Chapter Ninety-Four

“Kulakov’s dead?” Dane asked as he was loaded in the ambulance. He’d started to pass out a few minutes ago, but Angel had smacked him in the face a few times to get him back. He was considering demoting her from best friend status.

Angel and Colton jumped into the ambulance with him. Mostly because Angel was applying pressure to his wound, and Colton went wherever Angel went. Lena was being pulled away by another emergency worker.

“Oh, yeah. Real dead,” Colton assured him. He even cringed, indicating it must have been especially gruesome.

“Good.” Dane smiled despite his spinning head. Viktor deserved an ugly kind of death.

“Who made the shot?” Angel asked.

“Lena,” Colton said.

“It was a clean shoot,” Dane said. “There was no other option but to take out Kulakov with deadly force.”

Angel raised her brows. “Um… But he wasn’t armed, and he was shot in the back of the head.”

Dane ground his teeth. “I said it was a good shoot.”

Angel held up her hands. “Look, I’m not sorry the guy is dead. And I don’t really care how he got that way. He put my husband and family at risk just by breathing. All I’m saying is, questions will be asked. Make sure you have the right answers.”

“Kulakov was dragging Kenzie away. Taking her to another country. A mother has a right to protect her child. No parent on the planet would fault her for stopping him any way she could.”

“Okay,” Angel nodded once. “That’s good.”

Whether Angel believed that was what really happened or if she thought he’d simply come up with a good cover story, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter.

Colton slid down to the floor of the ambulance, squeezed his eyes shut, and rested his head on his knees.

“Hey. I can’t take care of both of you,” Angel said. “Why are you falling apart?”

Colton shook his head slowly and looked up. “Everyone I love is finally safe,” he whispered, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Dane reached out with his bloody hand and gripped Colton’s shoulder. “Thank God for that.”

Dane realized how right Colton was. Colton’s entire family, including baby John, were now safe. His friend could go home and let his brothers and mother know he was still alive.

Even better, Tobey, Lena, and Kenzie were also safe now. Viktor couldn’t hurt them anymore.

With that single bullet, Lena had saved almost everyone.

Everyone but Dane.