Matthias reacted quickly, doing what he was asked.
Standing up, Drago flipped the long table that was holding their wedding cake, sending everything on it flying.
Taken aback at the sight of him, it took Kat a second before she and Matthias crawled behind the table that now sat on its side, putting it to their backs and using it as a shield.
At that time, the rest of the crew she was dancing with started to crawl over, with Nero bringing Elle over first, then Vincent with Lake.
Drago squatted down in front of them, taking the protection from the table, and grabbing the material at Kat’s waist.
“What are you doing?!” she screamed at him when the poufy material of her outer layers was ripped off.
“In case you need to run.” He continued, only leaving a couple of thin ones remaining.
Her mouth fell open already hearing the aftermath of all this. “Maria is going to fucking kill you.”
He couldn’t care less. “You do not move from behind this table unless you absolutely have to.” Putting his sole focus on Matthias and looking him dead in the eyes, he ordered, “Do. Not. Let her out of your fucking sight. Got it?” He emphasized some of the words with even more severity.
“Got it.” Her brother nodded sternly right when Angel got Adalyn safely behind the table.
This time Drago addressed all the men. “I don’t want anyone moving from behind this table. You stay here and protect the women.”
A fierce Nero, Vincent, and Angel nodded.
Satisfied by their responses, Drago stood again. The fire in his eyes burned to fevering heights as he started walking away from the safety he had created and into the chaos.
She and her two brothers stared at him in awe.
“Does he think he’s the fucking Terminator?” Matthias asked, watching Drago leave them without at least crouching down, uncaring if the shooter decided to strike out again.
The Carusos with them, however, weren’t surprised one bit by him, but it was Nero who responded simply, with fire in his green-emerald eyes as well. “That’s because he is.”
It was then she felt the liquid that coated the front of her dress right over her heart. Pulling her hand away, she saw thick, deep-red blood staining her hand.
“M-M-Matthias….” She finally got his name out, her heart thumping faster and faster, trying to work harder and harder.
“Kat!” he cried out, seeing the blood on her hands while he quickly touched her chest trying to find where it came from in order to apply pressure. “Where are you hurt?!”
Angel and the rest of them became just as fearful and grabbed to help her.
Her heart finally stopped…. “It isn’t mine.”
* * *
Drago had felt it the second the bullet had pierced through his arm. It had been a kill shot that only missed the target because he had put his body in front of hers at just the right moment.
Someone had intentions to kill Katarina, almost making their marriage the shortest one in history. That might have been a plus to him before they’d been married, but now that she was his wife and she had almost died in his arms, he couldn’t get the image out of his head of what would have happened to her if his instincts hadn’t kicked in to protect her.
Now that they were married—regardless if they wanted to be or not—she was his, and if someone threatened what was his, he took it personally and… someone had hell to fucking pay.
It had taken everything he had to leave her in her brothers’ trust, knowing he could only guarantee protection in his own hands, but he had others to protect as well. He had been doing this too long, knowing full and well that first shot that had been fired… had found its target.
It was the way that woman had screamed. She wasn’t the one who had been shot. He knew the difference between a cry for help from a victim and a cry for help from someone who’d witnessed it. The witness always screamed louder, and he feared she had seen the worst.
That bullet had taken a soul with it.
* * *
“It’s his blood.” She felt her heart start back up again with the pounding. “It’s D-Drago’s blood.”
“He’ll be fine,” Nero reassured her with confidence.
This feeling of worry for him rushed over her. She didn’t know why it was there, but the fact remained, it was there. “How do you know?”
Vincent wasn’t worried in the slightest. “I would be surprised if that bastard even felt it.”
Kat looked at the handsome blond like he was crazy. “He got shot!”
“He’s been shot lots of times,” Vincent told her with a shrug. “You know how he got shot five times?”
She rolled her eyes starting to understand why the door got slammed in his face. “Yes, I’m aware my father tried to have him killed.”