More shots were fired, but he got her behind the bush and tossed her over the fence before putting the gun in his waistband. He hefted himself up over the six-foot fence. He couldn’t see her at first, and he relaxed when he caught her behind a shed a few feet away.
“Good girl.” He heard sirens before seeing the lights from the cop cars, and he held her against his chest. “The cops and the fire department are here. Let’s stay here for a moment.”
She nodded and relaxed against him.
Jesus, he’d never be able to forget the fear he felt when he thought he was going to lose her. He pressed his lips against the top of her head and closed his eyes.
His phone rang.
“It’s Travis, man. I’m in front of your house. Where are you?”
“We’re in the neighbor’s yard. We’re coming out the gate closest to the house.”
“I’ll meet you.”
“Come on, baby, Travis is here.”
She nodded.
His first job was to get her as far away from this as possible until they caught the men after him. He needed her under lock and key because the thought of losing her would end his world.
Chapter Seventeen
Anna leaned against his side as he moved them to the front of the house.
Travis was there. “Hey, fuck, I was terrified I wouldn’t get here in time.”
The men hugged and then stood off to the side as the firemen fought a losing battle, trying to save the house. A few of them made sure the houses around them wouldn’t catch.
She concentrated on taking shallow breaths. She knew she was shot, but she just didn’t know how bad it was. Zachary was trembling beside her, so she was afraid to tell him, but she didn’t know how much longer she could stand up.
She zoned out a bit but then heard her name.
“Yeah, take her with you. I’ll check in with you guys later.”
“Wait, I want to stay with you,” she said.
“No.” He grabbed her shoulders, and she fought not to flinch. “Travis will take care of you while I deal with this.”
“I don’t want you left alone.”
“I’m not. A few other guys from the office are here.”
“Zachary…”
“No,” he said harshly. “It was a stupid idea having you with me. You could have been killed.”
“You could have, too.”
Frustrated, he wiped his hand down his face and looked off to the side. When he looked back at her, she felt a moment of fear.
“We’re going to cool this thing between us.”
“Wait…”
“Anna, I’m healed. I don’t need you anymore.”
The knot in her stomach tightened, and the pain almost overrode the pain in her arm. “You can’t mean that.”