Chapter 54
Imake it to Sapphire Valley in twenty minutes. Honestly, it’s a miracle I didn’t get pulled over or crash considering I was pushing one-twenty everywhere but through this community.
The moment I pass Echo Ridge, a car blocks the road, cutting me off from driving straight up to the cabin. I slam the brakes, barely stopping in time before I’m out of the car and sprinting the rest of the distance.
I’ve never been a runner, it’s why I was a linebacker, but when I hear a voice tear through the night — “FUCK YOU!” — my body moves like it’s been trained for this moment.
That was Ayden.
No.
I push myself to run faster, because every second matters. All I can hope is that I don’t hear a gunshot. Please, god—if one of you could listen—please don’t let me be too late. Don’t let me be this close only to fail.
Breaking through the tree line, I see the cabin’s clearing lit by the moon. A lone figure stands at the end of the dock, leaning over the water. Goosebumps rip across my skin as I throw off my jacket, then my sweater.
Michael.
If he’s staring into the lake, I don’t care what he’s looking at—I’d rather take the chance of being wrong than live with being too late.
The instant my boots slam against the dock, he jerks around, surprise flashing across his face. His hand darts behind him, reaching for whatever’s tucked into his waistband, but he doesn’t get the chance.
I slam into him shoulder-first, sending him flying off the dock to the right. Without hesitation, I dive straight off the edge, cutting through the snow-crusted surface of the lake.
The water is a strike of lightning, shocking every nerve at once, threatening to paralyze me. I fight against the instinct to seize up. To let the cold win.
This part of the lake is only ten or twelve feet deep, so I swim hard, searching, until my hand slaps against flesh. Frantically reaching again, I find him and wrap my fingers tight.
When I try to pull, the weight resists. My muscles lock from the freezing water, but I push through. I just need to get him out.
I dive down, grabbing Ayden around what feels like his waist, plant my feet on the lake floor, and push. The burst of momentum carries us the last five feet upward.
The breath I drag in as we break the surface feels like swallowing knives, but there’s no relief. I look at Ayden. His head lolls back and panic surges through me, so fierce it almost burns.
Grunting, I heave us up onto the dock that’s about three feet above the water. The instant I can sling him over my shoulder without submerging him again, I do, then grip the slick wood with both hands.
This is what I’ve trained for, but the icy water and my drenched clothes make it three times harder. Still, I don’t let myself think about that. If I don’t hurry, I’ll lose him.
My arms shake as I haul him high enough to jerk my shoulder and shove him onto the dock. He thumps against it as I nearly tumble back in, but thankfully I catch myself with my forearm, then drag my body up beside him.
I flip him onto his back and put my ear to his deep purple lips.
Nothing.
My fingers press against his neck, searching for a pulse.
Nothing.
In the moonlight, his pale face stares back at me, and dread coils tight around my chest. Guilt presses in so hard it makes me sick.
“Ayden, my love, please wake up.” Tilting his head back, I place my folded hands right at the lower half of his sternum and start compressions. “Come on, I’m here.”
They say time slows when fear takes over, but for me, it’s racing.
The first thirty compressions vanish in a blink.
I suck in a breath, pinch his nose, and press my mouth to his.
One steady blow, and I catch his chest rising in my peripheral.
Another breath, then my fingers are back at his neck, searching desperately for a pulse.
Nothing.
“I’m here, Ayden, please don’t give up. You cannot die. Remember? If I have to live in this fucked-up world, so do you.”
I’m back to compressions.
“Come back to me. Come back.”
Even when footsteps pound toward me from behind, I don’t stop. I press harder, willing his heart to restart. Willing him to breathe. Willing him to come back to me.
“You just keep coming back from the dead.”
Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six.
“How fucking pathetic.”
Twenty-nine, thirty.
I pinch his nose and breathe into him twice. When I pull back, nothing. His chest stays still. Heat stings my eyes, and my hand drifts through his hair, desperate for any sign of life.
