Playing The Game (The Lucky Rivals #5)

Chapter 1

DORI

“Jami! No, God, no!” I scream and attempt to push Jamison’s limp and bloody body off me.

What happened?

Why is he not moving?

Please, let him be alive.

“Jami, talk to me.” I tremble, terrified he’s gone forever. “Please, open your eyes.”

I can’t get him off me. He’s nothing but dead weight. A man rolls him over and I slip out from underneath him.

Blood covers Jami’s jacket near the right side of his chest as a streak trickles down his face above his ear. It oozes around his mouth and lips. Adrenaline screeches through my body.

“Help him!” I clutch the guy’s arm, begging him with my eyes. My heart races with each second that passes. “Please help him.”

“What happened?” the guy asks.

“I don’t know.” I glance up at a mass of people gathering around us.

Someone yells, “I think he was shot!”

Someone else says, “Call 911. ”

I grab Jami’s face. His eyes roll back as he slips in and out of consciousness.

“Jamison Stone, listen to me. I love you!” I half-choke on a ragged sob. “Don’t you dare leave me like this.”

His eyelashes flutter, and he coughs, splattering blood on my face. Everything moves so fast as the man pushes me aside and works to stop Jami’s bleeding.

I wail and try to get close to Jami. “You do not get to leave me. I love you. We’re supposed to be together.”

A woman takes me in her arms. “Give him space. He needs room to help your friend.”

I freeze. In my scrambling to hold Jami, I’ve pushed away the man. I sit back on my heels, and people rush around me, yelling and screaming things I can’t make out. My body goes cold as I watch Jami dying before my very eyes.

“Are you hurt?” the woman asks.

I shake my head as I stare at him.

He cannot leave me.

I cannot lose him.

She looks me over. “Are you sure? Your vest jacket is covered in blood and you have a hole in the top of it.”

I glance down and shake my head again. “It’s his…”

My heart cracks with every beat. Jami can’t leave me like this. I can’t sit here and witness him die.

The woman yanks my vest open. “You’re bleeding. Your shoulder is hurt.”

“Someone needs to help him. Please, I’m fine. Help him.” I shuck away and take her by the wrists to move her toward Jami.

Sirens blare into my awareness. Police arrive and move the crowd away. At least a dozen of them are trying to secure the area as they take over helping Jami. One tries to move me, but I swat at him.

“He’ll die if you take me away from him.” I peer into a young officer’s eyes. “If you want to help, get us to a hospital now!”

An ambulance arrives, speeding down the walkway toward us. Another one follows. They get close and stop. Two teams of first responders jump from the vans.

One group runs to Jami. They work on him as they strap him to a board while yelling orders and descriptions of his body. They cut off his jacket and tear his shirt open. His tattoos are barely noticeable because of the blood.

“Victim appears to be shot in the chest.” The paramedic pries open Jami’s eyes and shines a small flashlight. “He’s unresponsive. We’re losing him.”

“No, you’re not. He wouldn’t leave me like this.” I crawl to him, only for someone to pull me away.

The other team of responders surrounds me. They ask me all sorts of questions, but I’m only focused on Jami.

“Gunshot wound to the right pectoral region confirmed.” The male paramedic pushes Jami’s hair over. “Another to the right side of his head.”

He’s lifted off the ground and taken away. I fight to follow, but the team working on me forces me to stay. Jami disappears into the ambulance and the vehicle speeds away.

Seconds later, I’m lying on a board and being strapped down. My screams for Jami ring out.

Tears stream from my eyes as the paramedics work on my shoulder. A young woman with her black hair in a ponytail focuses on me.

“What’s your name?” she asks.

“Dori. Is Jami okay?”

“They’re doing all they can for him, Dori. You have a flesh wound on the top of your shoulder. We’re going to clean it up and stitch you up. You’ll be as good as new in no time.” She offers me a gentle smile and goes on about her duties.

My limbs are numb. All I can think of is Jami.

He was shot in the chest and head. My rib cage hollows out. Knowing he’s been shot gives me little hope, but for his sake, I keep praying he’ll be okay.

The ride to the hospital is a blur. I try to piece together what happened, but nothing makes sense.

Why would anyone want to hurt Jami?

Hunter is the only person I can think of, but he wouldn’t do this. He might have issues with Jami, but he would never shoot him.

As I’m being rolled into the emergency department on a gurney, a team of doctors and nurses scurry around the room where Jami is. They call out for medical devices and bags of blood while I’m transferred to a small bed in one of the other areas.

