The sound of shattering glass quickly followed the ear-deafening gunshot. I glanced over in Starlet’s direction. Eric lay hunkered over her in a protective embrace, his dark shirt hiding any elements of her.

“Is everyone okay?” I asked, stealing a glimpse through the broken front window.

“I would be okay,” Starlet responded in a muffled voice, “if Eric would just get off me.”

“Eric, let the woman breath,” I called out. “And where in the hell is Red?”

Suddenly Starlet let out a loud, curdling scream, and Eric slumped to the floor in an unnatural position. “He’s been shot! Oh, my God, Yanni, he’s been shot!”

My eyes followed Starlet’s to the blood that had soaked into her blouse. Not again, I thought. I laid on my stomach and low-crawled all the way to their side. Not wanting to move Eric too much, I slowly rolled him onto his back. He lay there half-dazed, blood seeping from his abdomen.

“Fuck, not a stomach wound,” I muttered under my breath as I bent down to check his pulse. “Eric, can you hear me?”

He just barely nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“Don’t try to talk,” I instructed. “Just lie still, okay?

“No, this can’t be. How?” Starlet shrieked, tears coursing down her face. “We’ve got to get him some help or he’s going to die.” She grabbed Eric’s head and cradled it in her arms. “You can’t let him die—please don’t let him die. Eric, you’re not going to die.”

Eric muttered something incomprehensible. His eyes fluttered.

“Stay with us, Eric,” I demanded.

I ripped away at his shirt, trying to get to the wound. A bright stream of gurgling blood met me at the last layer. I quickly balled up the already-bloody shirt and applied pressure.

“Hold this down, don’t let it move,” I told Starlet moving her hand to Eric’s stomach. “If we get help quick, there’s a chance he can make it.”

By now, Starlet was a sobbing mess. Her cries had become like those of an animal in mourning. “Starlet, you’ve got to calm down. You can’t help Eric, if you fall apart.”

I took a deep breath and clicked into action. Within minutes, I’d called for help and moved back to my earlier position at the window. I needed to check out the scene. To my surprise, Alex and Rain had managed to get the men to move back.

So, who had fired the shot, I wondered?

In response to my thought, another gunshot went off. This time, it sounded like it’d come from below.

“Stop,” Starlet screamed, her hand seeming to plunge into Eric’s stomach. “I can’t take this anymore. Make it stop.”

I rushed back to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Shhh . . . it’s going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of this.”

“But what about Eric? He’s not moving, and he’s barely breathing.”

“Eric will be fine. You just have to have faith.”

“A prayer. That’s what I need to do—I need to pray. I need to call my mother so that we can pray together.” She moved to pull her phone off her hip, but I stopped her.

“You can’t do that. You call your mother and things will only get worse. No, we don’t need to involve anyone else.” I stared her dead on. “I need you to trust me like you’ve never done before. Can you do that?”

What I should have been asking was if I trusted me. And where the hell was Red?

Eric wasn’t looking good. Starlet was saying a barely audible prayer. My head was spinning. I needed my soldiers.

And suddenly, there was Red, entering from the kitchen with a bloodied shirt.

What now?