Chapter: 34

The screen of my laptop lit-a silent reminder of the one thing I'd built for myself in the past ten years.

Romance author.

The irony wasn't lost on me. Ten years of crafting love stories while living in a marriage devoid of it. No one knew. No one cared.

I'd planned to work on my next book today-a rare free weekend-but Celeste's venom had left me restless, my skin crawling with unspent fury.

I needed to clear my head. So I headed into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the nastiness of Celeste's visit. Dressed in soft joggers and an old hoodie, I slipped outside, desperate for air.

Although it was still morning, the LA sun shone brightly over the quiet Los Feliz neighborhood. I tilted my head up for a moment, letting the bright rays warm me. The sidewalks were damp from the early- morning sprinkler systems.

As I walked to the end of Fern Dell Drive, the houses began to thin out. A couple of joggers passed me, earbuds in, lost in their private worlds. The entrance to Griffith Park appeared like a shift in temperature. The sidewalks turned to packed dirt under my feet, and the smell of flowers and wet leaves hung thick in the air. Tall trees arched close, filtering in the light.

Birds chirped in the branches overhead, a melodic song that pulled a wistful smile out of me.

I climbed onto a small wooden bridge that crossed the creek and stopped in the middle, leaning on the railing. I closed my eyes and took slow, calming breaths, inhaling the clean air and calming myself.

My hard-won tranquility was shattered when my phone started blaring, a shrill sound that cut into the quiet of the morning.

I huffed, fishing it out of my pocket.

I rolled my eyes when I saw the caller ID.

What now?

"Hell-"

"What the fuck, Sera?” Kieran snarled down the line.

I pulled the phone away, wincing slightly. "You're going to have to be more specific,” I said dryly.

"What the fuck did you say to Celeste?"

I snorted. Of course, she'd gone running to him, no doubt leaving out all the unflattering details that didn't favor her, once again painting me as the villain.

If she'd gone to him first before coming to me, then maybe I wouldn't have had to say-and hear-such ugly things.

I ran my hands through my hair, feeling my earlier exhaustion return with a vengeance. "Listen, Kieran-"

I heard the sound first-a sharp, explosive crack that shattered the quiet morning. Then I saw the birds take to the sky, screeching wildly. Then I felt it-pain. Red-hot agony, unlike anything I thought was possible.

"What was that?" Kieran's voice sounded like it was coming through a vacuum-muffled and distant.

My head dropped slowly, and for a second, I couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle together, couldn't reconcile the sound of the gunshot with the pain, with the blood seeping out of the hole in my chest.

"I think I just got... shot?" I mumbled, my words slurring as the pain spread from my chest to every part of my body.