by Nicola Haken
“What’s going on?” Sawyer asked, his face paling in panic.
“I don’t know,” I was forced to admit. How was I supposed to protect them when I didn’t have a clue what was happening? “The cops have taken Laurelin away.”
“Laurelin?”
I didn’t have time to elaborate, not that I even could. Neil and Damien, another new recruit, escorted the guys to their cars. Sawyer and I sprinted behind them, until I saw a shadow in the distance that I recognised immediately. It was a silhouette of a man with what appeared to be a 9mm pointing in Sawyer’s direction. Without a second’s hesitation I jumped in front of Sawyer’s body, everything slowing down the moment the gun sounded.
People screamed, I think. Somehow I’d fallen to the floor without conscious memory of how it happened. I felt pressure in my chest, but no pain, despite the blood I could see starting to soak through my white shirt when I looked down. I searched for Sawyer’s eyes, but something black blocked my view. It blocked everything – there was nothing but heavy darkness no matter which direction I looked. As my lungs began to burn, as if I were inhaling shards of glass, the sounds started fading too. People stopped screaming, police stopped yelling.
There was nothing.
Chapter Seventeen
“No no no! Oh please, God, no!” I cried, dropping to my knees beside Jake. “Jake, please, baby, wake up. Oh fuck, please wake up!”
“Don’t move him!” one of the police men called out. “You need to get out of the area. Now!” they ordered from afar. There were tens of them now. I don’t know what they were doing, I didn’t care. I also didn’t listen to them.
“Come, on, Saw!” Kip yelled.
“I’m not leaving him!” Tears clouded my vision and my hands were covered in Jake’s blood. I took hold of his hand, clutching it to my heaving chest. “I love you, Jake. Oh, God, I love you so much. Please don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”
I heard the cops barking orders, the sound of tyres screeching, sirens of incoming ambulances… but nothing would keep me away from Jake. I’d been such a fucking idiot, refusing to admit how much he meant to me. Now I was losing him and I would never forgive myself.
“SOMEBODY FUCKING HELP HIM!” Why was nobody coming? Jake was unconscious, bleeding out onto the concrete.
“All clear!” I heard someone shout.
“Oh thank, God,” I breathed as four paramedics came rushing over to us. “They’re gonna help you, Jake. You’re gonna be okay. You have to be okay.”
“Please, sir, you need to move.”
“I’m not leaving him!”
“Come on, mate.” Kip’s hand tugged on my arm, pulling me to a standing position. “Let them help him.”
“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice weak, noticing the other cars were gone. Only Neil remained, along with the swarms police and ambulance crew.
“You’re my best fucking friend. I’m not leaving you.”
My gaze fell back to Jake’s lifeless body. If I stared intently enough I could see his chest rising and falling… barely.
“I can’t lose him, Kip. I can’t fucking lose him.”
“You won’t. They’ll take care of him. He’s too much of a stubborn sod to give up on you that easily.”
Yes. Yes he was. Jake is a fighter. He’s always in control, so he’ll control this. He’ll fight for me. He has to.
“Sir?” A paramedic emerged in front of me, startling me and forcing my eyes from Jake. “Sir, are you hurt?”
I shook my head, unable to speak past the tears lodged in my throat. I stepped to the side, looking past the paramedic and over to Jake. They were lifting him onto a board. Instinctively I raised my leg to run to him, but Kip pulled me back.
“Where are they taking him?” I asked, flustered and terrified.
“Westmead Hospital. You can travel with him if you like.”
“Yes,” I said immediately, not needing a second to process his question. I started running towards the back of the ambulance where they were taking Jake, who was now strapped to a gurney.
“We’ll follow in the car!” Neil hollered.
“I need to accompany him,” one of the guys who I recognised as part of our new security team said. I didn’t remember, nor really care for, his name. One of the crew nodded in silent understanding. Obviously he knew who I was and what being me entailed.
I let the crew get Jake into the back of the ambulance, mainly because Kip was holding me back. When they gave the all clear I hopped in after them, noticing Kip run over to Neil as I sat down in the drop-down chair. One of the male paramedics closed the door while the other started attaching all kinds of wires and tubes to Jake’s body.
“He’s gonna be okay, right?”
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” he explained with a sympathetic expression that told me to prepare for the worst. Well I wouldn’t. Jake wasn’t going to die on me. We’d spent too many years getting to where we are now. “And there doesn’t appear to be an exit wound, which means the bullet is still inside him somewhere.”
“Well where is it? Can’t you get it out?”
“That’s the plan. Your friend will be going straight through to surgery when we arrive.”
“He’s not my friend,” I spat. “I love him.”
See how easy that was? Why the fuck I didn’t have the courage to say that out loud before to anyone was beyond me. There was no one more important to me than the man lay fighting for his life in front of me, and from now on I would make sure the whole damn world knew it.
“How is he?” Kip asked when he reached me. The police wanted to speak to him and all the other guys so he had to go back to the hotel while I came here.
