Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47196 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
He cuts me off as he leans me over the counter. The hard surface digs into my hip as the man pulls the knife from my neck, but as soon as I start to struggle again, he puts it back. “Stop it. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
“I don’t think so,” Zach says from the doorway.
He’s still shirtless, jeans hanging low on his hips, but what surprises me most is the gun in his hand pointed right by my head at bakersking.
I shake my head. “I’m sorry. I unlocked the door.”
Zach is watching the bakersking, but his voice is for me. “It’s okay, honey. This isn’t your fault.”
Dang, I wish I could believe him. I’m the one that unlocked the door without even thinking about it. What was I even thinking? Obviously, I wasn’t. As I have this mental talk with myself, Zach moves toward us.
Terry continues knocking from the back door, hollering my name, and my attacker gets even more agitated.
Bakersking jerks me to him even harder and bellows at Zach. “Stop! Don’t come any closer or I’ll cut her.”
Zach’s face distorts into anger. “You hurt her, and I’ll kill you.” His words are lethal and experienced.
His chest is rising up and down, and I can feel the anger coming off of him in waves. His face, usually void of any emotion, is filled with anger, pain, regret, guilt, and worry. I hate that I’ve put him in this position.
It’s like I can see the flashbacks on his face. Things he’s seen while serving, and he’s experiencing it all again.
I don’t know what to say or how to make this better, so I say the one thing I want him to know in case this goes south really quickly.
“Zach.”
He doesn’t look at me. Even from across the room, I can see the pulse in his neck pumping. I say his name again. “Zach.”
He finally looks at me, and I soften my gaze, wanting him to see the sincerity on my face. “I love you, Zach. No matter what, I love you.”
“No!” bakersking screams. He loses it, jerking me back and forth, and then he raises his hand before punching me in the face. “You don’t love him, you love me!”
The pain is excruciating, and as I’m falling to the ground, I hear a gunshot, and then everything goes black.
I’m not sure how long I’m out, but even though I can’t open my eyes, I can hear everything.
Zach’s hands are on me as he whispers to me, trying to reassure me.
Terry is here too, cursing, saying he’ll call 911, and the panic in his voice worries me.
Am I dying?
I hear sirens and then more voices in the room.
A man calling out details. “Male patient. GSW to the right shoulder. Bleeding controlled and vitals are stable.”
“Female patient, blunt force trauma to the face, possible concussion. Eyes closed but responds to verbal stimuli. Breathing spontaneous, airway intact, vitals stable.”
I reach for Zach, and he puts his hand in mine. “Don’t let me go. Please don’t let me go.”
I wait for him to reassure me. I want to hear his voice, but he’s silent. The only thing he gives me is when he squeezes my hand.
I don’t let myself fall back into the darkness until I hear him say, “I’m going to ride with her to the hospital.”
CHAPTER 17
ZACH
I fucked up.
There’s no other way to say it. I fucked up, and with my fuck-up, I almost got Skyler killed.
She’s lying on the hospital bed. She’s so pale, and she’s been sleeping for so long, I can’t help but be worried.
Penn has been in here multiple times to check on his sister, and every time he’s walked in here, he’s looked at me blankly. It’s obvious he doesn’t know whether to thank me that his sister is alive or tell me to get the fuck out since I let her get hurt.
I’ve replayed it over and over in my head. Seeing Skyler standing in the kitchen with that asshole’s hands on her is something that I’ll never forget. It’s my fault he was able to get close to her. And fuck, he put his hands on her, he fuckin’ hit her. Everything in me wanted to kill him. I should have.
I gently touch Skyler’s hand, wishing she would wake up and I could see her blue orbs looking at me.
She deserves more than me. Seeing the bruise on her face makes me physically sick, but I can’t look away.
I hear the commotion from the hallway, and I stand up as her brothers and sister-in-law pile into the room. Penn, Aria, Miller, Guy, and Ozzy all look at Skyler on the bed with worried expressions. They gather around her, all talking at once. I release my hold on her and back away from the bed, shame filling me. She’s lying there hurt because of me. I should have done better. I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight.