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Dani’s body went cold as his words sank in, and without another thought about how mad she was, she wrapped her arms around him. “Tyler . . . ”

His arms held onto her, his face buried in her chest. “I stood there, trying to figure out how to protect Blake and the kids behind me, how to make it so he only hit me, and then out of nowhere, Jeremiah comes running and knocks the guy with the gun down. Only then did I move, and it was already too late.”

She stroked his hair, shoulders, and back, rocking him as she felt the warmth of his tears on her chest.

“Do you mean he . . . Is he dead?”

“No, but he spent hours in surgery for a collapsed lung, and it was my fault.”

“How can you say that? You didn’t shoot him!”

“No, but the kid who did was there for me. He was there because I kicked him out

of the program. He was ready to kill a dozen people and then himself, just to get revenge on me.”

“Stop that. You can’t blame yourself for the evil others do. I know you. You’re not malicious or unfair. If you kicked him out of the program, then he deserved it, and if this isn’t proof enough, I don’t know what is.” Dani cupped his face, her voice harsh with a thousand terrifying emotions. Fear that she’d almost lost him, anger at the faceless teenager who had threatened him, and gratefulness because he was still here.

She kissed him. “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling or how much you’re hurting, but I want to help any way I can. If you’ll let me, that is.”

This time when their lips met, Tyler wasn’t harsh or aggressive, but gentle once more. His hand cradled the back of her neck, and when they broke apart, he laid his forehead against hers. “I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand.” She climbed to her feet slowly and reached down for his hand. “Come on, let’s go lie down.”

“What about your dinner?” he asked.

“I think as long as Duke is with us, it will be safe,” she said.

She led him by the hand behind her while he whistled for Duke, pausing to blow out the dinner candles. Once they were in his bedroom, he shut the door behind them, and Dani just held him, leaning her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart.

“Tyler . . . ”

“Yeah?”

“You can talk to me, always. I will listen; you just have to use your words.”

His chest vibrated as he laughed. “Did you seriously just tell me to use my words?”

“It made you laugh, didn’t it?”

She felt his lips brush the top of her head. “Yes, it did.”

“Come lie down with me.”

He didn’t argue, just stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into the bed. She shrugged out of her jacket and the lingerie, crawling under the covers with him and fitting her body next to his, their bodies a tangle of arms and limbs. She stroked her hands over his shoulders and down his arms until she heard the soft, even sound of his breathing and knew he was asleep.

Her mind strayed back to his words. “You were among the people I loved . . . ”

And today, she could have lost him. Before she’d been able to tell him she loved him, too.

THE GUN WAS like a gaping black hole, endless darkness waiting to swallow him up.

He stood in front of Carlos Mendez, a human shield, protecting the people behind him. Suddenly, the soft sound of a crying child and woman reached his ears, and he glanced over his shoulder.

Dani and Noah were huddled on the ground, trembling with fear, and Tyler yelled, running for them instead of Carlos. Just before he reached them, two loud pops sounded, and red blossomed on their chests.

“Tyler . . . ” Dani moaned, but little Noah was completely limp in his arms as he cradled them to him.

And then searing pain shot through his back as one last bullet tore through him.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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