Chapter 242 He Was Shot Reese I don’t know what unsettled me more. The fact that I’d been outplayed by a nerdy girl whose idea of rebellion was probably skipping class once in college? Or the fact that I was the one unraveling over it. This made no sense. None at all. I’d woken up this morning expecting regret. Maybe irritation. Maybe the usual detachment that followed sex when it meant nothing more than release and distraction. Instead, I’d woken up wired. Tense. Hyper-aware of every sound in the house. Of every movement. Of her. Elizabeth. She’d moved through the morning like yesterday hadn’t happened. Like we hadn’t crossed a line that two people who were practically still considered strangers should never cross. She hadn’t spoken to me since that happened. Not even once since yesterday. She’d instead brushed past me in the hallway to get to the kitchen, barefoot, hair tied back loosely, wearing one of her faded concert t-shirts like everything was okay. No awkwardness. No hesitation. No lingering glance. Nothing. She’d poured herself coffee. Toasted bread. Sat on the couch and turned on the television yesterday like this was her house and I was just background noise. Like we hadn’t been naked together a few hours ago. Like she hadn’t trusted me with something I never should’ve touched. Like I wasn’t losing my fucking mind. I leaned against the doorway now, watching her from a distance. She sat cross-legged on the couch, bowl balanced on her thigh, spoon moving steadily from cereal to mouth as she watched what looked like a gruesome crime documentary. There was blood spatter. Chalk outlines. Grainy footage. But she didn’t flinch. Instead she welcomed each spoonful hungrily, letting her upper lip glide across the spoon. Almost in slow motion. I swallowed hard. I’d slept with a lot of women. I’d walked away from all of them clean. No complications. No attachments. No guilt. I’d learned early what emotions cost. I’d learned the hard way what happened when you blurred lines you had no business crossing. That was why I had rules. Clear ones. No virgins. No attachments. No hard feelings. Just fun. Just business. Just bodies that didn’t leave marks or memories. Until her. Until I’d been standing in my bathroom last night, staring down at a bloodied condom in my hand, my chest tightening like someone had wrapped wire around my ribs and started pulling. I’d never been with a virgin. Except once. And that disaster had rewritten my entire fucking life. So how had I missed it? How hadn’t I known? Her insistence. Her planning. The way she’d been so precise. Too direct. Too bold. God. Why hadn’t it occurred to me that she wasn’t experienced—that she was merely performing experience? That she wasn’t nervous because she was shy, but because she was calculating? She’d known exactly what she was doing. And I’d walked straight into it. Hook, line, sinker. The thought made my jaw tighten. I dragged a hand down my face and exhaled slowly, trying to get control of the chaos spiraling through my head. Get a fucking grip, Reese. I shouldn’t be thinking about last night. I shouldn’t be dissecting it like it meant something. I should be doing exactly what she was doing—acting like it was nothing. Like it was just another Tuesday. I should only be focused on what mattered. Roman. My brother. That was the real reason my nerves were shot. The real reason unease clung to me like a second skin. Yesterday, Roman had called sounding… wrong. Worried. He sounded very tight and controlled over the phone like he was forcing calm over something volatile. He’d said things had gone sideways in Savannah’s hometown. That what he’d expected to be a confrontation had turned into a full-blown gun party. That bodies were down. That blood had been spilled. And he’d said names. The two women he’d come back with. The ones in the bus that night. Dead. Both of them. But that hadn’t been what made my stomach drop.“What about Savannah?” I’d asked immediately. “Is the child okay?” A pause. Too long. “She’s okay,” he’d said finally. “The baby’s okay.” Relief had hit me so hard I’d had to sit down. He’d told me he’d handed Savannah a gun while he stepped away to make a call. I hadn’t loved that idea—not knowing how comfortable she was with firearms—but Roman wasn’t reckless where she was concerned. If he thought she needed protection, there was a reason. If he thought it was right to give her a gun, then I trust him. The plan had been simple. I was to wait for his call. When he called, I’d grab Elizabeth and we’d head back to the manor. My things were already packed. Bags loaded. My car was ready. Roman had a