His drunken face lights up as he turns, waving the gun, his eyes searching the garage. I make a move but he quickly whips the gun back at me. “Stay right there! Don’t you fucking move!”
This isn’t good. Desiree is behind the Bentley, which is thankfully in the corner, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds her. I have to do something. If anything happens to her…
Slowly, as quietly as possible, I inch forward, stalking Brian like a lion. He’s moving frantically, waving the gun with a jittery arm from side to side as he searches, muttering to himself. “Rich, prick…always got a girl…always got everything…”
As he passes the Ferrari, I take a quick step and get behind him. I’m only a couple of feet away when I hear it – when we both hear it. A sharp intake of breath from behind the Bentley. Brian spins, aims the gun in the direction of the sound.
Massive adrenaline dump.
There’s no time left. I have to do something. Brian rushes forward. He sees her. His face lights up and he roars with laughter. “I fucking knew it! Who are you, pretty young thing!?”
All I see is the gun.
The hammer cocked back.
Each of the six cylinders carrying a lethal shot.
No. This can’t happen. Not because of me. I got her into this. If anything were to happen to her because of me, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
Somewhere in the air I catch her scent…the orange and chocolate that got me the first time I sat in her car.
“Brian!” I bellow. His head snaps to me as I vault across the floor towards him. His eyes go wide and he swings the gun to me.
I’m too far away…I’m not going to make it…
The sound of the gunshot rings out – echoes off the walls of the garage, magnifying the sound and causing my ears to rage with pain.
Desiree screams.
Hot fire tears into my chest as the bullet tears through my flesh. My foot hits the floor of the garage, and I stumble as Brian levels the barrel again. Summoning every bit of strength I have, I duck my head and spring at him, eyes closed, arms outstretched.
The impact flares in my shoulder as I hit him in the chest. The gun goes off again, but I’ve got him. We hit the ground hard, him under me. He grunts with pain as I slam him into the hard floor. He swings out, his knuckles grazing my skull, but I react with everything I have. I swing my elbow straight into his jaw and feel the satisfying crunch as something breaks.
He groans again as my fist finds his cheek. I raise up again for another blow, but he’s out, lying motionless beneath me.
“Caleb!” Desiree races to my side and clasps both hands against my chest. I turn to her. My eyes search her body for any wounds – any signs that Brian’s second shot had hit her.
“Are you okay…?” I ask, my voice weak.
“I’m fine,” she says, sounding panicked. “It’s you we need to worry about. You need an ambulance now. Where is your cell phone?”
“Ambulance?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”
I glance down and realize I’m bleeding a lot. “Oh…”
“Can you walk?” Desiree asks. She slides beneath my arm and tries to help me stand. I get halfway to my feet before my left leg shakes and gives out. We both tumble to the floor.
“Caleb!” Desiree shouts as my vision starts to blur. I feel lightheaded and the edges of my vision begin to blur.
“This…this is bad…” I groan as I turn to her – my beauty, my desire. “But…you’re okay…”
“And you’re going to be okay too, Caleb!” she says emphatically. “Just stay with me!”The last thing I hear before my vision goes completely dark is Desiree shouting my name.
Epilogue
Desiree
Eleven months later…