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“And let the team know—”
“Done as well.”
I forgot how great it was working side by side.
“I need a heat pack. Grace has duct tape over her mouth.”
She threw the bag off her shoulder to the ground beside us, removing a rectangular packet. She snapped the sachet in half and passed it my way. Warmth spread through the contents.
“Keep this over your mouth. It’ll help loosen the tape. Here… Sit in my lap, and I’ll hold it.”
I bent to lift her. A shot echoed through the forest, and I closed my arms around Grace, taking her to the ground. Another shot echoed seconds later..
“It’s okay. He’s dead now,” Rachel said. “He had another gun.”
“You killed him.”
“Would you rather he killed you? I thought you wanted him dead.”
I did, and I didn’t. A dead Chad would never hurt Grace again, and I couldn’t deny the instant relief in my chest. Then the piercing pain through my thigh replaced my second of solace. The spot burned, searing into the muscle and spasming down to my toes. My leg buckled underneath me and I fell to the ground, nearly taking Grace down with me.
I’m shot.
Grace dropped to her knees at my side. The sky had cleared, and I finally saw her beautiful face. Her swollen eyes filled with tears, and I smoothed my dirty hand over her cheek. Dirt from my fingers stained her flesh, but she still looked like the most beautiful woman in the world. I lifted the warm packet back to her mouth and held it against the duct tape.
“I can’t feel the pain when I look at you, beautiful,” I said. “But I should probably fix my leg. Can you hold this?”
She grasped the packet and her eyes fell to my leg, where Rachel injected a pain reliever into the muscle before looping a belt around my thigh. The bleeding stopped, but I felt woozy. Grace lay down and settled at my side. We watched the stars twinkle above the canopy.
“I’m so sorry about everything, Grace.”
She unzipped my vest and slipped her injured hand underneath my shirt. It was almost like in Costa Rica—just me and her and a million stars.
“Let’s try removing the tape.” Rachel helped Grace sit up. She lowered the heating pad from her mouth and held the tape’s end, gently peeling away.
Grace’s first breath was deep and long. She closed her eyes and took a moment before she looked at me from above.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Me? I’m fine. I’ve got drugs, so it’s all good. I see rainbows and unicorns. Maybe some toads.” I pointed to the sky. “Hey, Rachel, what did you give me?”
“Unfortunately, I had no horse tranquilizer.”
Grace snickered. It was so good to hear her voice.
“Did he hurt you? I mean, I know he hurt you, but—
“Just some scrapes and bruises. Nothing time won’t heal.”
“Good.” I took in a deeper breath. The stars were moving across the night sky, and I knew whatever Rachel had given me was fully kicking in.
“Hunter?”
Her beautiful face came into view again.
“I’m pregnant. And it’s your baby.” She lowered her gaze to her belly, where I was already holding my hand.
“I know, my love, and I’m so sorry I assumed otherwise.”
