47. Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Seven
E mma
I feel the entire world stop when Declan falls into the water.
Monty already shot at the guy who shot Declan but I’m not paying them any attention. My feet are running to the stream, the stones flying around my feet, rain hitting my skin.
Air claws at my chest but I don’t breathe until I get there. Only for all the breath to whoosh out of me when I see Declan slowly sinking below the depths.
God.
I need to get him out of there.
Without thinking I take off my shoes, take off my jacket, and dive into the lake. The freezing cold water invades every cell in my body, shocking me. Still, I open my eyes despite the sting, so I can see Declan. I swim down, padding my legs faster, then grab his arm when I get close. His eyes are closed, the water around him a murky color, darker than the rest. I pull him but it’s not easy. He’s too heavy.
Please. Please, please, please.
I don’t know what supernatural strength I muster, but the adrenaline kicks in, and before I know it I’m swimming one-armed for the surface, while the other arm drags Declan with me.
The surface gets closer and closer until the tip of my fingers touches the brim. The air claws at my chest once more, but I can’t breathe yet.
Suddenly a hand reaches in and grabs my wrist. A second one reaches in grabbing me around the midsection and together they drag me out of the water.
I’m coughing and swallowing air as I watch Monty pull Declan out too. Instantly, I reach for him, putting my hands and then my ears over his damp chest.
Shit.
He’s not breathing
I don’t think about it. I immediately lace my hands together over where his heartbeat should be. I pump to the rhythm I learned in CPR class, as I sing the song in my head like I was taught.
Ah ah ah ah. Staying alive. Staying alive.
Please Declan. Wake up.
Rain spatters all around us, slapping dirt that ricochets onto his skin. His eyes remain shut. Now I can see the blood on the side of his shirt, staining the whole way down. It turns my body cold.
What if I can’t help him? What if he has lost too much blood?
Outside of my panic, I can hear someone talking to a 911 operator. Monty probably. There are more gunshots which means the gunmen are either dead or gone. I don't care about them. I only focus on saving Declan.
"Please." The plea tears out of my throat followed by a sob when Declan doesn’t wake up. No matter how much I pump. No matter how much I beg.
Hot tears pour down my cheek. Pain lacerates my chest. "Please, Declan. Please."
Then, almost impossibly, his eyes pop open and he heaves a nasty, wet cough.
Water gurgles out of his mouth and he continues coughing and I back away allowing him to roll over. He sits up and flops weakly but then he blinks at me, "Emma?"
I throw my arms around his neck and just hold him, inhaling him. I can't believe he woke up. I shake my head as the sobs choke out of my throat.
His hand weakly pats my back. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you." Monty's voice comes from behind me. "I know I wasn't supposed to bring her but she insisted."
I pull away slightly to find Declan looking confused. He attempts to rise, but I shake my head. "Stay down. You may have lost a lot of blood, and I don’t want you passing out."
"My daughter…"
"Amelia is safe. She’s in the car with Micah." We found Amelia on our way up and she told us Declan was still there. When we heard gunshots, we told Micah to take her back to the car and stay low until we returned. "We told her to stay hidden until we come back."
He swallows. "Micah is here?"
I nod. "He just showed up. More importantly, we need to wait for the cops to get here.".
"Rick." Declan shakes his head. "I don’t know where he went. And there were more men there. This thing might be bigger than what we thought."
"It’s fine. We’ll deal with it later, but for now, we need to get you out of here and back."
"I can walk." He gets up. "It will take too long to wait for an ambulance. I want to see my daughter now."
I want to say no, but he’s already moving. Monty and I share a look and Monty shrugs.
I sigh. Declan is partway right. It’s already raining and by the time an ambulance gets to us it might be too late. We might get trapped in these woods for the second time and that really would be the worst-case scenario.
"Lean on us," I tell him, then tell Monty, "Hold his other side. Watch your step." The journey down is by no means easy. The path is rocky and slippery, and the rain obstructs our vision.
But eventually, we emerge from the forest to the sound of Amelia crying out for her father.
Declan is a terrible patient. The entire time the doctors fuss over him, trying to get him to stay overnight for observation, but he only grouches and insists he’s fine. But then again, he said he was fine too back in the car when he was two seconds away from passing out. He said he was fine even as they wheeled him in because he stumbled getting out of the car. And now, on strong pain meds, barely stitched up, he still says those cursed words, "I’m fine."
