“Nobody move!”
The man’s voice—God, that voice—sliced through the courtroom like a cutlass. Cold. Crooked. Shaky, but deadly. Camille flinched so hard her spine snapped straight. She didn’t even think—just yanked Ellie behind the bench, her palms slick and sliding on the girl’s hoodie. Everything smelled like bleach and panic, that fake-clean courtroom stink mixing with something sour, like fear that’d been stewing too long. Her knees hit the wood. Hard.
Her brain stuttered. g*n. A g*n. In court. Jesus—
She couldn’t breathe right. Couldn’t think. Ellie’s breathing was fast-fast-fast, hot puffs against her collarbone, and Camille’s stomach was already flipping, like it was trying to throw up everything she hadn’t eaten.
Behind her, Adrian dropped. Hard. Blood on his sleeve, like rust bl