“Come back to me, please. Please, sunshine, please.”
I swear I can feel my heart beginning to crack. No… please, Ayden. Please come back to me.
The second my hands move back to his chest, something hard presses against the back of my head.
It doesn’t stop me from starting my count.
“Guns are so messy, but I’m sure I can get it cleaned up before anyone even notices you are missing.”
Ten, eleven, twelve.
“How about I wait until you’ve got him back, then splatter your brains across him before killing him again?”
Eighteen, nineteen, twenty.
“Yeah. Real Romeo and Juliet.”
Fucking idiot. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.
My mouth is back on his, pushing air into his mouth. My breath is swallowed instantly, and the sound of Ayden dragging in a lungful of air makes me choke on a laugh of relief.
“Thank god. Thank fucking god.”
He coughs up water, and I turn his head so it spills out. His body trembles as I slip an arm behind his neck and pull him against my chest.
I know I shouldn’t ignore the weapon pressing into the back of my skull.
But the terror of almost losing the man I love has left me reckless.
I know I need to save us both, but the adrenaline that carried me through saving him has drained away, leaving me useless to do anything but just holding him.
“I’m so fucking sorry. I’m so sorry.”
He groans and tucks his head against my neck.
“I love you. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have run away. I’m so sorry.”
Michael tsks. “Ugh. Disgusting.”
The click of metal has me pulling Ayden back to look at him. He’ll be the last thing I see. Although his eyes are weak, seemingly having a difficult time focusing, they’re full of life. His breathing is shallow, but at least he’s doing it.
“Keo… move…”
I let out a breath and start to twist, reaching for Michael’s wrist—when the click of the trigger snaps in my ear. My heart stutters. For a split second, I wonder how long I have left. If I could take Michael with me.
“Goddamn it!” Michael roars. He pulls the trigger again.
Nothing.
“Who the fuck is looking out for you?”
Click. Click. Click.
Then a gun actually goes off.
Ayden
Warm liquid stings my eyes, making me blink hard. I’m still reeling from whatever just happened when I see Keo staring down at me in shock.
My gaze shifts past him to Michael. His hand is dropping slowly, the gun that had been pressed to Keo’s head clattering onto the deck. As my eyes climb to his face, I see a line of blood running down his forehead, across the bridge of his nose, and over his lips.
I wet my own and taste metal.
His eye twitches, and the moment he takes a step, his head snaps violently to the side. Something bursts from his temple, too fast for me to process.
And then he’s falling. Tumbling into the lake. The splash is swallowed by utter silence.
I swear I can hear my heart pounding outside my body.
Keo’s hand finds my cheek, dragging gently before lifting my face back to his.
“A-Are you okay?” he asks, frantic.
Does he not care he almost got shot?
“Ayden, please, say something.”
“I…”
Suddenly, I hear a dual set of footsteps. Keoni wraps his arms around me possessively and pivots, angling so he can see whoever is coming toward us.
Please let them be friendly…
“What the…” he mutters.
He slowly releases me, and I turn my head to see… What the hell? Levi? Evelyn?
And not only are they here, but Levi has a goddamn sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. Just who are these two?
“Fucking messy…” Evelyn mutters, almost too low for me to hear.
I’m not surprised Levi’s grinning. “No comment on the shot? Please, wife, I do like a little praise.” He’s… so nonchalant about taking a life. A shitty life, sure, but still… someone’s life.
She just grunts. It’s now I catch the absolute rage in her eyes as she glares in our direction. “Get him inside, Keoni. We’ll clean up this mess. If you called anyone, tell them you’re fine.”
My mouth opens, ready to protest. But before I can, I’m lifted off the ground.
Keo cradles me in his arms and rushes us toward the cabin. Levi’s voice begins to fade behind us on the patio: “That was strike two…”
Evelyn sighs. “Yeah… Do you think it was worth it?”
“Yes,” Levi replies without hesitation. “I think they are.”
“I agree with you—for once.”