"Stop saying that," I finally snap. "You’re not fine, none of this is fine."
The thunder cracks outside. I was standing by the window watching the rain, but now I turned to him. I wait for him to say anything, but he merely smiles.
He reaches out his hand. "Come here."
I shake my head.
"You’re shaking," he says. "Let me hold you."
"You’re too weak."
"Don’t insult me."
Unable to resist, I take his hand and he draws me closer into his arms.
"You know the one thing I regretted back when I thought I was going to die?" he says and the words make me flinch.
He hasn't told us everything that happened in Rick's cabin, only that there was a shootout and that a lot of people are dead. I'm not sure I even want the whole story because I'm still reeling from how close to death he came.
But he continues anyway, "When I had a gun to my head, one of my biggest regrets was that I didn't tell you I loved you early enough."
I sigh and swallow. "Yeah, I love you too. But you need to rest. You almost died."
"But I didn't," he says smiling. "And now I get to live with you for the rest of my life.
The door opens and Amelia comes in along with Eddie, Jensen's partner, who was taking Amelia’s statement. According to Eddie, Jensen is still at the station with my Grandpa dealing with the aftermath of everything that happens.
"I'll need to take your statement next," Eddie tells Declan who nods.
"In a minute," Declan says. Eddie nods and retreats behind the door, shutting it.
Amelia takes one look at her father and hugs him tentatively. "Are you going to be okay Daddy?"
"Yes of course. It was just a flesh wound."
Amelia's eyes are misty but she smiles. "I can't believe you came to save me."
He caresses her cheek. "You didn't think I would?"
She shakes her head. "I thought you would send the cops, or maybe you would be too busy and wouldn't answer your phone when they called."
"Nonsense," Declan declares. "I will never be too busy for you. Believe me. I love you."
Amelia tears up in earnest and I feel emotion choking my throat too when she says, "I love you too, Daddy. I love you."
Later after Declan is done giving his statement,with Amelia asleep beside him on his hospital bed, there's a knock on the door.
"Come in," Declan says, probably expecting it to be a doctor.
But instead of a white-coat, Eddie of all people walks in again with a handcuffed Rick.
"Guess who showed up to turn himself in," Eddie says, seeming very proud of himself.
Seeing Rick again jerks me into standing. He looks like he's been through hell and back, his hair tangled with dirt, soaked in rain, and weary-eyed.
Still, I’m on alert and I step in front of Declan shielding him.
"What do you want?" I ask in the coldest voice I can manage. I don't yet know why Rick did what he did, but I can't forget that he kidnapped Declan's daughter and caused him so much trouble.
Heck, he's probably been doing stuff from the time he first sent Declan up to that cabin.
Now I can't help but think that that wasn't a prank after all, but an intentional murder attempt.
The pain ripples across Rick's expression but I don't let it affect me, steeling my emotions against him.
"I understand how you feel Em," Rick says, cracking my heart shield because he still sounds so much like himself. "But I'm not going to hurt him. I just came to turn myself in."
"Why?" Declan asks, sounding more curious than angry.
"There’s nowhere else for me to go. Plus..." He looks at Declan and swallows thickly. "You saved my life. You didn’t have to. After everything I've done, you risked yourself to save me anyway. Thank you."
Declan nods. I glance at him incredulously. He saved Rick? Why? Why would he do that after everything Rick did?
"I didn't do it for you," Declan tells Rick. "I did it for Emma."
Rick nods. "I thought as much."
"Alright, you've said your piece," Eddie says. "Now, to the station, we go."
After they're gone, I notice Declan avoiding my eyes, playing with Amelia's hair as she sleeps instead.
"You saved him," I say, question and statement wrapped in one.
"You would have hated it if he died."
And just like that, I melt. That one simple sentence is probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to another human being.
Overwhelmed with emotion, I lean forward and kiss him.
I taste life in his lips and he probably tastes gratitude in mine.
I'm grateful for so much, but most of all I'm grateful he's alive.
I'm not sure how long we kiss, but at some point, I think I hear Amelia wake up and utter a sound of deep disgust.