Page 77 of Contentious

“Leave you. I don’t want to leave you.”

“You have to be sure, Carson. I can’t take the risk of getting my heart and Ty’s broken.”

“I’m not sure of anything other than that I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone or anything in my entire life.” He punctuated the unprecedented statement with the hottest kiss in history that had them straining to get closer to each other, until a flash of light from the backyard had him launching off the sofa toward the door. “Call 911.”

As he ran through the door to the yard, the alarm went off in a screaming siren that would scare the hell out of Ty. He flew around the corner of the house to the side yard and slammed into an immovable object. Pain sliced through his midsection, shocking and immobilizing him. His legs collapsed under him. What the hell?

A second searing pain slashed through his shoulder.

In the second before he lost consciousness, he saw Marlon Beckett standing over him, holding a bloody knife.

Chapter Sixteen

With her heart pounding from fear and dread, Cresley told the dispatcher what was happening while waiting for Carson to return. She put the call on speaker and disarmed the alarm while she wondered if Ty would sleep through the shrill noise it had made the second Carson opened the slider.

Where is Carson?

The police were there within seconds, along with a young man who said he worked for Kaidan.

“Someone was in the yard,” Cresley told them. “My friend went out to check, but he didn’t come back.”

The cops bolted through the house, trailed by Kaidan’s guy.

A shout sounded from the yard that had Cresley running to find out what was wrong.

“Send a bus,” she heard one of them say. “We’ve got a stabbing victim.”

“What?” Her knees went weak as she rushed toward the others gathered around a person on the ground who was covered in blood.

Carson.

“Oh my God! No! Carson!”

One of the officers put an arm around her to keep her from getting any closer as another cop opened the fence gate for the paramedics, who came rushing in an endless few minutes later. “Stay here, ma’am. Let the EMTs help him.”

“Is he…”

“He has a pulse, but it’s faint.”

“Please,” Cresley cried. “Please save him.”

“Mommy.”

She whirled around to see Ty standing in the doorway and went to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I… Um...” She was so preconditioned to protect him from upsetting things that she had no idea what to say.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Someone was in the yard, and Carson went out to see who it was, and he got hurt. The EMTs are taking care of him.”

“Is he okay?”

“I hope so.”

“Mommy, I’m scared.”