Seven Crows by Kate Kessler

Author:Kate Kessler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2019-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

Twelve years ago

Killian fell to her knees beside Jason. One of her knees smashed against a rock, but she barely felt it—her body was numb, and there was a voice screaming so loudly in her head that she couldn’t think.

The car carrying the SOBs who had shot him tore off down the street as she reached for Jay. Blood soaked the front of his T-shirt and streamed like a fountain from his neck. She pressed her hands to the wound. Warm blood fought for release against one of her palms.

Jason’s eyes were wild, staring up at her as he struggled to breathe. All she could hear was a sick gurgling sound. He tried to speak but couldn’t.

“It’s okay, baby,” she whispered. “You just be quiet. Help’s on the way.” Someone in the house would have called 911, right? They had to.

He grabbed her leg, his fingers desperate and claw-like, but weak. He was dying—she knew it and he knew it. It was in the whites of his eyes.

Suddenly Dash was there. Dependable Dash, who always seemed to know what to do. “Ambulance is on the way,” he said. He thrust a towel at Killian to put against Jay’s throat before pressing another against Jason’s bleeding chest. “Hang in there, asshole.”

They always called each other that. It was like their bro term of endearment or something. Sometimes when they talked to each other like that Killian would tease them and ask if they wanted to be alone. She made it sound like a joke, but she was jealous of their bond. Jealous that Dash knew Jason in a way she never would. Jealous that Jason knew Dash just as well.

Her gaze locked with Dash’s and she saw the truth there. The ambulance wasn’t going to be enough. Even if it arrived within seconds, Jason wouldn’t survive the trip to the hospital. He was so full of holes, and it was impossible to plug every one of them. Wetness soaked the knees of her jeans—his blood? It had to be, because it hadn’t rained in days. Her hands were covered in it. So were Dash’s.

In the distance a siren wailed. The ambulance? Cops, too.

Jason reached out to Dash with his other hand. Dash grabbed his fingers so tight his knuckles went white.

“Do not die on us,” Dash commanded.

Blood gurgled from Jason’s open mouth. No words came out. He was so pale now, faded. The ambulance was getting closer.

“Just hold on,” Killian pleaded. “Please, baby.”

Jason looked at her. She watched as the light left his eyes. “No,” she whispered.

It was too late by the time the ambulance finally arrived. Jason had already been dead a full minute when the EMTs came for him.

What happened next was a blur, lost in a cloud of numb disbelief. Jason had seemed indestructible, and to see him ripped apart by bullets, so easily taken down…it was like a nightmare and Killian just wanted to wake the hell up.

Dash stayed with her through all of it—her blood-soaked twin. They held to each other, neither one of them yet able to summon tears.

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