deadline. A timeline he couldn’t afford to derail. Savannah’s next appointment was at hand. So everything had to move smoothly. It just had to. Except he hadn’t called back. After he’d hung up to contact emergency services, his phone had gone dead. Completely off. And that wasn’t like him. Roman didn’t turn his phone off. Ever. Not for sleep. Not for breaks. Not for anything. And now it was almost afternoon. No call. No message. Nothing. A bad feeling had settled deep in my gut, heavy and insistent. I pushed off the doorway and walked toward the couch, clearing my throat as I stopped in front of her. “Elizabeth.” She looked up slowly, spoon paused halfway to her mouth. Calm. Very unbothered. “Yes?” she said, setting the bowl down beside her. “Can I help you with something?” The words hit me harder than I expected. Can I help you with something? Like I was a stranger. Like yesterday hadn’t happened. Like we hadn’t done something intimate enough to leave me raw. My brows lifted before I could stop myself. “Is that all you have to say to me?” The moment the words left my mouth, I nearly cringed. I sounded… off. Too affected. Too bothered.She blinked once. Twice. Then reached up and removed her glasses, setting them carefully on the table. “Reese,” she said evenly. “Do you have something to say? My cereal’s getting kinda soggy.” I stared at her. The composure. The control. The complete absence of guilt, shyness or hesitation. Something twisted in my chest right there and then. “Is this a joke?” I asked. She sighed softly and put her glasses back on. “Look. I know you’re probably upset about yesterday.” Probably? “I know I should’ve told you earlier,” she continued. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t. I really am.” She placed a hand against her chest, expression sincere but distant. “I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just… I really needed your help to get that out of the way.” I froze. Needed my help. Get that out of the way. The words landed like a slap. She went on, oblivious to the fact that she’d just cracked something open inside me.“But truly, Reese, from the bottom of my heart—thank you for your help. You were the only one who ticked all my boxes. And you didn’t disappoint.” She clasped her hands together, offering a polite, tight smile. “A job well done.” I felt like I’d been punched. “You cannot be serious,” I said slowly. She tilted her head. “Excuse me?” “You’re talking about this like it was a fucking transaction,” I snapped. “Like I was a service you hired. Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?” Her brows knitted together, confusion flickering across her face. “Reese, I am a practical person. Not an emotional person.” “You deceived me, Elizabeth,” I continued, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “You told me you—” Her phone rang. The sound cut through the room loudly, stopping me halfway. She shot me a look before reaching for it. She dragged the icon across the screen and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello?” she said. Then her voice softened. “Sav.” My entire body went rigid. And I didn't even know why. Savannah. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you since yesterday,” Elizabeth said quickly. “I was starting to worry—” She stopped. Her posture changed instantly. The ease drained from her shoulders. Her brows drew together as she listened, eyes unfocused. “What?” she whispered. Then she stood abruptly, her left hand flying to cover her mouth. My heart slammed against my ribs. I knew instantly that something was wrong. “No,” she breathed. “No, that’s not—” Her knees seemed to buckle slightly. And then she said the words that turned my blood cold. “What do you mean Roman got shot and is in a coma?!” The room tilted. The sound of the television faded into nothing but static. Coma. Shot. Roman.I moved without thinking, catching her elbow as she swayed. Her face was pale, eyes wide with shock. “What hospital?” she demanded into the phone. “Is Alyssa okay? The baby—?” She listened again, nodding numbly. “Okay. Okay. I'll tell him. I’m coming. I’ll be there. Reese will take me—” She ended the call and looked at me, terror and disbelief colliding in her eyes. “He was shot,” she said. “Savannah said he collapsed right after. They barely stabilized him. She says they're at Blackwood Manor. And you need to come quickly.” She continues. “And she says you know what this means.” My chest tightened painfully. The rules. The anger. The resentment. None of it mattered anymore. Roman was down. My brother was in a coma. And everything—everything—had just changed.