He could barely join her hiding spot before the first shots blasted into the steel of the dumpster. They both drew their weapon in silence.
It turned out that this angry ex—or whatever the fuck he was, came prepared with a gun and willing to use it. “I can’t believe the nerve of this idiot,” Gwenn said.
She peered around the dumpster but immediately retreated her head when that sucker rounded another shot. Even though they both had all the permits and licenses as private investigators, they didn’t need the unwanted attention of law enforcement.
“I’m about to have enough of this fucker,” Ronan said.
“No shit.” Gwenn snorted unladylike, bringing out a smile on Ronan’s face.
Even though they complained, this shootout lifted their spirits, as they both lived for the adrenaline rush.
“This clown is mine.” Gwenn rolled over the ground to the other side of the alley, got up behind a fire escape and shot the gun right out of the guy’s hand.
“Aargh! You bitch!”
Before the shooter had time to pick up his gun, Ronan beat him to it. “Think again, arsehole.”
Ronan doubled over to pick up the gun when he spotted a knife out of the corner of his eye. It didn’t register that he got stabbed until the arsehole took the knife out and stuck him again a few inches below his belly button.
“What the fuck did you just do to me?” Ronan roared after the man as he rounded the corner in a sprint, trying to catch him.
A red-hot pain seared through him. It didn’t make any sense. He’d always watched his back and made sure he had Gwenn’s, too. His legs stumbled, and he went down to the ground; happy it was him and not Gwenn who got stabbed.
Gwenn took his hand in hers while calling 911. He knew the drill. He’d seen enough during his line of work and as an underground MMA fighter.
“It’s going to be okay, old man. Hang in there.”
The tremor in Gwenn’s voice didn’t set his mind at rest like she’d probably intended. He had no recollection of time but it seemed like the cops arrived quickly after he’d gone down.
He heard Gwenn explaining the situation to the officers and again when he’d been rushed onto a stretcher and rolled into the back of an ambulance. Gwenn grabbed his hand again as the EMT worked him over, checking his vitals.
“If you were that hungry I could have given you my emergency chocolate bar from my bag. You didn’t need to get yourself stabbed so you could have some MRE-like food in the hospital…” Gwenn winked and grimaced at Ronan’s attempt of a smile.
She knew he couldn’t handle her panic right now, so instead she made stupid jokes. If their weird telepathic linked brains hadn’t saved both their lives multiple times, he would have been irritated by it.
He lifted his hand and ruffled her chestnut hair. He knew he could only do so because she’d let him. Gwenn had no trouble in taking him out. He outweighed her by almost two hundred pounds but that wouldn’t stop her from using her training against him and lay him out flat.
“It’s all right. We’re almost there,” Gwenn said.
He closed his eyes and all he could see was her.
Fianna
He heard the distant voices of Gwenn and some EMT guy, but he didn’t pay them any mind as the ambulance raced through traffic to get him to the nearest hospital.
Visions of the love of his life at eight-years-old when they first met, and Fianna taking his breath away in her stunning emerald dress this weekend entered his mind. Even after knowing each other for decades, she still surprised him. She’d knocked the wind out of him when she’d let him kiss her at the Velvet Club.
Six years.
It had been six long years since the last time he held her in his arms. She hadn’t responded to his last texts where he spilled his guts and declared once again how he would be forever hers.
He groaned, thinking about the stupid stuff he’d texted before that. Like wanting to bang that chick from the Velvet Club just because she resembled Fianna. He hoped it wouldn’t be the last thing he would ever say to her.
He needed to have more time. Please, let him have more time. He directed his pleas to the big guy upstairs, hoping he could have another shot and make everything right between Fianna and him.
The moment the doors to the ambulance opened, everything went black before his eyes. The last thing he heard was Gwenn’s cry of despair.
5