I entered the room and saw Van running toward the door with his arms wide.
Alise took a step back when she saw me as if she had seen a ghost.
“Raven, come back!” Van yelled, lunging at me as he reached out at the air.
One clean shot and I shot him in the center of his chest. He dropped to the ground, coughing up air until blood replaced the air and came out in splattering and gurgling sounds. His arms were still reaching out to the sky as if he were reaching for something invisible. He grabbed whatever it was and pulled it to him.
“Kiss— me— one— last— time— evermore,” were his last words before he gave up the fight for air and collapsed onto the ground.
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Alise
With his face only a beat away from mine, his hot and heavy breath made my heart pump faster. This nightmare was over. Bruiser’s piercing brown eyes were like heaven staring back at me. He inched closer to me, an
d I could feel my body light up with chills, tingling in response. He put his forehead to mine while looking into my eyes. He just stood there, staring into my soul for as long as he needed to, to know that I was alright. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“Bruiser…”
“Alise, baby. I thought I had lost you.”
“No, I was determined not to die in here.”
“That’s because you knew I wouldn’t make it if you did. I would have gone mad.”
“I’m just glad you’re here,” I said.
He captured my face into his big hands, and I was on fire as he kissed my lips. My eyes fluttered as his mouth opened to engulf mine into his. Bruiser was the first man to ever declare himself as my protector, then follow through with it when it mattered. He saved me, and I needed him, no matter what I’d told myself in the past. I needed this protection.
“Alise,” he called out to me again, causing me to shiver.
“Yes.”
“I love you,” he spoke the words with so much love that I knew they were real. He looked into my eyes, peering deep inside of me. His confession yet again made me freeze in that moment in time. I had gone from terrified over whether I would make it out of this cabin alive to covered by Bruiser’s strong energy that could power an entire community. And his eyes. I had never seen eyes so impassioned about anything in this world. Not even in my kidnapper, whose desire for me had led him to steal me from a wedding. “I said, I love you, Alise. Now and forever. I will never let anything happen to you, from this day forward.” He spoke the words with so much love that I knew they were real. He looked into my eyes, peering deep inside of me.
“I love you too, Bruiser. I love you so much,” I screamed to the high heavens, flinging myself into his arms. “I thought I would never see you again. The last thing I did before Van drove away from the reception was scream that I love you from the car. It had pissed Van off, but I meant every word.”
“You’re safe now, and that’s what matters, baby,” Bruiser said.
I looked at the man lying on the floor, bleeding out. I was itching to leave this place, so I dragged Bruiser to the door, ready to haul us both out of there.
On the porch, he wrapped his arm around my waist as he phoned the police. The dirty details of the past few hours came back to my mind. How close I had come to being violated. How humiliated I felt. How I used all of my instincts to talk my way out of even more danger. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words got stuck in my throat. I didn’t know how or what to feel at the moment. There was too much swirling around in my mind. I just wanted to leave, but I knew we had to talk to the police.
“Thank you. For everything, Bruiser. I don’t know what I would have done had you not found me. I would have died in there.”
Bruiser’s arms were still wrapped around my waist when he kissed my cheek, then tugged at my chin so that I was staring into his eyes. He placed a finger on my lips. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want me to say anymore. He wasn’t expecting me to tell him I loved him or to profess my appreciation. He just wanted me safe, and that made it even more special.
Bruiser called Tameka and told her that he found me. She was working in his office and said she would put out the word to everyone that I was found safely. Before he hung up the phone with her, I yelled, “Sorry for messing up your wedding day. I didn’t mean to get kidnapped.”
“Oh, stop that, Alise! We are so happy that you are coming back safe. That is the blessing here. We can have a party any time. Besides, I have the ring, and it’s official now.”
“Thanks for saying that, Tameka. I’ll see you soon.”
I was glad Tameka wasn’t torn up about the events of the day. She actually sounded happy, and I knew that was because the search was over and that it ended with Van’s death and not mine.
I thought about everything Bruiser and I had been through together. The very thing that brought us together was the man he rescued me from. We could hear sirens in the distance. Finally, this nightmare was over.
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