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That was my last conscious thought before I tackled Gunner, a bullet intended for him hitting me in the back.
The impact on my vest was jarring, knocking the breath out of me. I landed on top of Gunner, unable to get up. My back was on fire, the pain spreading into my legs and arms. I’d have a nasty bruise to remember this day by.
The shooting had stopped, but my limbs still refused to cooperate.
Someone pulled me off, and I groaned in pain at the movement. “Did you get hit?”
I shook my head, still trying to get my breath back.
Dalton turned me over, and I gritted my teeth. He grinned down at me. “The bullet hit his vest. He’s gonna be fine. Probably broke a rib or two.” He nodded to the legs sticking out from behind the desk. “Rambisi, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.”
I made out Gunner through my blurry vision, his form contorted but familiar. “Let’s get you to the hospital.”
Another body pushed in front of me. “Have you lost your mind? What idiot jumps in front of a bullet? You’re supposed to get out of the way. What if he wasn’t shooting a Smith & Wesson? What if he wised up and used armor-piercing bullets? First a cliff, now this. Do you have a death wish?”
Santino kept ranting while helping me up, then walking me back to the car. I found it best to keep quiet. I’d never seen him this worked up before. Or heard him put together so many words in a row.
“Thanks for saving me,” Gunner grudgingly said on the way to the hospital. I knew how hard those words were for him.
I grunted a reply, knowing this was as much as I’d ever get. Santino stayed by my side, glowering at everyone like they’d shot me.
Gunner dropped us off, leaving a car behind so we could get back to the motel. Since I was still alive, I figured Gunner wouldn’t have an issue with me coming back to Chicago.
Before leaving Guyana, I’d given all the information I had about my family to my CIA contact in exchange for immunity. But I hadn’t thought about what I’d do once it was all said and done.
Chaos engulfed us as soon as we stepped through the doors of the emergency room. There were no chairs left, and I dropped onto the floor, unable to stand up any longer. Santino walked off with a warning not to move and came back a few short minutes later with a clipboard in hand.
He filled out most of the details, but I had to help him with the things I’d made up when changing my name. “Of all the names you could have chosen, you went with Blake. It sounds like a golf-playing, khaki-wearing trust fund baby.”
I grinned. “That’s exactly the reason why I chose it.”
He barked out a laugh. I still couldn’t believe he’d come with me without asking any questions. I should have trusted in our friendship more. I should have trusted in a lot more things in my life.
We finally got ushered through five hours later. As suspected, I had two broken ribs, and a large bruise took up almost my entire back.
They released me with a prescription for painkillers and orders to rest for two weeks.
“Where to?” Santino asked once we were back in the car.
There was only one place I wanted to be, and that was with Everleigh.
“The motel.”
I just hoped she’d stuck around for the past ten hours.
My heart sank at the thought that she’d have left. I wouldn’t blame her. I was a dick to her.
Please let her still be there.
25
EVERLEIGH
I’d tidied the room three times, even wiped down the dust on the windowsill and scrubbed the bathroom. They’d been gone for over ten hours. What if they weren’t coming back? Was I wasting my time?
But I’d always been stubborn. And I wouldn’t give up on us. He meant too much to me not to fight. Even if fighting meant sitting in a damp hotel room that reeked of stale cigarettes and mold.
A car pulled into the lot outside, but I didn’t move from where I was lying on the bed, studying the water-stained ceiling. I’d jumped the first twenty times I’d heard a car pull up outside but eventually gave up.