“He’s in surgery,” I shrugged, not knowing what else to do. I’d been pacing up and down the corridor with the new guard watching me from a row of waiting chairs for the past hour, and as yet, not one person had walked out of the double doors that I knew led to Jake.
“Come here, man,” Kip said, holding his arms out and cocking his head. I willingly fell into his arms, crying onto his shoulder as he patted my back. “They’ve got the guy that did this. It’s over, Saw.”
“Who the fuck is it?” I growled, yanking myself away from Kip.
“The police are coming to talk to you soon.”
“You’re keeping something from me,” I said, eyeing him up suspiciously.
“Jesus, Sawyer…I don’t know how the fuck to tell you this.”
“Tell me what? Spit it out, Kip!”
“It’s Jerry.”
“Jerry? My old stepdad Jerry?” What the fuck? “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Hey, man, I can’t give you specifics. All I know is the cops caught him running from the scene… and that Laurelin has been the one giving him the inside info. They’ve been working together.”
“Laurelin?”
“I’m sorry, mate.”
I didn’t even hear Kip’s last few words because I saw a doctor emerge from the heavy double doors, removing his elasticated mask from his face. I jogged towards him immediately, stopping right in front of him.
“How is he?” My voice was rushed and desperate.
“We’ve sourced and removed the bullet and stopped the bleeding. Luckily it barely skimmed his heart.”
“That’s good right?” I interrupted, clasping my hands together in the praying position.
“Most definitely. We’re taking him through to recovery now, and I’m pleased to tell you we have every reason to believe he’ll be just fine.”
“Thank you. Oh, Christ, thank you so much.” In that moment it felt like I released a breath I’d been holding in for the last two hours. “Can I see him?”
“Soon. We need to get him settled upstairs first and wait for him to come around from the anaesthesia. Someone will come and let you know as soon as you can see him.”
“Thank you,” I said, genuine adoration, for the amazing man who saved Jake’s life, saturating my voice. “T
hank you so much,” I repeated, shaking his hand.
The doctor, whose name I didn’t even think to get, made his excuses and disappeared. When I got back to Kip, Claire was now with him. Her expression was a mixture of shock, concern, fear… everything I felt just minutes ago.
“He’s gonna be okay,” I breathed, smiling in relief.
“Thank God,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Jake’s parents are on their way. This will be all over the news any time now. I had to tell them.”
“Shit! No, of course. Thank you.” How did I forget to call his parents? They’re his parents dammit!
“Sawyer, why the hell didn’t you tell us there was something going on between you two? I mean… you…and…him?”
“Let’s give him a break, huh, Claire?” Kip interrupted, completely saving my ass. No way could I be bothered dealing with a mass of questions from her right now. “What does it even matter?”
“Of course it matters,” she snapped. “But you’re right. We’ll discuss it later. The police are outside, they want to talk to you.”
“Now? Can’t it wait until I’ve seen Jake?”
“No, sir, I’m afraid it can’t,” an official-looking man waving a badge in the air, interjected, seemingly coming from nowhere.
“There’s a family room over there,” I said, nodding across the corridor. “We can go in there.”
The officer nodded, following my lead to the empty room. Closing the door behind him, he introduced himself and his colleague before motioning for me to take a seat with his hand.
“Mr Knight,” he began. “We have reason to believe the man we have in custody is your stepfather.”
“Kip, sorry I mean Isaac, told me.”
“We’re still trying to get to the bottom of why he holds such a vendetta against you. Do you know what that reason might be?”
“Why the hell would I? I’ve not seen the guy in over eight years. And what’s Laurelin got to do with this?”
“It appears your PA has been in a relationship with Jerry for the last six years. We believe the sole reason she sought employment from you was to aid your stepfather in his plan to…” he trailed off, as if his words might shock me.
“Kill me?”
“Yes. We’re planning to charge them both with attempted murder.”
“But… Laurelin? There’s no… I mean I just… what the hell did they want from us?”
“He keeps asking to talk to you.”
“He what!”
“Of course you’re under no obligation to do so, and if you do decide to speak with him there will be an officer present with you at all times.”
“I…I…” My mind was starting to shut down. I couldn’t process this amount of information. Jerry? Laurelin? Nothing made sense. “I need to think about it.”
“Of course. We will need to take a full statement from you as soon as possible. I understand you wish to get back to your friend right now, but if it’s okay with you we would like to come and see you at your hotel first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll still be here,” I said firmly. I wouldn’t be leaving Jake. Not ever.
“That’s fine. Just call us if that changes,” he said, handing me a card from his wallet. “Thank you for your time, Mr Knight. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Nodding, I followed him, and the one that never spoke, back out into the corridor.
“Everything okay?” Kip questioned, weighing me up and down as if I were about to break.
“My head is fucked, man. I just want to see Jake. Everything else can wait.”
“Mr Knight?”
“Yeah?” I spun around immediately to face the blonde nurse.
“I can take you up to see Mr Reed now.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, sighing in relief. “Hey, Kip?” I called over my shoulder. “Will you wait around and fill his parents in?”
