I didn’t wait. I went for the shot. And as it cracked the air, I prayed for it to hit true.
46
Everly
The crack of the bullet was deafening. Even against the water rushing behind me and the wind that had picked up out of nowhere. That sound cut through everything.
Yet everything seemed to move in slow motion. My body was already listing to the side, but my eyes never left Hayes’ face. If I could just not lose sight of him again, I would be okay. I knew it.
I felt Ben’s arm around my throat fall away, and the heat of him at my back simply disappeared. And I was falling.
I landed hard on the rocky ground, my hip and shoulder hitting first. I tried to keep my head from knocking, but it was useless. The force of my fall was too great.
The world went black for the briefest of moments, but Hayes’ face was still there when light returned. And it was moving. He was moving—towards me.
He was on his knees in a flash, hands roaming all over my body. “You’re okay. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I love you.” It was the only thing I cared about getting out. I’d been so dumb to hold the words back. Terrified and thinking I could protect myself from devastation if I simply didn’t voice what was inside of me. But not saying it didn’t change the truth. I loved this man with everything I had. He was my resting place. Somewhere I could lay my burdens and be who I truly was, no shields or false fronts—only me.
“Ev…” My nickname on his lips was a guttural plea as he framed my face. “Can’t tell you what it gives me to hear those words. But I need to know if you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.” I tried to sit, the world swimming a bit again.
Hayes was instantly there, helping me rise. “I’ve got you.”
“I know.”
As I sat, I couldn’t bring myself to look behind me. I didn’t know what I hoped to see. Even with everything that had happened, I couldn’t find it in me to wish my childhood friend dead. “Ben?” I croaked.
Hayes’ jaw hardened. “I don’t know. My shot hit him, but he went into the creek. The current’s strong here.”
I turned towards the water that rushed and bubbled, swirling around rocks and fallen trees. I couldn’t imagine him surviving that trek with a bullet wound. “I have to know. We have to find him.”
Calder stepped out of the trees, two horses in tow. “I called in the team. They’re downriver, so they’ll watch for him.” His gaze swept over me, assessing and concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.”
And that was when I broke. The first sob tore free before I even knew what was happening. Hayes engulfed me, wrapping his arms around me and absorbing each heave of my chest. He never once let go as I poured out the terror of the past few hours, the heartbreak of losing one of the few safe places I had growing up.
Hayes allowed me to let loose everything that was tearing me up inside. Not once did he try to tell me that everything would be okay or to stop. Nor did he make any sort of shhhing noise. He simply took it all in and gave me a place to lay it down.
I had no idea how long I cried. But Hayes was still there as the sobs eased. Holding me. He pressed his lips to my temple. “I’m here.”
“You always are.”
“And I always will be.”
Instead of fear or uncertainty at that vow, I felt only peace. The ethereal feeling that had always seemed out of my grasp. It filled me now, and if I could experience that peace amidst the terror of today, I knew it would never leave me.
Hayes pressed a kiss to my other temple. “Think I can help you get up?”
I nodded against his neck.
Hayes slowly stood, carefully bringing me with him. I wavered a bit, and he steadied me. Then he started prodding at my head. “Shit, Ev. There’s blood. Did he hit you?”
I brought my hand to my head, my fingers following Hayes’. There was a bit of tacky blood on the left side of my skull. “He knocked me out at the cabin. I didn’t even see him coming.”
“We need to get you to a hospital to get checked out.”