LEV
Everything inside me snapped tight the moment the gunshots rang out, and I sprinted ahead, hearing Iva behind me even though I had told her to stay back. I had no time to pull her to safety; my chest was burning, my legs moving faster than my thoughts. And just then, a thin, piercing cry split through the air.
My son’s cry.
Rounding the corner, my eyes widened at the sight that greeted me, and just then, Iva gasped behind me. Akari clung to Nik, who lay bloodied on the floor, unconscious.
He was in my arms before I even realized I had grabbed him. He cried so hard his whole body shook, his little hands clinging to my shirt, and I barely managed to calm him as my mind registered the rest of the scene.
Nik lay facedown, his shirt soaked in blood, with a wide stab wound gaping in his
