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“Kid, you don’t even know who I am.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I hissed. “From what I’ve seen, you’re not anyone I’d want to be around. So, you get us to the safe house, and then we never have to cross paths again.”
He didn’t answer, but I didn’t expect him to. I got in the back seat with Parker, pulling him against my body. The kid was shaking like crazy, barely holding it together.
“You okay, bud?”
“It was dark in there,” he whispered.
I didn’t have to ask where he was talking about. I saw it with my own eyes. The container was already in the air when we arrived, just a few feet off the ground. Rafe had been the one to get into the crane and lower it to the ground. The man operating it was now laying in bloody pieces on the pavement.
I would never forget the screams of the kids inside the container when the door opened. They ran at us, desperate to get out of the dark. It had to be terrifying. I pulled Parker closer, squeezing a little too tightas we headed out of town. I didn’t know where we were going, but it had to be better than where we just were.
“Are we going to find Mama?”
“Of course,” I tried to reassure him. “We’ll see her soon.”
“You promise?”
I hated making promises to kids. I was always afraid I would fail them. “I promise.”
We were pulling down a long driveway before I knew it. There were a few men standing outside when we pulled in, and I could see Johnny unloading Jack from the back seat.
“Mama!” Parker screamed, pointing out the windshield.
Before I could even get the door open, Skylar was there, pulling Parker out of the backseat. The tears streaming down her face nearly broke me. What she’d been through tonight would break any woman, but she was strong. I got out and wrapped my arms around her and Parker, reassuring myself that they were okay.
“Skylar!” Johnny shouted. “We need you over here!”
She glanced behind her, then turned back to me, pressing her hand to my cheek. My heart soared from just a single touch. I knew from the moment I met Skylar that she was special, someone I could really fall for. But we hadn’t really been able to spend time together, and now I doubted I would get the chance.
“Thank you for bringing him home.”
She was gone before I had the chance to tell her it wasn’t me that saved her son. I was simply the man who sat in the car with him. Jack saved his life, jumping in front of a bullet that was meant for Parker. I ran my hand through my hair, sighing as I watched her run off with her son, back to the man who I had a feeling meant a hell of a lot more to her than she realized.
“You okay?” Libby asked, cocking her head as she studied me.
“I’m not the one who’s been shot.”
I shoved past her, heading inside to see if there was anything I could do to help. I wasn’t a doctor, but I was trained in basic triage. As soon as I stepped through the door, the gravity of the situation washed over me. Jack was spread out on the kitchen table, blood dripping from his body onto the floor as Sky hurried to stop the bleeding.
“Here!” Jason shoved a packet at her. “Dump this on the wound!”
She snatched it out of his hands, tearing the packet open with her teeth before she sprinkled it over the wound. Even from here, I could see the blood slow, giving her enough time to treat the gunshot wound. Rafe opened a kit of medical tools, spreading it on the table beside her.
“I need more light!”
Jack jerked in pain as she dug into his body with forceps. Johnny grabbed his bloody hand, squeezing tight as she twisted the tool inside his body.
“Hurry the fuck up!” Johnny shouted.
“It’s too deep! I can’t see it!”
Jason reached for the light, twisting it over Jack’s body, and in the process knocked the medical tools on the ground. They clattered at her feet, spreading across the dirty floor.
“I need another kit!”
“We don’t have one,” Rafe snapped.
