for the beautiful cover above❤️

We are all gathered in the waiting room, consumed by our thoughts after the doctor had us whisked out of the room to give Zyair some space. Gray had left to see the doctor and talk about Zyair's condition.

Overwhelmed with anxiety, I bite my left thumb fingertips to keep myself busy. The acrylic of that nail broke off a few days ago, and I hadn't had the time to fix a new one.

My phone rings, popping Aaron's name onto my phone screen.

"Hello."

"Dove, I don't think I can make it to the hospital tonight. Elliot's dad got into a ski accident this morning, so we have to drive down there. Well, I have to drive because Eliot is freaking out," Aaron rushes his words, breathing loudly.

I stand up, pacing around in circles, debating what to tell him about Zyair. I mean, nothing was certain yet.

"Zyair's awake," I say, skipping the part about him not being able to feel his feet.

Aaron is silent for a while. It's when he lets out a shaky breath did I realize he was still on the call. "Fuck, I'll be there as soon as I drop Elliot off."

"Who were you talking to?" Fawn asks.

I was about to answer her when I see Gray walking towards us, gripping my attention. Ashley and Fawn instantly stand.

"What did the doctor say?" Ashley asks, voicing out all our thoughts.

"I've got two news. A good one and a bad one. Which one first?" Gray asks, his eyes trained on the three of us.

"The bad one first."

Gray takes a deep breath and wipes his mouth with his palm. "The doctor thinks Zyair might have paraplegia."

"Oh my God," Ashley gasps, holding on to my arm for support. "Oh my God."

"It's not certain yet. He's still under-diagnosis," Gray emphasizes, holding on to Ashley's shoulder.

He puts Ashley to sit, and I sit next to her, wrapping my arms around her shoulder, cradling her. She felt light and had already lost a lot of weight this past week.

"What's the good news?" Fawn asks.

"Zyair's mum is pregnant."

My head jerks up, a heavy feeling settling in my stomach. Zyair was an only child all his life and always craved younger siblings. His parents did try to have other kids after him, but it either didn't work or lead to a miscarriage. Eventually, they stopped trying and choose to spoil Zyair as best as they could.

I couldn't believe she was finally pregnant.

"That's huge," I widen my eyes in shock, and Gray nods his head.

"Zyair would be so happy to hear that," Gray says, running his hand through his hair. His phone rings and he walks away to answer his call.

He comes back a few minutes later, a look of anxiousness written all over his face.

"What happened?" I widen my eyes, scanning his face.

"We need to get out of here now," He walks towards Ashley and pulls her from the seat.

"What's going on?" Fawn places her hand on Gray, stopping him from pulling a weak Ashley further.

"Out now! Everyone!," Gray yells at the top of his lungs, earning him some looks from passersby.

"Gray? What's going on?"

"Can you just trust me and help me get everyone out?" He begs, pleading with his eyes.

It seemed urgent. I nod and walk to help Ashley up. Gray runs towards one of the doctors and whispers something in the lady's ear. I watch as he runs into Zyair's room and rushes out with Zyair's bed in one hand. He switches Zyair from the bed to a wheelchair.

"Everyone out! Now!" I yell at the top of my lungs, walking towards the elevator with Ashley. I tap the elevator button incessantly and wait for it to open.

Gray's voice shouting is the last thing I hear before my hearing is deafened by the loud ringing of the fire alarm and trembling of the ground.

Gray grabs my arms tightly as smoke begins to fill the air. "Take the stairs."

The elevator door opens, and a man comes running in. "The top floor is on fire! The top floor is on fire!"

Following his words, all hell breaks loose with people running helter-skelter in an attempt to flee the building. Gray tightens his grip on Zyair's wheelchair, pushing forward.

The smoke twirls skyward, clouding the room, swirling and flowing around the atmosphere, hampering my breath.

"Stay close and don't let me out of your sight," he commands. Ashley, who was depending on me to walk, wakes up, straightening her body to run.

Fawn appears with wet towels and hands them to us. "Use this to cover your nose."

We fight our way out, struggling through the crowd. When we reach the stairs, Gray carries Zyair while Fawn handles the wheelchair as we push past the crowd.

At this point, my eyes are itching red, irritated by all the smoke. My nose sting, and my throat itches as my chest fills with the bad air, intoxicating and causing me to cough.

"Are you okay?" Gray places his hands on my back, guiding me out.

I nod my head, throwing the towel to the ground as soon as we get outside. We are a few inches away from the hospital when the ground trembles again, bringing us crouching to our feet.

Glancing back, I watch as the top floor explodes, bursting out flames from each angle, shattering the glasses. My mouth hangs in shock, and I cover my ears with my palms.

The floor we were on a few minutes ago explodes the same way with shattered glasses flying. My knees hit the ground due to the impact as I watch the horrendous scene unfold. There were people in those rooms- both the sick and healthy that didn't make it out on time, people who had family and friends just like the rest of us.

My sight gets blurry with tears, watching as the firemen arrive to put out the fire. I watch as a young girl tries to go inside the building, calling out for her mother's name but is stopped by some men.

