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“But...” She shook her head before exploding, “That was just so cool.”
I grinned, glad I’d impressed her. But when I reached out to gather her into my arms, I caught sight of Jeremy over her shoulder, stirring on the floor. He lifted his shirt, and reached into the waistband of his pants to pull out—holy shit!
The fucker had a gun.
Terror gripped me. Reese was between me and a guy with a gun who wanted to kill her. I was so sure I wouldn’t move fast enough to save her; it was the most frightening moment of my life. Time went into slow motion as I grabbed her shoulders and shoved, probably dumping her right on the floor too. But her psycho stalker was pulling the weapon out and starting to take aim; I hadn’t exactly had the time to push her out of the way gently.
Worried he would still go after her, I leapt, widening my arms and trying to make a shield out of my body so no bullet could reach her as I tackled him.
I hit him hard before he could pull the trigger. My nose smacked into something, I think his temple, leaving me dazed. Before I could get my equilibrium back, I gripped his arm, reaching for the gun to get control of it.
Around us, people screamed and scattered.
I kicked Jeremy in the knee; he elbowed me in the jaw. The next thing I knew there was a deafening explosion next to my ear that probably permanently damaged my eardrums, leaving nothing but buzzing numbness in my head. I barely heard the second shot, but I swear, I felt the breeze of it caress my cheek because it came so close to getting me.
Acting out of desperation and the need to survive, I swung out my elbow, catching him in the face, and I startled him enough that I could rip the pistol from his hands. It was a good thing the police showed up then, I wasn’t sure I had enough energy left to hold him off if he’d tried to get it back.
And now, here I was, at the hospital two hours later, praying for good news. My jaw ached and would probably bruise, my ear still felt funny after the gun had gone off only inches from my face, and I had a bitch of a headache. Not to mention how sick to my stomach I was from the guilt.
Jeremy had come to town and found Reese. It had to be because I’d refused to sleep with Patricia. The bitch had called him after all, and now…
Shit, now someone could die. Because of me.
The two rounds Jeremy had released at the college had actually ended up going through the ceiling of the building. No one there had been harmed. But he’d hit his mark earlier, at Reese’s apartment, where he’d run into Eva before he’d gone to the college looking for Reese.
And now Eva was in surgery. She’d been conscious enough to call for help, but we had no idea how she was now.
Reese was a mess. When the officers had told her how they’d known to go to the college to find Jeremy—because Eva had told them—she’d burst into tears and then babbled out how Eva was pregnant.
I swallowed, trying to beat down the panic. Now, not only did I have Reese’s cousin to worry about, but her baby too. If anything happened to either of them, Reese would never forgive me. I didn’t know how to tell her the truth, but there was no way I could keep this to myself much longer. She needed to know this was all because of me.
When she’d gotten on her phone to contact both her parents and then Eva’s to tell them what had happened, I’d taken a quick walk down the hall, trying to figure out how I was going to confess what I’d done—or rather who I hadn’t done.
Shit, Reese was going to flip out when she learned today was my fault.
Thinking I’d been gone too long and should get back, I stopped by the cafeteria and bought her favorite drink, then hurried that way.
When I returned, she was off the phone and sitting on a bench with her eyes closed and back pressed to the wall, looking small and alone.
“I got you a white chocolate mocha espresso,” I said softly, sitting beside her.
Without opening her eyes, she shook her head, and her face crumbled into her despair. “I don’t think I could drink anything right now. But thank you.”
She held her hand my way, so I took her fingers and squeezed supportively. “Come here,” I said, tugging her into my lap so she could burrow her face into my chest.
As the dampness of her tears soaked through my shirt, I kissed her hair. “Eva’s going to be okay. I know it.”
“I still can’t believe he shot her,” she choked out. “He shot my cousin.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my gut churning even more. “I know,” I rasped. “But she’s related to you; she’s tough. She’ll pull through.”
Reese held me tighter.
“Did you finally get a hold of her parents?” I asked, hoping to keep her distracted from her worries.
“Yes. They’re on their way now. They had just gotten off the plane in Phoenix when I reached them.”
“And what about Alec?” I said, wondering if she would even consider telling him about Eva. “If she’s really carrying his baby, don’t you think he’d want to know about this?”
