“No problem.” He crossed the room and leaned down to grab it. Everything happened in an instant. Glass shattered as gunfire erupted and pain exploded in his chest.
“Jason!”
A gurgling sound came from his throat. Kate’s voice was the last thing he heard as his knees buckled, and everything went black.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
She had believed they were safe. Dear God, they’d both believed it.
Kate sat in the waiting area outside the emergency room of Baylor University Medical Center. The halls were frantic with people, doctors, nurses and technicians. Gurneys rattled past, white soles squeaked on linoleum floors. All the noise and commotion moved past her in a blur.
An ache swelled in her throat. A sniper’s bullet had smashed through her living room window. It was Jase’s secret fear, she had finally figured out. Now he was clinging to life after a bullet had torn into his chest.
Fresh tears welled, spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her fingers, but more tears surfaced. Who had done it?
Whoever it was had been lying in wait for hours, perhaps even days. A patient killer. It had to be Los Besos. Why had Jase been so sure they were no longer a threat?
She didn’t know what to do. She just wanted Jason to live.
“Kate...?”
It took a moment for the familiar voice to register. She looked up to see Harper standing next to Chase, the golden-haired couple, two of Jason’s closest friends.
Kate rose shakily to her feet.
She felt Harper’s fingers link with hers. “He’s going to be all right,” Harper said. “He has to be. The world needs men like Jason.”
A sob escaped from her throat, and the next thing she knew Harper had pulled her into a hug. “He hated those windows,” she cried. “We should have stayed at his house.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chase said, drawing Kate’s attention, giving her a chance to bring herself under control. “Whoever did it would have found a way to get to him sooner or later.”
She sank back down in the chair, and Harper sat down beside her. “Who did it?” Kate asked. “Was it Los Besos?”
“The police are working on it,” Chase said. “So is Bran. He’s working the crime scene now. I talked to him a little while ago. He says the shots came from a vacant apartment in the building across the way.”
Kate swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Jason’s really bad, Chase. I rode in the ambulance with him. They didn’t think he was going to make it to the hospital.”
A muscle clenched in Chase’s jaw. “Jason’s a fighter. And he has you on his side. That gives him something to live for.”
Her heart squeezed. She loved him so much. She hadn’t said it out loud, had barely said it to herself. The thought of him dying tore everything loose inside her.
“Until they catch whoever shot him,” Chase said, “one of us is going to be with you at all times. We aren’t taking any chances.”
She hadn’t considered the danger to herself. Now she realized that whoever shot Jason might be coming after her. At the moment, it didn’t seem to matter. “Thank you.” She looked up to see the emergency room doctor walking toward her, a man with dark red hair, very fair skin and a freckled forehead.
“Mrs. Maddox?”
“I’m Kate Gallagher.”
“Jason’s fiancée,” Chase added with a glance warning her to silence. Sometimes only family members could get information. She was grateful for his quick thinking, even if it gave her heart a pang.
“H-how is he?” Kate asked.
“We’ve got him stabilized. They’re taking him into surgery now. The bullet went through his chest and exited his back. It missed his spine, but a fragment of metal lodged in the left ventricle of his heart. I won’t lie to you, Kate, this is a very difficult surgery. It’s going to take some time.”
Her throat constricted. She couldn’t manage to form a word so she just nodded.
“There’s a waiting room on the surgical ward. Someone will bring word to you there.”
