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It was the most awful sight she'd ever witnessed, watching his body jerk and twist, blood blossoming from his back as the rounds exited. Bark flew in splinters from the rounds, impacting the tree.
Josh was dead before his body sagged completely, allowing gravity to pull him to the ground, the knife slicing through his hand and finally releasing him.
There was a stunned silence, and almost like a hive mind, Georgie, Riggs, and Gunner looked at Grace. She looked around, appearing stunned.
Gunner looked at Riggs and gave his head a quick jerk in the direction of the dead man. Riggs nodded, and together, they walked to where Josh lay. Riggs stepped over the body, one foot on each side, bent down, wrapped his arms under Josh's armpits, and slowly lifted him off the ground.
"Move," Gunner said to Grace and Georgie, cleaning the gun he'd taken from Josh with his shirt as he moved over to where Riggs waited. Once the women were clear, he put it in Josh's hand and fired in the direction where they'd stood.
"On three," he said and started the countdown.
When he reached three, Riggs released the body. At the same moment, Gunner released the hand. The body fell, pretty much where it had previously lain. The gun lay not far away.
"Am I going to go to jail?" Grace asked.
"For what?" Gunner responded. "Defending yourself?"
She looked from him to the others. Riggs shrugged. "That's what I saw."
Grace then looked at Georgie. "Me too."
Grace seemed stunned. "But why? Why would you do that for me?"
"Because it's the right thing to do," Riggs replied.
Tears welled in Grace's eyes. "How can I ever repay you? You saved my life. You wouldn't believe what he said he would do to me."
"Oh, we can believe it," Gunner said. "You stopped him from doing it again."
"So I won't go to jail?"
"Not a chance."
She nodded, and a smile came on her face at first, but it quickly faded. "But I'm still a killer. I can't escape that."
"Who can?" Gunner asked. "Come on, let's call the law and get this show started. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to close this nasty chapter."
"Amen to that, brother," Riggs agreed and then yelled, "Georgie!" as she collapsed.
It wasn't until she was in his arms that he realized he'd made the leap across that distance without considering whether he could make it in time with his prosthesis. He acted without thinking of his foot, and here he was, holding Georgie in his arms.
She was right. Again. She said if he trusted her, he'd see the day he could still leap tall buildings in a single bound. He thought this might be that day. For the first time since he lost his foot, he felt whole again.
"My hero," her whisper had him looking down at her face. "You saved me."
"I promised."
"Yes, you did," she smiled. "Can you make me one more?"
"Anything, what do you want?"
"To go home?"
"Cambridge?"
"No, home. With you and Robby. I want you to be my forever home."
Riggs grinned. How like the courageous, never-give-up woman he'd fallen in love with. Put through hell that would probably give her PTSD for life, she still found a way to save him, to give him what he wanted the most.