“Sure, mate. No problem.”
I followed the young nurse to the stairs at the far end of the corridor. I ran up them, two at a time, eager to get to Jake. We stopped by a set of blue swing doors and, hovering her hand in front of them, she paused.
“He’s still very groggy,” she advised. “Don’t be surprised if he isn’t talking much sense, and don’t push him too far about what happened. It’s imperative he stays relaxed right now.”
“Got it,” I said, nodding. “Thank you.”
Stepping inside the white and clinical room, my eyes darted straight to Jake. He was lying on the bed, the sheet folded just above his waist. There was a large dressing on his chest, just off centre, and he was hooked up to various bleeping machines. I walked cautiously over him, trying not to make any noise. Pulling up a chair, I sat down beside him, cradling his hand in mine.
My touch caused him to stir, and I watched intently, impatiently, as his eyes started to flicker. When they opened, they locked onto mine and the faintest smile pulled on the corners of his lips.
“Thank God you’re okay,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Me? Jesus, Jake… Thank God you’re okay. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” he said, smiling softly. “I’ll try not to get shot in future, huh?”
“Jake…” I breathed, unsure of what to say but knowing it was important. “I’m so sorry for how I’ve been behaving.” He cocked an eyebrow, confused. “I’m sorry for being so fucking afraid. For hiding you. For not showing you how fucking proud I am of you. Because I am, Jake. I’m so fucking proud of you. I love you. I need you. And thinking I was going to lose you? Fuck, Jake… it almost killed me. Right there beside you, I felt my heart slowing down. You belong to me, Jake. Always have, always will. I’m just so sorry I didn’t realise that before it was almost too late.”
“What are you saying, Sawyer?”
“I’m saying I’m ready. I’m ready to love you in front of the whole damn world.”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean just because I’m in here. Take your time. Think about it.”
“I’m done thinking about it. I’m ready. I love you.”
“So, you’re going to release an official statement?”
“I kinda think that ship’s already sailed,” I admitted, not feeling an ounce of shame or regret. “I meant it when I said the thought of losing you almost killed me, Jake. After my reaction at the scene, there’s no way the entire world doesn’t know by now.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah. I really am.”
“Come here,” he said, gingerly raising his arm. Smiling, I crawled up onto the bed next to him, squeezing myself into the tiny portion of free space.
“I don’t want you to be my bodyguard anymore,” I confessed, draping my arm over his hips, careful not to apply too much pressure.
“That’s not an option, Sawyer.”
“And this isn’t your choice. I’m serious. You’re not going to protect me anymore. I can’t risk this happening again. Ever.”
“And what am I supposed to do with my life? This is what I’m trained to do. It’s all I know. Besides, as soon as we catch this bastard-”
“They’ve got him,” I interrupted, cursing myself for not telling him sooner. “They caught him running from the scene.”
“Thank fuck…” he breathed, sighing against my head.
“It was Jerry.”
“Jerry?”
“My stepfather.”
“You’re fucking kidding me?” he snapped, jerking his body back and then wincing from the pain.
“Hey, don’t move. I need you better.”
“I just…it doesn’t…why?”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “He wants to meet with me apparently.”
“You’re not going to though,” he said firmly. “Sawyer, you’re not going to, right?” he repeated, sensing the uncertainty in my expression. “He tried to kill you!”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I just feel l need an explanation.”
“And Laurelin? Why were they carting
her away before it happened?”
“She’s been sleeping with him. Apparently only took this job to get closer to me, get inside info on where I’d be. Really, I think that hurts the most. I mean, it’s Laurelin. She’s been a good friend to me for so long. At least, I thought she was.”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Jake said, looking as confused as I felt.
“That’s why I need to talk to him. I need to know why.”
“I’m not happy about it.”
“He can’t hurt me, Jake. There will be an officer with me.”
“Well don’t rush into it. Promise me you’ll really think about this first.”
“I will. I promise.” I leaned up, brushing my lips against his while tracing his soft stubble with my thumb.
“Have you spoken to Elle?”
“No. Not spoke to anybody yet. Claire said she’d call her though.”
“You should go back to the hotel. Call her. She’ll be worried sick.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“Baby, I love you, but you stink. Your clothes are covered in blood and dirt and that after-show glow you get has morphed into full on mouldy sweat. Go back, take a shower. Come back when it’s daylight.”
A light knock on the door interrupted us and I jumped quickly off the mattress, assuming I wasn’t technically allowed to hop in bed with a patient.
“Hey, Kip,” I said, breathing a slight sigh of relief.
“How you feeling, mate?” he asked Jake after nodding at me in silent greeting.
“Like I’ve been shot.”
“Your parents are here. Nurse said they can only visit for a few minutes, then they’re booting us all out.”
“Thanks, Isaac. You can send them in.” When Kip left the room, Jake turned his gaze back to me. “Go, Sawyer. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be back first thing,” I reluctantly agreed, sighing despondently. I bent down, kissing the top of his forehead and breathing him in. “I love you.”
