48. Macie

Chapter forty-eight

Macie

I pulled into Gianna's driveway, and the adrenaline rush of making it here on my own, driving on my own, with a manual no less, made me laugh. A small triumph amid so much panic.

Relic. His name a wish, a prayer, and my heart ached from fear. He had to be stopped from doing something stupid.

Hopping out of my car, I made my way to the front door, rang the doorbell, eventually knocked, and then frowned. I leaned to look into the window, and all seemed still and quiet within the house. I sent Gianna a text: Where are you?

My forehead furrowed. Missed calls and texts from Relic.

Aw, hell. I had my phone on mute from when I was sneaking out of my house. The sound of footsteps. I turned toward them, expecting Gianna and froze. A gun. A masked person. I blinked and saw the dark night all those months ago. The gun. The person behind it. The shot. I flinched, blinked again, and saw the person in front of me now. Time slowed. What should I do? What I didn't do last time. I ran. But my legs weren't moving fast enough. Sluggish. I was going to die this time. This time it would be over.

"Macie!" Relic shouted. "Macie, get down! Get down!"

Another blink, I snapped out of my haze, and ran faster, but then someone tackled me from the side. I screamed as a body pushed me to the ground. Gunshots rang out. I covered my head, waited for another bang, for the explosive pain, but there was only the sound of a scuffle. Another shot, a shout of pain, and I shook.

Relic.

I forced my head up and saw Relic struggling on the ground with the masked person. Needing to be free, I kicked at the body covering me, thrashing until I was free. Relic hugged the person, spinning them, landing on top, then punched the hell out of his face. Relic's dad sat up beside me, looking dazed, blood running down his arm. The masked man reached for the gun on the ground. No. This couldn't happen. Relic couldn't be shot, too.

I shoved myself up and sprinted toward them, kicked the gun out of his reach and snatched his arm with both of mine to keep him from trying to grab it again.

Relic kept up his assault, and I shouted at him, "We have him, Relic!"

That broke Relic out of his violent trance. His chest heaved, and he forced his eyes from the man below him to do a quick assessment of me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, but your dad. He's shot."

Relic whipped his head in his dad's direction, cursed at the sight of blood, but his dad waved his hand in the air. "It's a graze. I'm good."

Sirens wailed in the distance, and I glanced at the person moaning on the ground beneath Relic. Fear, confusion and shock shot through me. I scrambled away, my brain unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Brayden Gentry. Oh my God, Brayden Gentry tried to kill me.