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Tucker hovered near Bobby and trained his weapon at Eddy. “Don’t even think about. I’ll rip a bullet through you so fast you won’t see it coming.”
“You think I care?” Eddy shouted, his gun bouncing in his hands with each angry word. “As long as he goes down with me.”
Chet lifted his palms, the gun tucked along the curve of his back tickling his spine. “Where is she? What did you do with Mia?”
A feral growl combined with an evil laugh that twisted the lines of Eddy’s face. “What didIdo toher? Little bitch stabbed me, then the old man did this.” He pointed at his face then spit on the ground. “You better find her before I do, because if I get my hands on her, I’ll make her pay just like I made Bobby pay.”
“Don’t hurt him.” Mia’s frantic plea drifted through the wind, and she stepped out from behind a giant evergreen. Rain had soaked through her clothes and long strands of messy hair were plastered against her face. She spared Chet one quick glance before focusing on Eddy. “I’m the one you wanted. Leave Chet alone.”
Panic beat against him like a boxer’s knock-out punch to the jaw. He wanted to tell her backup was nearby and to run. To get as far away from Eddy and his gun as possible. The last thing he wanted was for Mia to sacrifice herself for him. He’d never live through the pain of losing her.
Keeping his palms high and eyes on Eddy, he inched his way toward her. “She’s not a part of this, man. Leave her alone.” He hated the quiver of fear that laced his words.
Smirking, Eddy tilted his head to the side. “As much as I want to make her pay, I want to see you suffer more. Everyone who was supposed to love me, loved you more. You always had everything. But now, you’ll lose her just like you lost Laurie.”
Moving on impulse, Chet sprinted toward Mia. Mere feet separated them, but it seemed like so much more. The sound of leaves shuffling reached his ears, but he couldn’t stop to see where it came from. He had to get to Mia.
“No!” Tucker yelled.
When Mia was a stone’s throw away, he threw himself at her as the sound of a bullet tearing from a gun hit his ears.
A scream tore through the wood, and Mia’s wide, terrified eyes latched onto his.
Time slowed. Pain erupted on his torso. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the blistering as his body collided with hers and sent them both to the cold, muddy earth, the impact rattling his teeth. Not wanting to crush her, he shifted his weight as pain shot up his side.
Another gunshot rang out followed by running footsteps.
Mia laid still beneath him. Her breaths came out in short, ragged pants. Her hands trembling, tears coursing over her cheeks. “You’re fine. You’re going to be fine. It’s all over now. Can you move?”
He rolled to his side, grimacing as his pain intensified.
“Help! Chet needs help! Now!” She scrambled to a sitting position and frantically roamed her hands over his chest and sides. “What can I do? How can I help? God, there’s so much blood. I have to stop the bleeding.” Her voice caught on a sob.
He rested his hand on top of hers to calm her. Shock and fear dilated her pupils. There was nothing she could do for him now. He just wanted to see her. To feel her. “Mia,” he said, her name coming out on a wispy breath of air.
Tears fell onto his cheeks. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
His heart was heavy yet ready to burst. He coughed and the motion sent spikes of pain tearing through him. “I love you, Mia. Don’t ever forget that.”
Unable to keep his eyes open a second longer, he drifted into darkness, Mia’s sweet face the last thing he saw before he fell into oblivion.
* * *
No amountof warm air or dry clothes could stop the shivers shaking Mia from the inside out. The soft chair in the emergency waiting room did nothing to soothe her, and Brooke’s firm grip on her hand was the only thing that kept her from flying to her feet and demanding to be let into the room where Chet fought for his life.
Her entire body had gone numb the second the bullet had ripped into him, and only terror had crept back since Cruz and Lincoln had charged from the woods—paramedics quickly following. But the terrifying journey to the ambulance through the woods had ended with both Chet and Bobby still unconscious. Eddy dead. And her panicked she’d never get a chance to tell Chet how much he meant to her.
Tucker sat with his forearms on his knees and hands clasped together. His still-wet clothes clung to his frame. “He’s strong. He’s going to pull through this.” He spoke to himself as much as to the rest of them waiting to hear the outcome of both Chet and Bobby’s surgeries.
Brooke squeezed her hand. “How are you holding up?”
Unable to give voice to everything swirling inside her, Mia shrugged. She’d never unsee the moment Chet flew at her, fear clear in his wide eyes.
On her other side, Zoe patted her arm. “We’ve got you.”
Although Mia didn’t doubt the sentiment, it wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t need her friends lifting her up, she needed Chet.
Lincoln and Cruz huddled together with a couple other officers, likely discussing details of the horrible scene that unfolded in the woods.
