Aaron rushes into the room, pushes me aside, and immediately begins to apply pressure to Ashley's bleeding wound. My mind is still a bit hazy from the shock when another message pops up on the phone screen.

Seeing Dove name on my screen clears the fog in my mind. Snatching the phone from the bed, I push it into my back pocket before anyone else could see it. Ashley stirs on the bed, coughing up blood while Aaron tries to hold her, all the while applying pressure to her wound.

Although Ashley and I had never been really close, she was still a constant figure in my life. We were stuck in a constant frenemies stage, but she was always ready to help whenever I needed her.

She grabs my hand, her grip weak but firm, blood sputtering from her lips- down to her jaw- as she struggled to speak. "F-f-fa-faw-f-awn."

I squeeze her hand tightly, shushing her as I patted her hair down. "I know. I know. Don't talk."

Ashley grunts in pain, taking shallow, rapid breaths through her mouth and shutting her eyes tightly. A tear falls from her eyes. "D-do-"

"Don't talk, Ashley," I plead, carrying her from the bed and heading out the room.

"Did you call an ambulance?" Aaron asks one of Kayden's team members, and the guy replies with a nod.

I carry Ashley out to the living room and place her on the floor. She was losing blood quickly, her eyes drooping as her grip on my hand loosened. Removing my shirt, I roll it into a ball and use it to obstruct blood flowing out of her wound.

Aaron claps his hands loudly above my head, snapping his fingers in Ashley's face. "Hey. Hey. Stay awake."

She responds with a low groan, a stray blood-stained tear falling from her eye. I squeeze her hand and shake her body vigorously, pulling her in and hugging her body- which was slowly becoming pale and cold. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The whirring sound of the ambulance approaches, and Ashley is snatched away from me by one of Kayden's men and rushed outside. Still crouched, I fall to the ground and bury my hands in my hair, tugging on my strands.

"What do we do now, Mr. Stone?" the SWAT team leader asks me.

I shake my head with a sigh. With Luca's message replaying in my head, I knew had to do this alone. The number of people I've put in danger was eating away at me, rendering me helpless with regret. I should have ended Luca when I had the chance. Trying to be just and nice had given me nothing but heartache, drenching the people I loved in despair.

"Nothing. We wait till tomorrow," I reply, dragging myself from the ground and heading out the door.

Aaron places a hand on my shoulders and spins me. "Are you crazy? He still has Dove. What do you mean wait till tomorrow?"

Fueled by my agitation and anger, I push Aaron away from me, knocking him into the dining area and accidentally breaking the table in the process. "Enough! I've done enough! If I say we wait till tomorrow, then we wait till tomorrow!"

Aaron glares back at me from the ground, his nose flaring as his shoulders heaved up and down. He tightens his fist and stands to me, mimicking my body posture. We are involved in a silent stare contest before Aaron lowers his gaze to the ground. "Fine."

He walks out on me, and I watch as he gets into his car and speeds down the uneven trail of the road.

I bring out my phone to stare at the message again, rage pulsing through my veins as I clasped the phone in my hand tightly.

After everyone leaves, I get into my car and speed down the road, typing the address in the GPS. My mind is occupied with thoughts of Kelch and her being alone with Luca and his guys, barely aware of the loose ballad playing on the radio.

I want to say that I can't believe how far Luca was willing to go to get me- but I can. He had always been suspicious from the start, from his obsession with Dove and his open dislike for me. But when I found out he was Enzo's son, it all made sense.

Turning a corner, I notice the shadow of a dark car slowly following me from behind. At first, I thought I was paranoid. But after taking three wrong turns and seeing the car behind do the same, it becomes quite clear that I am indeed being followed. The car lights are off, making it impossible for me to sight the driver. I feel for my revolver in my pocket, clutching it tightly as I increased my speed.

Nighttime never really felt like nighttime in New York. It's a bit after 1 am, yet the streets and highways still bustled with hustlers- people going to and coming home from work- scattered all over the streets like lost chicks.

I lure the car behind me into the tunnel and come to a sharp halt, curbing the driver into a corner. I keep my gun close to my knee as I alight from my car.

The stalker stays still in his car, suspiciously unmoving. I knew better than to get too close, so I bring out my flash and point it at the driver's seat. I frown when I get no response. Knowing the Cagers, they would have made a move if it were them.

"Who are you?" I point my gun at the window, walking closer and edging my flash directly at the driver.

The door opens, and someone gets down from the car, holding his hand above his head.

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Woah. Hey!" Aaron yells, his voice getting louder with each word.

"Stop sounding like a fucking ambulance. What are you doing here?" I seethed through gritted teeth, placing my gun in my back pocket.

Aaron cocks his head, a straight expression on his face. "Did you really think I was buying your wait till tomorrow bullshit?"

I always considered myself a stubborn person, but Aaron was on another level of stubbornness.

"I was hoping you would."

"You're going to save Dove, aren't you?" Aaron folds his arms, leaning on his car.

"Are you truly fearless, or you're just pretending?"

"I should be asking you that question."

"I've been in the loop for years. I can handle Luca," I glare at him, pressing my lips together.

"You can't! Do you truly believe everything that happened was just a coincidence? Fawn is not really fawn! Do you know how fucked up that is?"

Then it hits me. Luca was always one step ahead because he already had his plans in place. From Sabrina to Kelch. Kelch. It was never really about Kelch.

This was something he must have had in mind before he met her. I had always been his target from day one, and it wasn't about Kelch like I had thought. It was something bigger. I just didn't know what.

