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Bull finds my eyes again as my forehead scrunches up in perplexity. His lips twitch when he offers me a wink. “Mr Burton sends his regards.”
Shock paints my face as the realisation hits.
Vaughn Burton, you motherfucker!
My body sags in relief as Noah pales.
“W-what? You’re n-not HSD?”
Bull shakes his head slowly, a smirk growing on his face. “No, sir. The crew you’re expecting got a little held up.”
He begins to back away from our saviours, shaking his head in disbelief until he stumbles at the edge of the patio, falling flat on his ass. Beads of sweat pop up on his broad forehead while his gaze whips around behind him, searching for a helpmate who’s clearly not there.
Another body rappels out of the open-sided chopper, landing with ease mere feet from the huge Texan.
“Gunshot wound to the left shoulder. Two o’clock.”
His companion unmasks herself before following her leader’s instructions to the letter.
She crosses the space, dropping down to my right before placing a hand on my upper arm. “You can let go now. I’ve got her.”
The soft sincerity in the face of such horror is almost my undoing, but I slowly rise to stand, gathering a sobbing Jesse into my embrace as the apparent paramedic begins to triage Summer.
“It’s okay, kid. She’s going to be okay.” I force a certainty that I’m not altogether sure of into my voice, years of covering my pain with a smile once more taking control.
Jesse’s hands claw my t-shirt as a fresh wave of emotion rises in his body. I rub soothing circles on his heaving shoulders, allowing him to let it all out.
As my son sobs in my embrace, the weight of what’s transpired here hits me square in the chest. The force of impact steals the breath from my body, and I gasp for air almost desperately. The movement draws Jesse’s attention.
“How do you know, Dad? How do you know Mom’s going to be okay?”
He turns wild eyes up to mine, pleading with me with those big blue orbs to comfort him with my words. There’s only one thing I can say.
There’s only one thing Ineedto believe. I need to keep hope alive, because that’s what kept Summer with me all these years.
That’s what kept our love burning.
And the thought stabilises my racing heart.
“Because the universe sent her back to me. And I won’t allow her to be taken from me ever again.”
He swallows harshly as he nods, his brows knitting as he tries to pull himself together. I tug my child back into my arms, resting my head on his to pay witness to an utterly different scenario than that of mere moments before.
It almost feels as though my eyes flit from one scene to the next in the span of a heartbeat.
A panic-stricken, hand-cuffed Noah can be heard offering any sum of money to the Elite Forces team if only they’ll help him.
Two other members of the squadron are with Beau and Jake. One of them appears to be confirming what we already know while Beau is talking softly to the other beside our fallen friend.
Dad has rallied enough to cross the space to join my mum. They are holding one another tightly as tears stream down both of their faces. My father appears to have aged at least a decade in the last half an hour; his usual vivacity and lust for life dimmed beyond all recognition.
“Mr North?”
Jesse jumps out of my hold, crouching beside his mother as fast as the speed of light. My attention too instantly shifts to the paramedic who’s called me, and I kneel beside my son.
“Ms St James’s vitals are good. The bullet was a through and through, and the bleeding is now under control. My best guess is that she fainted, whether, from shock or pain, I don’t know. But, as these things go, I’ve seen a lot worse.”
I expel a breath I didn’t realise I was holding.
