33. Thirty-Three
Thirty-Three
Tessa
T he gut-wrenching scream tearing itself from my throat can only be described as inhuman. Jake’s upper body jerks, and he stumbles back, knocking into me and blocking my view.
I yelp when a second gunshot rings through the room, thinking she’s shot him again. But when I step around Jake, ready to take that murderous psycho down, I realize she no longer poses a threat to anyone.
Jessica is sprawled out on the floor, eyes wide and unfocused as a puddle of blood seeps out from beneath her head. I whip around to check on Jake, who’s clutching at his chest with a stunned expression. Panic chokes me when the red stain around his hand begins to spread .
“Jake,” I cry and reach for him with shaking hands. His eyes whip up to mine before he takes a shuddering breath and falls to his knees.
“Call an ambulance, Tessa. Now,” he barks, spurring me into action.
I sprint for my phone, almost dropping it in my haste to dial 911, and hurry back to Jake, who’s white as a sheet by now.
His skin is clammy to the touch, and there’s a wheezing sound in his chest that throws my panic into overdrive.
“I need an ambulance at 225 Cedar Ridge Road. My fiancé has been shot and needs immediate medical attention. Please, hurry,” I beg as Jake slowly lowers himself onto his back, losing the strength to stay upright.
I fetch a clean towel and press it to his wound while the operator instructs me to apply firm pressure.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Help is coming. Just hang on.”
“Baby,” Jake croaks out, wincing at the pain but forcing himself to stay alert as he wraps a hand around my forearm. “I love you so much. I need you to know that.”
“Stop. Don’t talk to me like you’re already dead. You promised to marry me, and I’ll damn well hold you to it. Don’t you dare give up on me now! You hear me?”
“Please, Tessa,” he urges, squeezing my arm while he stares up at me like I’m the only thing anchoring him to this earth.
“Let me get this off my chest. Just in case.” A choked sob spills from my lips, but I give him an encouraging nod.
“I need you to know that my biggest regret is not fighting to get you back,” he tells me as he struggles to breathe.
“I should’ve swallowed my pride and gone after you.
I shouldn’t have let anything stand in my way.
I’m so damn sorry I wasted so much time and now it’s too late. You’re the love of my life.”
I emit an animalistic sound as I fold myself over him, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck.
“I love you. Please, don’t leave me. Just stay with me.
Stay with me,” I whisper over and over again, bargaining with God and every entity I know to save him.
When the paramedics finally arrive and gently peel me off his body, Jake is unresponsive.
I almost faint when one of them produces the biggest needle I’ve ever seen and inserts it between his ribs.
As the two men work to get him ready for transport, my fiancé remains unconscious.
And no matter how much I beg and plead with him to open his eyes while the ambulance races us toward the nearest hospital, he doesn’t grant me my wish.
“How is he?” Carter barks, storming into the waiting area with Megan. Jude and Anna are hot on his heels while my parents bring up the rear. As soon as he reaches me, he wraps me up in his arms and holds on for dear life. “Are you okay? Did that unhinged bitch hurt you?”
“I’m okay, thanks to Jake. He placed himself between me and Jessica and wouldn’t budge.
She shot him point blank, Carter,” I sob, fingers digging into his upper arms to anchor myself.
If I cause him any pain, he doesn’t show it, understanding my need to hold on to something.
“She came into our home and shot him. And now he’s in there, fighting for his life, and I don’t know if he’s going to make it, and I’m so damn scared. ”
Jude, who’s flown in to be part of the celebrations, catches my eyes over the top of Anna’s head, who’s silently crying into his chest. He does his best to put on a good front for his sister’s sake, but I saw the flash of fear he failed to conceal.
Megan steps up to us and tugs me out of her husband’s embrace to engulf me in a tight hug of her own, needing the physical comfort as much as I do.
“Jake’s a tough son of a bitch,” Carter states, emotion thick in his voice. “He’s been through a lot and always came out the other side. I know how excited he is to make you his wife. He won’t let you go without a fight this time. You’ll see. ”
Releasing my best friend, I exhale a ragged breath and pour myself into the empty seat between my parents. Squeezing my mother’s offered hand, I tip my head back and close my eyes, drawing strength from the love and support filling the air around me.
