34. That Man

34

THAT MAN

CANNON

"It's going to take more than a warning shot, you sorry son of a bitch." Provoking a man holding a gun, who shot the bullet piercing my left shoulder, is probably not my finest moment.

Falling head over heels for my tattoo artist comes in a close second, followed by my infatuation with my best friends. Apparently, my decision-meter is running in the opposite direction it should be.

"Cannon!" a grief-stricken bellow comes from behind me.

I don't have to turn to know it's Oliver's voice that's calling out, pleading with the universe in my honor. I have to remember to kiss him senseless later for the concern in his tone.

I love him unmistakably.

"Rhodes, that's enough," Ashton's deep timbre booms with caution.

The intensity in which his warning is spoken should alert me that I'm in deep shit—we all are. Though we hold the numbers, Knox Caddell holds the only thing that matters. Our reason. The reason we're here. To pay off her debt and wash our hands of the bastard and his nephew standing before us.

I'm too far gone to rationally heed Ashton's command. My only mission, my only purpose, is to save Sophia. She's the only woman I've ever loved—will love. I take another staggered step forward. My feet feel as if my shoes are filled with sand. The pain in my shoulder is almost nonexistent.

Thank you, adrenaline.

"Cannon, stop. Please. Let me deal with this. It's my mess," Sophia begs. "You're injured. Please. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me."

I'd move mountains for this woman. Some wannabe mobster isn't shit in the grand scheme of how far I'm willing to go to protect what's mine … ours.

Whether I'm shot or not, her mess is our mess. She's ours to protect, cherish, adore. Matters of the heart are taken seriously in my book.

Through a tear-smothered voice, she sobs, "He'll shoot again. If only to prove a point. I can't watch you die. You're being so stupid!"

"Better me than you, Soph."

Another gunshot rings loudly. Its sound is deafening due to my nearness. Though it's unmistakably not as loud as the shriek that rips from Sophia's beautiful mouth when Julian Caddell's bullet pierces through my lower stomach.

Music was my first love. I used to feel like I'd die if I couldn't create it.

Sophia is my forever love. I'll die to protect her.

It's the last coherent thought I have before the chaotic melody around me fades …