Chapter 17
ROWAN
The world exploded into noise.
One second Tex and I were arguing, and the next a car pulled up and rolled down its window before the dark shape of a gun appeared.
Gunfire tore through the parking lot.
The sound was so loud it didn’t even feel real at first, and my brain struggled to catch up.
Someone tackled me.
Or maybe I fell. I wasn’t sure. The only thing I was sure of was that one minute I was arguing with Tex and the next minute my body was being pressed against his, his strong arms surrounding me.
More shots rang out. Sharp, violent bursts that echoed off the building.
“DOWN!” someone shouted again.
Tex’s body tried to block mine as another shot fired. And then white-hot pain exploded through my arm.
I screamed. The sound tore its way out of my throat before I could stop it, and my knees buckled instantly.
For a moment the world tilted sideways, the gravel rushing up toward my face; but Tex caught me before I hit the ground, his strong arms wrapping around my body and swooping me against his chest.
“Rowan!” His voice sounded different, panicked.
I clutched at him instinctively, my fingers digging into his shirt as agony spread through me. It felt like fire was tearing its way through my muscles and bones and setting my body alight.
More gunshots cracked behind us.
Tex scooped me up and into his arms like I weighed nothing and then he started running. The abrupt movement made the pain flare even brighter and I cried out again, burying my face against his chest, begging him to make the pain stop.
Behind us, men were shouting and engines roared to life.
The sharp pop-pop-pop of gunfire grew more distant as the sounds of engines sped out of the parking lot.
“Go,” a deep voice bellowed. “Follow them!”
The sound of motorcycles roared down the road seconds later.
But Tex didn’t stop running. He carried me across the gravel toward the back of the bar, away from the road, away from the chaos.
My arm throbbed violently, warm wetness soaking through my shirt.
“Tex…” My voice shook. “It hurts.”
“Hey. Hey now, you’re okay.” His voice dropped softer now as he crouched down behind a parked truck, still holding me tightly against him, the scent of him washing over me. “I’ve got you.”
“I’m bleeding.” I could feel the blood—my blood—seeping between our two bodies. “It hurts, Tex.”
“I know.” His hands moved quickly, pressing something against my arm. The pressure made me gasp. “Stay with me,” he said.
Tears blurred my vision. “I’ve never been shot before.”
The words came out small and childlike, and for the first time since this nightmare had started, I truly understood how bad things had gotten.
Someone had just tried to kill me.
The realization made my chest tighten with panic.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said softly.
“I don’t want to die,” I whispered, and I began to cry. I wanted to be strong for me and for him, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. A coldness was seeping into my bones in a way I’d never felt before and I could feel my panic rising.
Tex’s grip tightened instantly. “You’re not dying. I won’t let you.”
“But—”
“I won’t let you. You hear me?” he said firmly. His eyes locked onto mine, fierce and steady. “You’re gonna be okay, sweetheart. I promise.”
I stared up into his handsome face, the colorful lights from the bar shining behind his head. My body was shaking and he pulled me further up onto his lap, trying to envelope me in his body heat.
“I’m scared,” I whispered. I felt so tired and so so cold. Maybe if I could just close my eyes for a little while.
“Hey, hey, do you trust me?” he reached down and with one hand he cupped my cheek against his palm. “Rowan, do you trust me?”
I blinked, opening my eyes. “Yes, with my life.”
And I did. I knew in my heart and soul and bones that he would protect me with everything he had. I knew he would give his life for mine. And I knew I was as safe as I could ever be while I was here in his arms.
“Then know that you don’t need to be scared right now, because you’re gonna’ be okay.” I blinked sluggishly. My eyelids felt so heavy.
“What if they come back?”
“They won’t, not right now, but if they do, then I’m going to kill them, sweetheart, every last one of them.” He said it with a certainty that should have scared me, and yet it didn’t. Not even a little bit.
“Okay, cowboy.” I sighed and nestled my face closer to his chest. “I’m so tired.”
In the distance, I thought I could hear sirens, but the sound of his beating heart drowned it out.
“I’ve got you,” he continued quietly. “Nobody’s hurting you ever again.”
My fingers curled into the front of his shirt. I clung to him like he was the only solid thing in the world. Because right then, he was. The pain in my arm pulsed harder, making my head spin, and I felt everything slipping away.
“I don’t feel too good,” I murmured.
“Stay with me, sweetheart.”
I pressed my face further into his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of leather and smoke and something warm that reminded me of safety. His arms wrapped around me tighter, and somewhere in the distance I heard sirens growing closer. Everything felt far away. Blurry around the edges.
“Tex…” I whispered weakly.
“Yeah?”
I hesitated, uncertain. The words felt fragile and dangerous, but the truth slipped through anyway, regardless of the fear I had of saying them. Because if I died now, it made no sense to hold back on anything.
“I think I’m falling for you, cowboy.”
His body went completely still and for a split second I thought he might say something, but the darkness rushed in before he could. The world tilted and the last thing I felt was his arms tightening around me, and the soft press of his lips against my forehead.
Then everything went black.
When I woke up, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
Bright white light filled the room, and for a moment I didn’t know where I was. The steady beep of a machine echoed softly beside me—hospital, I recognized.
My memories rushed back in pieces.
The bar, the music, Tex singing.
Then, the gunshots and the pain!
I turned my head slowly, seeing that he was there. He sat slumped in a chair beside the bed, arms crossed over his chest, head tilted back against the wall, fast asleep. Even like that, he looked tense. Like he’d only allowed himself to rest because the exhaustion finally forced him to.
He’d told me he didn’t sleep well, and I could see it now. In the tension of his shoulders and the anxiety written over his face.
His leather vest was hung over the back of the chair and dark stubble shadowed his jaw. One large hand rested loosely on the edge of my hospital bed like he’d been holding onto it.
Like he had been watching me and waiting.
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
I studied his face quietly, confused by the swirl of emotions inside me. Was it fear? Relief? Gratitude?
There was something deeper that made my heart beat just a little faster, too. Something I wasn’t ready to name yet. And as I lay there watching him sleep, I knew one thing for certain.
Everything had changed.