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I cup her cheek as hot tears roll down to my hand. “I’ll figure it out. Please,” she begs as she places her hand on mine, leaning into it. This goes against every fiber of my being to let her out of my grasp but I’m not him, I won’t control her. I know she’s doing what she thinks is right to save Bree, and all of us, because he’s unhinged right now. But I don’t see how giving into his demands is a good thing.
Lucy slowly walks toward him with her hands out to show she’s unarmed. “Let her go, Taylor. I’ll stay. Please, no one has to get hurt.”
He waits until she’s right in front of him before he pushes Bree toward Sterling and grabs Lucy, putting her in the same place he had Briella. I glance toward Sterling for any clue as to what we do next and I see Dean, eyes on Briella, as she puts pressure on the superficial cut at her throat and Rhett’s no longer in sight.
Sterling must know I’m planning to sneak up on Taylor now that he’s partially facing him, because he commands with his eyes not to move and gives the slightest shake of his head. The next thing I know, another officer has slid up behind us somehow, he must’ve come in another door or window in back of the house.
I see a couple more filing in, weapons trained on Taylor. The first one silently reaches Taylor’s back and puts the gun between his shoulder blades. “Drop the weapon and let the girl go, now,” he commands in a no-nonsense tone.
Taylor simply smiles and kisses Lucy’s cheek. “If I can’t have you, no one will.”
When he smiled, I already knew. My heart stopped as I lunged for Lucy in slow motion, tugging on her as hard as I could and hoping against hope I wasn’t too late as I heard him utter the very words that would shatter my world if he succeeded. Lucy falls on top of me as I try my best to cushion her fall.
I can’t hear anything except noise, but I know people are moving and shouting. I look up and see Taylor still standing but his hands are wrenched behind his back as he smiles down at what he’s done. I feel something hot and sticky on my shirt where Lucy landed, and I turn her over to see where the blood’s coming from. She’s watching me through tears as she clutches her jawline with blood slipping through her fingers. I take her hand away so I can check her throat, but there’s too much blood. “Baby. Baby. Look at me,” I tell her.
“You’re fine. You’re gonna be fine.” Her eyes hold mine as her skin loses more color. I rip my button up shirt off and apply firm pressure with it to the general area I see blood. I can see a cut at her ear and down her jaw, but I can’t tell if he actually got her throat. I say a quick prayer as I try to keep her calm.
“I need some help! I think she’s going into shock or something!” I shout. Rhett is somewhere behind me telling her the same as me. Luckily, paramedics were dispatched to our location so they’re walking in now. Right before they reach us, I lean down and kiss her forehead. “I love you, Lucy. You’re my firecracker so you hang on and fight with all the fire you got, baby. You’re my love story and I can’t write it without you.”
Her lips tip up ever so slightly as the paramedics move me away to take care of her. Minutes tick by as I try to see what they’re doing. They finally deem they can move her to the ambulance. And I follow, but they won’t let me ride with her. Rhett grabs my shoulder and climbs in with her since he’s her dad.
Sterling jogs over to me after making sure Taylor is cuffed and tucked into a police car and on his way to jail. “Hey, are you okay, man?”
I stare after the ambulance until I can’t see it anymore, then I glance at her blood on my hands. He grabs me and pulls me in for a hug. “She’s going to be fine. You’ll see.” I nod as I feel my own hot tears spill down my face. He lets me go and guides me to the truck. “Let’s go to the hospital. Briella’s already in the truck with Dean. She needs to get checked out quickly too.”
I walk around his truck and get in, checking the backseat and notice Dean has his arm around Briella and for once she isn’t fighting him. She has dried blood at her throat. “I’m so sorry, Bree. Are you okay?” I ask.
She shrugs out of Dean’s hold. “I’m fine. It’s a scratch.” Sterling hops in after talking with another officer. He finds Briella in the rearview mirror. “I got your weapon. I’ll give it to you in a bit.”
“Ivie and Rayna are going to meet us at the hospital. So are Lucy’s parents,” Sterling says to us all.
I stare out the window into the night as we make our way to Greendale Valley Med. My heart is there, but I don’t think it’s going to beat again until I’m beside her.
The ride to the hospital was quiet. I’ve been alone now for the last couple hours as doctors, nurses, and techs have scanned me, poked me, and stitched me. I have whiplash from the wreck, burns and bruising across my neck and chest from my seatbelt, bruises on my wrists and about a gazillion internal and external stitches from my right ear down my cheek and jawline that a plastic surgeon placed to try to prevent so much scarring.
He was going to kill me. If Tate hadn’t tugged me down right when he did, I probably wouldn’t be here. He saved my life, and my heart. How do you say thank you to the man who has given you a second chance at everything in such a short amount of time?
The nurse comes in and tells me they’re going to let me have visitors now. Rhett’s first in. He was silent during the ambulance ride. It’s the second one he’s taken with me in the last several months. “Hey sweetie.” He pulls up the chair beside my bed. “They said they’re keeping you overnight for observation.” He takes my hand in his, lifting it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. He looks at me with tears in his eyes, smoothing my hair back with his free hand.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I knew you were going through something, but I had no idea it was something like this. I wish you would’ve told me.”
“I’m sorry too. It’s just…this isn’t something I wanted anyone to know. I was ashamed and I wanted to free myself. I thought I could.” I close my eyes and blink away tears.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, sweet girl. You can tell me anything. I won’t judge you.” I chuckle because that was literally his job for years.
He chuckles too. “Yeah, the irony, I know. But I mean it. And I want you to know, I want what’s best for you.”
About that time, Mom enters with Rayna and Dad on her heels. She moves to my other side and hugs me gently. “Oh baby,” she says sadly while her own tears fall. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
After Mom has spent some time with me, she decides to leave the room for someone else to come in. Rayna slides over in her place to tell me she loves me, before smiling reassuringly at Rhett. She leaves the room too, and now it’s just Rhett and Dad.
Dad looks weary as he approaches my bedside opposite Rhett. They’re both quiet for a moment and I break the silence. “So…” I say taking both their hands, “You’re both my dads. I know this is going to take some getting used to for us all. But Dad, you’re aways going to be my dad. That won’t change. And Rhett, you’re my dad too. I love you both. I want you both in my life. I know our situation isn’t ideal, but I hope you can try to put your differences aside for me. Because I’m grateful to be blessed with two of the most wonderful dads in the world.” I pause glancing from one to the other.
To lighten the mood, I add, “To be clear, I’ve always called you Dad,” I say motioning to Steve and then motion to Rhett, “So I guess that lands you with being called Daddy so there’s no confusion when we’re all in the same room.” I laugh. Surprisingly, they both laugh too.
“I’ll do whatever is best for you and I know that means having us both,” Rhett says.
Dad looks from Rhett to me and adds, “I agree completely.” He reaches across to shake Rhett’s hand. The air in the room feels so much lighter. They stay a few more minutes before letting Ivie in. She rushes to me.
