*Friday, 10:38*

I grip onto the steering wheel tightly and press my foot harder on the gas pedal. Not caring about the laws, I continue my fast speed towards Dorian's house. Tank, Jingles, and I are all in my black truck, each with our own, only slightly illegal handgun. I mean, come on, this is Texas.

Looking at the men briefly, before turning my attention back to the road, I feel confident in our abilities.

Wondering where the others are? Well, despite objections, we left Candace, Wyatt, Mouse, and the twins at my house.

___________________

*Flashback to earlier*

"Move out of my way, Nate. I'm coming." Wyatt says stubbornly and tries to push his way out the front door for the 5th time. I block his path and push him back towards the living room again.

"Wyatt! We don't have time for this. Lainey is in trouble and I'll be damned if any of you get hurt too. You are staying here." I reply in my most stern voice, hiding the terror when I think of my sweet Angel.

"But..." He starts, but I just hold up my hand.

"Wy, please. You can barely walk because of the game. If you come, I'll have to worry about keeping you safe and that means I can't put all my attention into helping Lainey." I say in a softer tone.

He seems to understand my thinking, because he goes back to sit in the living room, holding a crying Dylan in his arms. I see Candace in a similar position with Katie, both of them also crying. Turning my back to them, I face the small circle the boys and I have made.

"Ok. Mouse, you stay here with them. I don't think he will, but I want them protected incase Dorian shows up here. I know you want to kill this fucker as much as we do, but I have to think logistically here. Tank and Jingles are bigger, they can help me protect Lainey." I say, to which he nods his head.

"No need to explain, brother. I've got my sister and the kids, you just go get our girl back." He replies and then walks to join the others in the living room.

I look at Jingles and Tank, both with murderous glares on their faces.

"Let's go kill the devil, and save an angel." I say before we all walk out and pile into my truck.

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Snapping out of my thoughts, I take what feels like the 100th look at my digital clock on the stereo. 10:39. Shit! She's been with that bastard for over 20 minutes.

A lot can happen in 20 minutes.

"Relax, bro. We're going to get to her on time." Jingles says from the backseat after I look at the clock again, a few seconds later.

"And what if we don't? What if we're too late, Keith?" I ask, not bothering to hide my complete terror or sorrow.

"We won't be." He says confidently before the cab is once again filled with silence.

"Turn here." Tank interrupts the silence, relaying the directions to the address Wyatt gave us.

Ya, I've been to the house, but I didn't want to risk taking a wrong turn and google maps found us a shortcut, hence Tank's navigating.

"How much we got left?" I ask anxiously, putting on my signal and making the sharp right turn.

"Just a couple more turns. Arrival time says 10:40." Tank replies. I only nod my head and continue following his directions.

One minute later, I hastily pull my truck in front of the beaten down house. Not caring, I park lopsided on the grass and rush out, leaving my door open. I feel Tank and Keith hot on my tail, as we sprint to the door. Right as we are about to reach the front porch I hear a deafening sound that I know would give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

*BANG*

"AHHHHH!"

*BANG*

We are momentarily frozen, until my mind catches up with what I just heard. That was two gunshots, along with a woman screaming.

Lainey!

"NOOOOO." I yell out.

Not wasting a second, I sprint even faster to the porch. When I get there, I lift my leg and swiftly kick down the front door. Guns up, we breach the house and enter into the living room. The first thing I see is a red light flickering near the fireplace and a small illumination by a tableside lamp. I quickly flip a wall switch and am faced with my worst fear come to life.

Dorian is crumpled on the ground, with a long knife sticking out of his stomach. Across the way, Lainey is lying in a pool of blood, her body pale and her chest heaving. I quickly run over and kneel next to her. I want to take her in my arms, but I don't know her injuries yet.

I do a quick scan of her body. She's badly bruised and has a gash on her forehead. Her wrists and ankles are raw and bloodied. I can see two holes in her jeans, with blood leaking from them. I realize that those are stab wounds, but they don't seem to be the cause of her paling form.

No, we heard the cause happen.

In her right shoulder is a small bullet hole. It looks clean through but she's bleeding badly. Her stomach is much worse. There is another bullet hole, but upon further inspection, I see no exit wound. My extra football jersey she wears to every game, is stained a deep red, and the spot seems to keep expanding. I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Keith's horrified voice.

"Oh my god. Laine!" He rushes over and takes a similar position to mine. I quickly pull my hoodie off and place it on her bleeding stomach while he does the same on her shoulder.

"Shoulder went straight through, but I think the one in her stomach is still there." I alert him shakily. He nods his head and faces to something behind me.

"Tank?" He asks.

"He's alive." Tank replies gruffly.

He's alive.

Suddenly all I see is red and I'm standing up without realizing it. I push Tank out of the way, grab Dorian by his shirt, and push him against the wall. He groans in pain from the blade and his eyes shoot to mine. Seeing me, he puts on a slight smirk and I lose it.

I punch him repeatedly, as hard as I can, and watch as his face becomes a bloody mess. I see nothing but my fist hitting his face and continue to pummel him until he falls to the ground. I go to stand over him but am pulled back by Tank.