Everything felt different. The threats. The deals. The secrets. The Cagers weren't the ones after me. Luca was. His work screamed amateur, but I was too blinded by my anger- which prevented me from being calculative.

Elliot and Aaron's relationship. Zyair and Ashley's accident. It was all part of his plans to get my friends away from me.

"I'm not going to -"

"Punch me," I raise my hands to Aaron, cutting his speech short.

"What?"

I slap my palm. "I want to know if your punches are still as good as before."

Aaron rolls his eyes and leans further into his car. "Why?"

"Just do-"

My words are cut short when Aaron throws a hard punch on my palm. My hand vibrates from the punch, weakening with pain for a moment.

"You were surely saving that one," I grit my teeth, shaking my palm to ease the pain.

"So, what's your plan?" Aaron shrugs.

My face lights up at his question. Luca might have been one step ahead, but not today. There is a tiny detail he doesn't know about yet.

Aaron isn't in London. And Aaron can throw a mean punch.

~~~~~~~~~~

The location was an old underground parking lot. It used to be a popular spot where homeless people stayed until some gang members took possession of the area. Now, it was just a scary area that smelled like weed, smoke, and alcohol most of the time.

"What's this all about?" I laugh, walking towards Luca. Luca was seating right in the middle of the parking lot, a smirk on his face as he toyed with his gun.

"I enjoy sleeping at this time. Couldn't you have at least done this during the day?" I tease, raising an eyebrow. "Out of courtesy?"

As I spoke, I scanned the area for Kelch, but I don't see her anywhere. "Where's my girl?"

Luca's brows shoot up at my question, and he rises from his chair. His friend, Aussie, is standing next to him like a bodyguard, holding two bats in his hand. But Fawn was nowhere either, so I figured she was the one keeping an eye on Kelch.

"Your girl?"

"I believe I didn't stutter."

"You don't deserve her," Luca spits, his shoulders tensed as he collects one of the bats from Aussie.

"That's not for you to decide."

Luca sighs irritatedly, his eyes flaring with bitterness. "You know I can't stand seeing you all cocky," He raises a taunting brow, poking me with the edge of the bat.

"Then sit." I kick his shin harshly, causing him to fall to his knees with a thud. "Or you can kneel."

I smirk and stroke my chin. "Personally, I prefer the latter."

Luca snaps to me with a fury, a glint of arrogance in his eyes, surprised by my act. He stands, slowly dusting himself off. "I have Dove, you know, and I can make sure you never see her again."

"And I can make sure you never see again. Your choice."

If all goes well, Aaron should arrive by now.

"Luca, you might want to e-" Aussie begins, staring at me nervously. He didn't even attempt to conceal his fear.

"Shut the fuck up!" Luca snaps, clutching the bat in his hand and whacking Aussie right in the guts. Aussie instantly coughs up blood, bending over and clutching his tummy. Luca's eyes snap back to me, the hatred evident in his eyes.

"Well, you just made my job a lot easier," Aaron's voice comes from behind, a mocking tone to his voice. Aaron looked a successful mess- His hair is ruffled, His lips are swollen- dripping with blood, his eyes are a grotesque purple color, curbing inwards.

My eyes settle on the tiny figure behind him, and I choke back the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes, raising my head upward with a relieved sigh. I return my sight to her, and our eyes meet.

She had a sad yet relieved look in her eyes. All I wanted to do at that moment was hold her in an embrace and never let go.

"Hey, baby," I mouth.

She replies with a small smile and nods her head. "I'm fine."

The sound of a gun being shot at the ceiling goes off, forcing everyone to seek cover. I had heard too many gunshots sounds to be moved by Luca's little tantrum.

Calculatedly, I turn to him and see he had his gun pointed at me. I try to reach for my gun.

"Don't you dare," He seethed, aiming for my head.

I raise both hands and shift my body to block Aaron and Kelch away from his line of sight.

"I said don't move," Luca responds, his body shaking violently. He had a glow in his eyes I had never seen before- fear?

I could tell he knew he was losing.

Footsteps approach me from behind, and I spin to see Kelch walking towards Luca, taking slow steps.

"Luca, can you please end this? You're better than this," she begins, raising her hands above her head as she strived forward.

Was she crazy?

"I've never told you this before, but I did like you. You made me laugh. You made me smile. You always had my back, and I know that deep down, you are a nice person," she continues, her brows furrowed with concern.

My brows knit in confusion. Did I miss something? I pull her away from Luca and push her behind me.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I mutter through gritted teeth.

Kelch ignores me and flips away from my grasp, putting herself to stand in front of me. "Luca," she calls, almost as if she was trying to reach out to him.

Luca's eyes are unmoved, focused on her with an intensity I couldn't fathom. He doesn't lower his hand either, contemplating and fighting with his inner mind. His eyes are blurry with tears. At the slight movement of his hand, without thinking, I flip positions with Kelch, turning my back to Luca and embracing Kelch in my arms.

I close my eyes and wait for the bullet to hit. But it doesn't. Instead, I hear the sounds of the metallic bullets hitting the concrete ground as Luca releases them from the gun.

Kelch heaves a sigh of relief, almost succumbing to the ground if she weren't in my arms. She cries softly in my shirt, holding on to my biceps weakly.

Just as I'm about to tighten my grip on her, she pushes me to the ground, taking a stand where I was previously. And soon enough, the sound of a bullet being fired goes off.

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