The walls are made of curtains, so the shouts and orders of the staff working on Jami are clear as nurses fly in and out of that area. From what I understand, he’s hanging on by a thread.

I send mental messages to Jami, telling him to hang on and fight to stay with me. Since I only need stitches in my upper left shoulder, I’m left with one nurse taking care of me.

“Dori, I’m going to be with you for a while. We need to rinse your wound and clean it out. Once that’s done, we’ll get you stitched up. Before I start, can you verify that you’re not hurt elsewhere?”

“Not that I know of. I think it’s just my shoulder.” I glance down at it.

The shirt I’m wearing under my vest has the sleeve cut off. The flesh on the top of my arm looks like a giant nail gouged it. It’s only now I sense the throbbing of my injury.

“Alright then. Let’s get you cleaned up. If you can lie on your side, I can get to this easier.” She turns me and helps me lie down. “Do you know the gentleman who was involved in the incident?”

“Yes. His name is Jamison Stone.” My words come out flat and monotone .

“Does he have family we need to contact to let them know he’s here?” She starts to clean my arm.

Agony reaches into my chest and squeezes my heart. “No. I’m his only contact. Well, my brother is too. We’re the only family he has.”

“What’s your relation?”

“Jami’s my boyfriend. I’ve known him since I was ten.”

Why am I telling her this?

Maybe I think it will help them keep me informed. My mind wanders to Chuck and Lauren. I’ll call them once I know more.

“Would you like us to call your brother?” She wipes at my wound.

“No. You won’t be able to reach him. He’s away for work.”

Aiden has always told me to keep his profession to myself unless I know for sure it can’t be used against him or me. Since Jami was shot and I have no idea who did it, I think this situation calls for keeping his profession to myself.

She tapes a cloth bandage to my shoulder. “I’m almost done cleaning this. A doctor will need to assess the wound before we stitch it up, but it looks good from my point of view.”

“Okay.”

“Rest here until the doctor can see you. I’ll get you some water and check on your boyfriend. I’ll be right back.”

She leaves the room as I lie with emptiness in my chest and an ache in my heart. He can’t die. I can’t lose him now.

I run through the day. He came to my apartment to let me know he still wanted to be with me. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to make this up to him.

Every time he tries to be with me, he gets hurt. This time it could cost him his life.

Why couldn’t it have been me?

He doesn’t deserve this. He has too much going for him. His career is taking off. He’s handsome, kind, and brilliant. He’s the total package. Any woman would be blessed to call him her boyfriend.

Commotion from Jami’s area consumes me. I strain to make out what the medical team is saying.

“He’s losing too much blood. We’ve got to get him to the operating room now!” the doctor yells.

There’s a crack in the curtain, so I sit up to peek through. The team pushes Jami out of the room on a gurney.

He’s hooked up to an IV and oxygen tubes. They run with him down the hall and the emergency department falls nearly silent.

It’s eerie and cold. I’m helpless. It’s the most alone I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

Is this how Jami feels all the time?

Tears spring from my eyes, and I weep into my hands as I long for him.

The next hour goes by in a blur. Two cops take my statement about the shooting as I’m being sewn up, but when I can’t remember anything, they tell me they’ll be in touch and leave.

I’m getting ready to be discharged from the doctor’s care when my phone rings. I silence it and let the nurse finish up with the discharge orders.

“Can you tell me where I can get more information about Jamison Stone?” I ask the nurse.

“He’s in the OR now. It’s located on the second floor.”

“Is there a waiting room up there?”

“Yes.” She hands me the discharge orders and a bag of Jami’s belongings. “I haven’t heard anything about his condition. They might have more news for you when you check in with them upstairs.”

I nod and find my way to the second floor in a daze. Jami’s last words echo in my head.

“With all my soul, I love you, my beautiful, sweet temptress. I always have and always will. Never forget that. Okay?”

Did he know he was shot?

Was he saying goodbye?

I suck in a cry and tuck myself into a corner right before I get to the waiting room. I sink to the floor and hug my knees.

Jami’s woodsy cologne drifts up from his jacket to my nose. I yank it out of the bag and bury my face in the fabric.

Please don’t let this be the last time I ever smell him.

I hug his clothes and cry, wishing it was him I was holding. My phone rings again, so I check the screen. Melanie’s name shines up at me.

“Hey…Mel,” I say through a shaky breath.

“Thank fuck, Dori. You’re all over the news. I just heard about it. Where are you?” She pants through her words.

“I’m at the hospital.”

“Were you shot? In the video, you’re covered in blood.”

“I have a graze on my shoulder, but they stitched it up.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”