"Get the hell off me, Johnny. I'm going to kill that motherfucker." I spit out, trying my best to get past him. He just keeps his hold on me and doesn't let up.

"Chill out OC. Your girl needs you." He says, but all I can think about is killing the bastard that hurt my girl, so I continue to try and pry myself from his grasp.

"Nathan. Get over here, NOW!" Keith yells at me, still I process nothing. I maintain my struggle until a soft whisper hits my ears.

"Nate, please." I turn to a sickly looking Lainey, staring at me. I quickly push Tank away, run to her side and take her hand.

"Angel. I'm here. You're going to be fine. I'm not going to let anything else happen to you." I say almost pleadingly. She just puts on a small smile and weakly places her hand on my cheek. Not caring that the others are here, I put my hand over hers and press my cheek further into her hold, looking into her chocolatey brown eyes.

"It's ok, Nate." She says confidently. Her words are nothing but soft whispers and I have to strain to hear them. Ignoring the tears falling from my eyes, I shake my head.

"No, baby. I'm getting you out of this." I say before turning my head to yell at Tank.

"Johnny. Where the hell is that ambulance?" I scream.

"There's an accident blocking the road here. It's going to take a bit." He says shakily.

I can tell he's crying too but I just ignore it. I let out a string of cuss words and push my hands slowly under Lainey's body. I gently lift her bridal style, before turning back to Tank.

"Stay here with Dorian until the cops come. Keith, get the keys. We are going to drive to the hospital. We don't have time to wait for the ambulance." I rush out. Both boys do as I say and I run out to the truck.

"Nate." Lainey whispers, looking up at me with tired eyes.

"I've got you baby. We are going to get help." I say, ignoring her pleads.

Keith opens the door and I slide in to the back seat and place Lainey on my lap, making sure to keep pressure on her stomach and shoulder. Keith shuts the door and hops into the driver's seat. I hear the familiar deep rumble of the engine and then we are shooting off to the hospital.

"Nate. Please, I need you to listen to me. You have to tell my siblings I love them. You have to take care of them." Lainey says, placing a hand on my cheek. I look down at her and shake my head again, refusing to believe in what is happening.

"No. Don't go there. Don't you dare go there, Adelaine Grace. You are going to be fine." I say sternly. She just ignores me and keeps going in her whispered tone.

"When we first met, I didn't want to give you all of me. I thought I couldn't do that, but I was so very wrong." I shake my head, but keep quiet as silent tears fall from both of our eyes.

"There was no way I could've stayed away. You have all of me, baby. I never should've tried to stop you. I've always been yours. Every part of me, was always yours. So, take my broken soul. It's battered and bruised but it's yours." I can hear her words getting softer and her breaths more erratic, but she doesn't stop.

"Nate, take my broken soul and make it whole again. Fill it with all the love and joy everyone in our lives' bring. You have to let me go and move on. Live your life and prove that the broken can be repaired." She finishes. I feel her hand slipping down and watch her face pale even further.

"Damnit! Keith, drive faster man. We're losing her." I scream. Her half-closed eyes stare right into mine. I watch as the light slowly begins to dim.

"No, no, no. Baby, don't do this. Stay with me, Angel. Stay with me." I plead and shake her gently. Her eyes open a tiny bit more and all I see is pure love in them.

"I love you." She whispers out.

The sliver of light goes out and her eyes close right as Keith whips the car up to the emergency entrance. After hopping out, he helps me get out, and I carry Lainey in through the sliding doors.

"Please, help. Anyone. My fiancée was shot and I don't think she's breathing." I yell out franticly, making sure to use 'fiancée' so I would be the one to receive her medical updates.

I watch two nurses rush to us and place Lainey on a stretcher. A few others come soon after, along with a doctor. Everyone is yelling different things, but all I can hear is my own beating heart, as my eyes focus on Lainey's unmoving chest. I run alongside her stretcher, never letting go of her hand, as a young nurse straddles her and begins chest compressions.

"Get me to OR 2. Stat!" A doctor running along barks.

"Come on, sweetheart. Stay with me." The nurse says to Lainey softly as she continues with the compressions. When we reach another set of doors one of the male nurses halts my movement.

"I'm sorry sir, but you'll need to wait here. Your fiancée is in good hands." He says before rushing to follow the stretcher.

I back up and slide down the closest wall. My hands and shirt are covered in her blood, but I don't care. I just sit there and cry. I don't know how long I was there, but I feel a strong hand on my shoulder and look up to see Keith. His face is tear streaked as well and he just sits down next to me. He keeps a firm grip on my shoulder and waits as I sob. After a few minutes I look back to him.

"I can't lose her. I'll die without her." I mumble out. He just shakes his head and pulls me into a hug.

"I know, brother. Sadly, I know." He says.

Neither of us offer fake assurances or make promises we can't keep. We just sit there, numb, waiting to see what will happen. My head in my bloodied hands and the same thing running through my head.

God, don't take my angel from me.