“He has to be alright,” Anna’s small voice echoes off the walls. Jude pulls her tighter into his side and kisses the top of her head, whispering something close to her ear that has her nodding in agreement. Then he lifts his head with a stubborn tilt of his chin and addresses the room.
“My brother is as strong as an ox and just as resilient. He’ll pull through the surgery, and a few weeks from now, it’ll be like none of this ever happened,” he reassures us before a flicker of raw anger blazes through his eyes.
“That bitch is lucky she had the good sense to take herself out. I swear to God, if he ends up with any lasting damage, I’ll dig her up just to kill her again. ”
“I’ll happily supply the shovels,” Carter growls, matching Jude’s thunderous expression.
“He’s going to wake up and drive us all crazy throughout his recovery.
He’ll be a pain in the ass, bossing everyone around and complaining about everything under the sun.
And once he has his strength back, he’s going to walk down that aisle, and marry the girl of his dreams. ”
“And don’t forget to start on those grandbabies as soon as he feels up to it,” my mother chimes in, drawing a chuckle out of everyone.
After what feels like a small eternity, a gaunt-looking man in surgical scrubs steps into the waiting area and asks for Jake’s family.
Anna and Jude are the first ones out of their seats, and everyone else follows as we stand in a half-circle and wait for a stranger to deliver the kind of news that can make or break a person.
“I’m Dr. Harrison. I performed surgery on Mr. Nelson today.
He’s a tough nut. The bullet entered his lung, causing it to collapse.
Fortunately, it didn’t hit any major vessels, and we were able to stop the bleeding and repair the damage.
I’m not going to lie. It was touch and go for a while there.
A couple of inches either way and we’d be looking at a much different outcome.
Your brother is a lucky man,” he says, smiling at Anna and Jude before addressing the group.
“He’s expected to make a full recovery, but he’ll be out for a while. He’s already in the ICU.”
Everyone releases a collective breath before we fall into each other, teary-eyed but grateful for the first time in hours as we thank our lucky stars for keeping him safe.
“Can we see him?” Anna asks, hitting Dr. Harrison with the full force of her pleading eyes.
“You can. But he needs his rest, so only two of you for now. ”
Jude gives his sister a nudge before he nods my way.
“You girls go. I don’t mind waiting. He doesn’t want this ugly mug to be the first thing he sees when he opens those freakishly pretty eyes. But tell him if he doesn’t wake up soon, I’ll have to sneak back there and kick his wrinkly old ass.”
“You sure?” I double-check, unable to believe he’d step aside on my behalf.
“Go,” Carter urges. “We’ll make a coffee run and will most likely be back before he comes around. I don’t know about you guys, but I refuse to drink the sludge they’re serving up in the cafeteria. I don’t want to risk ending up in a hospital bed myself.”
With that settled, Anna takes my hand and drags me down the fluorescent corridor, following behind the surgeon who leads the way.
As soon as we step into the room and spot Jake’s still form, an anguished sound rises from my throat. He looks so pale. There’s a jumbled mess of tubes and cables connecting him to a concerning number of machines, while the incessant beeping sound matches the images flitting over the screens.
But once I get over the initial shock of it all, I can finally allow myself to take a full breath.
He’s alive. Jake is still with us, and that’s all that matters.
Just thinking about how close I came to losing him brings a new wave of tears to my eyes.
Anna rounds the bed and gently picks up one of his limp hands, careful not to jostle his IV as she rubs soothing circles over the back.
“Hey, Big J,” she says softly. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I want you to know that everyone is waiting for you to wake up.
You gave us quite a scare. Don’t you dare do something like that ever again, you hear?
You’re my hero. I don’t feel safe in a world where you don’t exist. I need my big brother to look out for me.
So, do me a favor and come back to us.” She leans forward and presses a tender kiss to his forehead before she rests her cheek on his shoulder and weeps silently.
My throat aches as I swallow around the lump caused by the emotional display before me, and I step closer, needing to touch him and assure myself he’s still here.
I run my fingers through his hair and study his peaceful features.