys communiqués gliding through the air like radio waves. They were also on alert and on the move.

“What’s happening?” I asked, not fighting it but going with Luke, fear was no longer crawling along my skin but biting into me. Then, panic hitting me, I said, “We have to find Hank.”

I no sooner said it when Hank and Marcus entered the room. Hank was striding with a purpose, his eyes locked on me, his face like stone. Marcus didn’t look much different and was moving in the same way, his eyes scanning the room, likely looking for Daisy.

“Hank’s here,” I told Luke, beginning to pul away to go to Hank.

Luke yanked me to his side then stopped dead.

I took my eyes off Hank and turned to look at Luke. In mid-swing, my glance caught on something familiar. My head stopped and I stared.

Bil y was standing in the doorway to the room.

His arm was raised.

In his hand was a gun and it was pointed at me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

When My Life Began

I had to admit, Bil y looked good.

The man-on-the-run thing was working for him. Faded jeans, his beat-up leather jacket hanging on him just right, his thick, blond hair was messy, his eyes were wild.

Other people had noticed Bil y but I didn’t think they thought he looked good, mainly because they also noticed his gun.

I felt panic tear through the crowd. I heard smal screams, felt people moving and caught Eddie and Carl’s voices cal ing commands to the edging people.

Al of this happened as if it was far, far away. Mostly, in those first few moments, it felt like just Bil y and me in the room.

“Hand her over,” Bil y demanded, looking at me, stil pointing the gun at me, but addressing Luke.

Luke’s response was to shove me behind his back.

This meant Bil y was aiming his gun at Luke.

“No!” I shouted, coming out of my frozen bout with terror.

At the same time, Bil y screamed, “Godammit, give her to me!”

“Don’t even think about it,” I heard and my eyes swung to the left.

I saw Lee had a gun trained on Bil y.

“Fuck you!” Bil y said, swinging his gun wildly, aiming at Lee.

I felt my stomach clench and my lungs squeeze and visions of a tangerine and chocolate wedding faded into an even worse nightmare.

“Bil y, no,” I said, moving around Luke. “Don’t, I’l go with you.”

“Luke, get her out of here,” this came from Hank, who was several feet behind Lee and moving forward.

He also had a gun and it hit me, in a vague, slightly crazed (okay, maybe entirely crazed) way, how easily he handled it, just like he drove his 4Runner; natural, like he was one with the gun. His right hand around the butt, finger on the trigger, the left hand cupping his gun hand. Both his arms were up, but cocked loose, his head was tilted slightly to the side and his gun and gaze were aimed at Bil y.

Luke had already shifted in front of me, stepping back, forcing me to move with him. The crowd was stil easing away. I noticed people exiting the room just as I saw Marcus, also carrying a gun, sliding along a back wal .

“Don’t move!” Bil y shouted. He hadn’t noticed Marcus and he swung his gun back at Luke and me.

“Bil y, don’t. Please,” I begged, peeking around Luke’s body.

Luke kept moving back, he was unfazed by the gun as wel as unarmed.

Bil y didn’t listen to me. He fired.

Luke’s body jerked.

I screamed.

The gunshot caused pandemonium. My scream wasn’t the only one. People were no longer cautiously moving but now running everywhere, clearing the room.