Page 63 of Love At Peace

A brief hit of relief struck my heart.

That furious scowl of scorn didn’t make it seem like she cared about him anymore. She’d screamed and begged for him not to hurt me.

A truck sped toward us as I kneeled over David, pinning him to the ground. My chest heaved quickly, and my lungs burned from the rapid inhalations from that fight. Catching my breath, I concentrated on keeping David down while Todd’s truck came closer.

“Gavin,” I called out, worried about that gunshot.

“I’m here. I’m here,” he replied.

“Where the hell did you come from?” I demanded of my niece.

Tears streaked down her face as she remained by my friend. It seemed she wasn’t so cruel and selfish to flinch from helping him from being shot.

“Over there. I’ve been camping in the tree line...”

“When you weren’t pretending to be a happy couple with this idiot?” I shot back.

“I... I thought...” She sniffled, squinting in the bright sunlight as Todd rushed out. Marty did, too, coming out of the passenger side. Behind them, another truck sped over the land.

“What is all this now?” Todd asked, holding his rifle as he ran over.

“Shit,” Marty commented, surveying the scene and instantly worried at the sight of Gavin on the ground.

“Call for an ambulance,” I advised. “He’s hit.”

Quick on his feet, Marty nodded, jogging up close and talking into his radio piece.

“I asked what in the hell is goin’ on,” Todd repeated, aiming his rifle at David.

“I was out here checking the fence, and this asshole ambushed me.” I got off David, letting Marty move in to cuff him.

“I didn’t know. I didn’t know he would actually try to kill you,” Nevaeh said as I reached Gavin’s side. No longer needed to hold David down, I rushed to help my friend.

“I heard the gunshots and came as fast as I could,” he told me.

I nodded, pressing my hands to his side as the other truck stopped. Heather ran out with Nance exiting from the driver’s seat. She also had a gun in hand, prepared to help.

“What happened?” Heather asked, running to me. She dropped to her knees, raking her worried gaze over me until she saw that I had my hands on Gavin’s side. “Oh, shit. David?”

I nodded.

“I didn’t know,” Nevaeh said, crying outright. “I didn’t realize how mad he’d get. He saw you kissing her, Roarke, and he kept talking about you moving in on his girl.” She sniffled hard, backing up and shivering. In a t-shirt and sweatpants, she looked frigid out of the warmth of her tent.

“Here.” Heather took her coat off and handed it to her. “And I’m not his girl,” she bit out, glaring back at David being taken toward Todd’s truck. Marty was busy at keeping him back and calling for backup.

“I’m not his girl either,” Nevaeh admitted.

“That’s a good thing,” Heather said.

She cried some more as we all did what we could to slow Gavin’s bleeding. The EMTs would be out here soon. They had to be. I couldn’t bear to think of losing my friend. I was no doctor, but I wanted to hope this bullet was through and through away from any vital organs.

“I thought he loved me. I thought he wanted to love me,” Nevaeh said around sobs.

“He tricks you,” Heather said. “Then he controls you.”

“I saw that video of him drugging that girl’s drink, and I started to wonder. I’d been suspicious all along, why a rich lawyer would want me.” She wiped her face, shivering under Heather’s coat that dwarfed her.

“Then I started to figure it out. I figured it out too late. He was just paying attention to me because he saw me walking by the cabins. He saw me and thought he could use me to get to you.”