Chaos.

My whole world erupted into chaos as glass shattered and boots stormed through the doors. Hwasa's men descended on us like a broken hive of bees searching for their stolen queen. I had no choice but to lay in the floor because as hard as I tried, I still couldn't move more than my toes and the tips of my fingers. I shoved out with my powers, but what I had done before had been hard enough and now with Hell raining down around me, I was too distracted to focus on it.

"Get them and bring them to the car," Hwasa shouted at the men around her. "Then get out into the woods and find the shooter. It's got to be that bastard, Taehyung!" She gestured wildly around the room as her men scattered to carry out her orders. Two of them grabbed Jin under his arms as one rushed over to collect me. I struggled against his grip, but I was too weak to put up much of a fight.

Just as Hwasa reached the door, though, a heavy, dark-headed man dropped down from the porch roof. A vicious smile cut across his face as he leveled his gun at hers. Seconds later, another body broke through what was left of the glass doors behind us.

"Suho..." Hwasa breathed, stepping back into the room. My head swiveled from Suho at the front to the man stepping over broken glass in the back. Sounds of warfare still waged outside as the two men in front of us looked like they were ready to face an army inside. They were both dressed in heavy black armor and carrying military-grade weapons. The one at the back smirked down at me even as he held his gun to the enemies in the room. His hair was pulled away from his beautifully chiseled face in a high ponytail, exposing the close-cropped hair on the sides. I vaguely recognized him from that first night at the auction house.

"Kai," I choked out.

He knelt down beside me without lowering his weapon. "We're going to get you out of here. Can you move?"

"Not well."

"Okay, hang tight then." With that, he stood again and stalked toward Hwasa.

"You know, a little bird told me you'd died," Suho spoke as he closed in on Hwasa and her men. Two more guys came in through the back and I immediately recognized them as Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. I had no doubt there were even more waiting outside.

"But I never believe anything I don't see with my own two eyes," he finished.

Hwasa laughed nervously as she watched the men closing in on her. "A good policy to have, though I would expect nothing less from you. But why are you here? This doesn't concern you."

Suho laughed, but there was no happiness in the sound. In fact, it was way more creepy than any laugh should have been. Between the laugh and the glint in Suho's eyes, he was here for blood. "Well, you see my dear...that's where you're mistaken. The second you came for my brother, you involved me."

Hwasa looked down at Jin, still knocked out and lying at her feet. "Jin?"

"Really, I thought you'd have better intel, but that doesn't really matter anymore does it? You and the Baron have stepped far out of bounds this time."

"I don't have time for this shit, Suho. Let me take the girl and you can have your idiot brother."

Kai chuckled beside me. "Well, unfortunately for you, that's not going to work, either. If she's part of Bangtan, she's under our protection too." My heart swelled as Kai looked down at me and winked.

"This has nothing to do with you," she screamed, throwing her hands wildly in the air. Feeling had returned to my arms and legs enough that I could push myself up onto my elbow. The already tense air was starting to shift and deepen like changing winds just before a hurricane. It felt like the energy was being sucked from the room. Like something was powering up.

"Oh, fuck..." I breathed out as I recognized the feeling. A flashback of a training room hit me hard and heavy as I jerked around just in time to watch Wonho step over the broken threshold. His chin was dropped down and touching his chest as his eyes began to glow golden in the low light of the room. I threw my right arm out, shoving Suho out the door as I put up a force field around me and Kai. I wasn't strong enough to reach Chanyeol or Kyungsoo and could only hope they'd survive. They both turned and immediately opened fire on Wonho, accurately anticipating the threat he brought with him, but in his current state, bullets were useless. I reached out and jerked them away from him just as the first shock wave burst out from his chest.

Despite my field, Kai and I were shoved back from the concussive force of Wonho's blast. I rolled across the floor into the wooden shards of the broken coffee table while Kai was flung into the far wall. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo fared much worse, but from my position, I couldn't see them. I could only hope they, and Jin, weren't killed.

"You should've stayed dead, Natalia. Why couldn't you have stayed dead?" Wonho's voice was full of agony as he started to pull energy for another blast. The lights flickered and the power whined in protest.

