Bound to my Enemy Chapter 13 - THIRTEEN

A gunshot.

Sharp. Loud and real as fuck.

The music downstairs cut off instantly. Screams followed. Chaos erupted as people surged toward exits, bodies colliding, voices rising in panic.

I froze.

My heart slamd against my ribs as another shot echoed...shouting, then the unmistakable rush of security flooding the room.

Zane was on his feet in an instant.

"Stay where you are," he ordered, already moving.

The world tilted.

Whatever this night was supposed to be had just shattered.

The second gunshot was closer.

Not downstairs this ti. Not muffled by distance or music. It cracked through the VIP floor sharp enough that my ears rang.

Zane moved before I did.

His hand closed around my wrist and he pulled backward, hard, my heels skidding against the floor as bodies surged around us. People were shouting now. Soone scread. Glass shattered sowhere to my left.

"Stay with ," he said, low and controlled.

He stepped in front of without thinking, his body angling instinctively like he already knew where danger would co from. I barely had ti to register it before another shot rang out, followed by the sound of people stampeding toward the stairs.

My heart hamred so violently I thought I might be sick.

"Zane," I said, my voice too thin. "Your security...where are they?"

He glanced over his shoulder briefly, eyes sharp. "I brought just one."

"And where is he?" I asked, already knowing I wouldn’t like the answer.

"With your cousin."

My chest tightened. "You sent the only one you had with Ivy?"

"Yes."

"So it’s just us," I said.

"Yes."

Another shot echoed from below. Closer, it sounded too close.

Zane didn’t waste ti explaining. He dragged toward the far end of the VIP section, pushing through a narrow hallway partially hidden behind a velvet curtain. The noise dimd slightly as he shoved open a heavy door I hadn’t noticed before.

Cold air rushed in.

A back exit.

"Move," he said.

I stumbled outside with him, the door slamming shut behind us. The alley was narrow and dim, lit only by a single flickering security light. My breathing ca out fast and shallow now, fear finally clawing its way up my throat.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Anywhere but here."

Another gunshot rang out, unmistakably upstairs this ti.

Zane swore under his breath.

"They’re coming up," I said.

"I know."

We walked for a few minutes then abruptly pulled a door handle and suddenly we were outside in a parking lot, pulling into the shadow between two parked vehicles. His hand pressed briefly against my shoulder, steadying .

"Listen to ," he said. "You do exactly what I tell you. No questions asked."

My mouth was dry. "I don’t take orders well."

That earned the smallest huff of breath. Not a laugh. Almost though

"Tonight," he said, "you will."

Sothing tallic flashed in his hand.

He held it out to , grip first.

"Do you know how to use one?" he asked.

Every rumor I’d ever heard about him scread through my head at once. About violence. About blood. About n who crossed him and vanished.

And here I was, standing in an alley with Zane Whitmore offering a gun like it was nothing.

"Yes," I said.

The word surprised even .

His eyes narrowed slightly. "From where?"

"I grew up around paranoid n," I replied. "They liked to be prepared."

He watched my face for a beat longer, then nodded once.

"Safety’s off," he said. "Finger stays off the trigger unless you an it."

"I know." I said rolling my eyes.

I took the gun.

It was cold in my hand. Heavier than it looked. The weight of it grounded in a terrifying way.

Another shot cracked the air. Oh so they were outside the club too, of course.

Zane stepped closer, his voice dropping. "If it cos to it, you aim center mass. You don’t hesitate."

My stomach twisted. "You’re saying that like you expect it to."

"I plan for outcos," he said.

Footsteps pounded behind the door we just left.

Soone shouted.

Zane’s hand closed briefly around my wrist, firm and grounding. "Stay behind . If I tell you to run, you run."

"And you?" I asked

His gaze flicked to , sharp and steady. "I’ll handle the rest."

For the first ti since tonight began, I understood sothing with brutal clarity.

This was his world.

And I’d just stepped into it unard.

The door behind us rattled.

Zane shifted forward, positioning himself between and the sound.

"Elaine," he said quietly

"Yes?"

"If you survive tonight," he continued, eyes never leaving the door, "you won’t try to replace your cousin again."

My grip tightened around the gun.

"If I survive tonight," I said, "we’re finishing that conversation."

The door burst open.