My phone rings, and I instinctively bring it up to my ear without checking the caller.

"What a terrible event! How did such occur?" a voice says in a mocking tone.

Luca.

My pain turns to rage at the sound of his voice.

I open my mouth to speak, but I'm still too stunned to make coherent sentences.

"Don't you feel terrible? Innocent people are dying because of you."

I ball my hands into a fist, gritting my teeth and fighting my tears. "H-... How... How... dd- dare-.. You"

"Everything will end if you leave Gray and come to me. How many more of your friends need to get hurt before you listen?" His voice is harsher and more authoritative.

"You monster!"

"No! You're the monster! I was nothing but nice to you, yet you chose him?"

I wipe my dripping nose with the back of my hand and swipe at my tears. "You can go to hell for all I care."

"You're going to regret saying that, Dove. I've got some-"

I end the call and throw my phone on the ground, kicking and stomping it with my shoes. "Fucking bastard."

I didn't realize I was causing a scene until Gray grabs me, pulling me closer to him. "It was Luca," I whisper, feeling my lower lip tremble.

Gray doesn't say a word, patting my back gently with his palm. He pulls away, returning his sight to the burning building without letting go of my hands.

"All those people," Ashley shakes her head, covering her mouth with her hand.

Gray doesn't say a word, staring ahead, a determined look on his firm face.

"Gray?" I tug at his fingers.

"I'm going to end this."

The look in his eyes- a fiery burn of anger and pain- frightened me. "What are you going to do?"

"We need to get you to safety first," He looks at me. "You can't go home."

"We can go to my house," Fawn offers. She had been quiet this entire time, but one look at her face, and you could tell she had been crying; her eyes were swollen, her face wet with tears.

Gray nods- a grateful look on his face. "I'll take Zyair to another hospital."

"Promise me you'll be safe," I take his hands in mine.

Gray smiles and gives me a quick yet passionate kiss on the lips. He rests his head on mine. "I promise."

We part ways with Ashley and I getting into Fawn's car while Gray left with Zyair.

"Should I play some music?" Fawn asks once we are on the road. Ashley shakes her head, massaging her temple with her fingers.

"How far away is your house?" I ask with a small yawn, realizing that I've never been to her house. My head was pounding harshly, probably from all the smoke I had inhaled earlier. My eyelids felt heavy, and my throat was parched.

"Can I get some water?" Ashley asks, massaging her throat.

"Sure," Fawn replies, rummaging through her cabinet.

Those were the last words I heard before I fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

I am going to kill Luca.

I don't care for justice or anything of that sort, never did. He went too far this time. Children- including newborns were in that building. Sick people who were still trying to fight for their life also got caught up in the fire. I was done playing nice.

Zyair muffles in his seat, his hands curling as he struggles to move. "I'll get you to a hospital soon," I say to him, increasing the acceleration of the car.

I press dial and call Kayden's number. If I wanted to end Luca, I needed to deal with his wings first. Enzo Russo.

"Hello," Kayden picks up on the first ring.

"I have something to give you. Can you meet me at St. John's hospital?"

"Sure, but can we talk about your father?"

Ever since yesterday, I have refused to talk to or about my father. I had no idea who the man that killed Jay was. As far as I know, my father was dead.

"My father is dead. Deal with that man however you want to."

Immediately after my father killed Jay, Kayden and his men came busting in, surrounding the house. I guess my presence stunned my father so much that he was unable to escape. Luca was the only one who made it out alive and free. But he won't be for long.

"Gray, he wants to see you before he confesses. He's refusing to say a word until he meets up with you."

"With the information I have, you won't need a confession before you can throw his ass in jail," I snarl, curling up my fist.

Just the thought of him made me mad beyond expectation. But I was right. The USB Jay had given me contained all of Enzo's and my dad's illegal transactions. It also contained the list of people they've murdered and the people who paid for the murders, their fake money laundering accounts too. It must have taken Jay years to build it all up, but it was solid enough.

"But still, he's your father."

"He's not! He can't leave my mother and siblings miserable for two years and show up when we are finally getting some happiness!"

"I just hope you'll think about it," Kayden pleads.

"This is none of your business. You're an FBI agent, not a family therapist, " I snap and end the call.

"G-gr-gray," I hear a small whisper from my left.

The car comes to a halt as I step on the brakes. I snap my head to Zyair. He looked a mess; his eyes were a bright, red color, his forehead veins popped out, his jaws clenched and curled upwards. Only then did I realize he wasn't trying to move but speak.

I grab his hand tight, looking straight into his eyes. "Is this about what you wanted to tell me before your accident?" I ask.

He nods his head slowly.

"What is it? What do you know?" I urge him to speak.

He grits his teeth, biting down on his lips, struggling to breathe. More veins appear on his forehead as a tear trickled down his cheek.

"Don't say a word. Don't say anything."

I pull out my phone from my pocket, opening a random message so that the keyboard appears.

"Just point out the letters. Can you do that?" I ask, feeling my tears build-up at the sight of him. I wipe my eyes before my tear falls, watching as he types.

He clicked four letters only, spelling out a single word. A name.

Fawn.

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