"You don't have to do this, Wonho," I choked out. Talking was a struggle and when I looked down, I realized why. A huge shard from the broken table was jammed into my stomach just below my ribs. A deep breath was impossible and a sudden move could angle it dangerously close to my heart, but I couldn't stay still. Not when so many lives hung in the balance. I shot him with a low powered burst but it was enough to knock him backwards and out of the house. I had to get him away from the men.

He tumbled down the steps and out of sight. I stumbled to my feet and dragged myself to the doorway, holding onto the busted frame for support. Wonho was just getting up on his feet, unfazed. He shook his head like he was disappointed.

"It's like you said...none of us want to play this game, but we have to anyway. It's what we were made to do."

"Don't make me do this, Wonho...please," I rasped, stepping out into the cool night air.

Tears flowed down his face and all I once, I realized what he wanted. There was no way out for any of us. No freedom, no hope. Only death. It was the only way any of us would be free.

"Please," I begged, dropping my head to the side even as I drew on my own power. Hwasa was on the other side of the house, which meant neither Wonho or myself were restricted in our potential. The porch steps creaked with each of my feet as I continued to hit Wonho with small bursts of energy, hoping to move him as far away from everyone else as possible. It wasn't stopping him. The trees creaked and moaned as he drew on the bioelectricity around us.

"It's the only choice we have." A single tear fell down his cheek. Time was up. His muscles tensed and another wave of energy exploded from him like a supernova. Throwing both my hands up as an inhuman scream erupted from my chest, I threw everything I had at him. Our energy met in the space between and for a split second there was no sound. No breath. No life.

Then, just as suddenly as it disappeared, everything fell back down on us and it was as if every sound in the universe was hitting my ears at once. A ball of light swallowed us whole and then burst into the forest surrounding us. I collapsed onto my hands and knees, completely drained. When I looked up, Wonho's body lay in the dirt in front of me. Unmoving.

"No," I sobbed as I crawled forward. Burning limbs cracked and hissed as they fell from the trees. One hit him in the stomach, but he didn't even flinch. I pulled myself to him and threw the limb away, begging him not to be dead. He was as much my brother as Hwasa was my sister. We were born from the same evil, products of it, but that didn't define who we were.

"Why did you make me do this, Wonho," I screamed down at him, beating on his chest and begging his heart to start again.

"Morgan," a man's voice whispered behind me, but I didn't listen. I didn't stop beating on Wonho's chest even when large hands pulled at me. I pushed them back with my mind as I continued to beg Wonho to breathe. Still, they persisted.

"Morgan, he's gone." The voice was stronger that time. Closer. Jungkook. That time when he reached for me, I let him stand me up and pull me into his firm chest. My fingers curled and clinched at his sides as I buried my face against his neck and sobbed for everything I was worth. His fingers slid up and down my back soothingly as he tried to shush me.

"Hwasa did this," I moaned. "This is her doing."

And with that thought, I shoved Jungkook away. She had to pay. She wasn't my sister anymore. This was going to end. Now.

Jungkook screamed my name behind me as he called for me again, but I was past hearing him. I ran around the house, forgetting to care about the wood inching toward my heart, and skidded to a stop when I saw Suho dragging Hwasa away from the wreckage of Jin's family home.

"This is your fault," I growled. She jerked her face around to look at me, her hair floating around her as if she were underwater. I immediately recognized the panic written in her features. I was devolving quickly and if something didn't stop me, I would self destruct, just like Wonho had. Too much energy too fast was the only thing that could truly kill any of us. But if I was going to die, I was going to take her with me.

I took off in a dead sprint and reveled in the fear on her face as she tried to get out of Suho's grasp. The older man even looked like he was about to run, too. But just before I could reach them, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and spun me around.

"I'm sorry do this to you because you saved my life," Kai whispered in my ear as he held me tight, "but I have no choice." A sharp pain pierced my throat and I twisted around to look up into his black eyes just before I went limp in his arms.

Okay...so maybe I overestimated my family's ability to stay healthy. One-by-one all my kids fell to sickness before dragging me down with their damnable public school system germs. We're in and out of fevers, but it could be worse. My heart and prayers are with all those affected with the coronavirus because I'm scared enough when my kids get the flu. As someone with an anecdotal knowledge of virology, I've been watching the coverage nonstop.

But as far as Bulletproof goes, there should only be a couple more chapters to go before this book comes to an end! I've been thriving on your comments and votes, so please keep them coming! Thanks, fam! ILYA!!!!