Without even giving Adam a second thought, I made my way down the road, through the scattered rocks, toward the figure. Still keeping out of sight, I watched the form hobble toward the Jeep parked by the side of the road. Her name escaped from my lips like a whisper, but it was as if she heard me because she turned in my direction.
“Who’s there?” Lee said, her voice sounding tired and frail.
I dropped my backpack and started toward her. At that moment the dark clouds overhead seemed to have taken pity on us and moved away from the moon. I almost stopped in my tracks when the soft moonlight bounced off Lee’s skin. She looked like she had been beaten within an inch of her life. The right side of her face was swollen, and her left eye almost looked black. She smiled at me and whispered my name. It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
I raced toward her, seeing how hard it was for her to walk. Then I noticed the chain she was dragging behind her. She was just a few feet from me when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of movement in the shadows.
“No! Lee, get down,” I said when I saw the gun rise up from David’s hand and point toward her.
It was as if she didn’t hear me. She just kept limping toward me with a smile on her face. I ran toward her as fast as I could, but when the sound of the gun rang through the air, I found myself on the ground with Lee lying limp in my arms.
He shot her. He fucking shot her.
“B-baby,” I whispered, looking down at her frail body. “Baby, open your eyes.”
I rocked her back and forth, waiting to see those beautiful blue eyes open up for me, but they didn’t. I heard a hammer being cocked and I looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed straight at me. I closed my eyes and pulled Lee’s limp body closer to mine.
“I love you,” I whispered as the sound of the gun went off.
Chapter 15
—Richard
I sat there with Lee in my arms, chanting in my head over and over again to God, thanking Him for letting me hold her in my arms one last time before I died. Every touch, every kiss, every soft word Lee had ever blessed me with, passed through my mind as the sound of the gunshot echoed through the trees.
“Richard?” I heard Lee whisper. I looked down to see her round blue eyes looking back at mine. She lifted her hand and touched my face. “It’s really you.”
Regretfully, I tore my eyes away from Lee to see Adam standing over David’s twitching body. You could see the smoke seeping from Adam’s gun, which was still clutched in his shaky hand.
“Adam,” I said, trying to pull him out of his daze. He blinked at the two of us and then was at our side in an instant.
“Where did he shoot her?” he asked.
Lee gasped as I turned her body over, already knowing it was somewhere on her back.
“Shit,” he whispered, standing up and pulling out his cell.
“Emma,” Lee said, gasping in pain as I laid her flat on the ground.
“Where, Lee? Where is Emma?” I asked, taking off my jacket and laying it over her.
“In there,” she whispered, pointing to the worn-down house. “Underground.”
I glanced at Adam and he nodded, handing me the cell phone before running straight for the shack. Looking back down at the phone, I saw that he had dialed Noah’s number. Noah answered on the first ring, his voice a growl.
“Where are you two?”
“Noah, it’s Richard. We found them, all of them.”
“Where are you?” he asked again.
“At an abandoned mine called Black Rose. Please hurry. Lee’s been shot,” I said, and then dropped the phone on the ground. I knew it was wrong to end a call that way, but Lee was starting to drift off again.
“Lee, baby, stay awake,” I said, feeling tears escape my eyes. I tried as hard as I could to hold back my sobs when her eyes started to flutter.
“Richard,” she said in such a hushed tone.
I held her hand in mine and stroked her bruised face. “I’m here, baby. I’m not letting you go. Not ever.”
She lifted her bloodied hand and motioned for me to lean in. I moved in closer to hear what she needed to say.
“I love you,” she whispered.
I gasped and leaned down, kissing her lips with my tear-soaked ones. “I love you, too, Lee,” I said. “With everything that is in me, I love you. So much.”
I leaned my forehead on hers and let my pain take over. I wanted to be strong for her, to look her in the eyes and tell her everything would be all right, but I couldn’t. I was just thankful to have been able to tell her how much I loved her while I still had the chance. I lay down next to her and cried as I watched my heart slowly drift away.
After some time, I heard yelling in the distance, but I ignored it. It was as if everything had faded away. Lee was fading away, and all I could do was pray that God would show mercy on me, and take me, too.
I caressed the side of her face as she slept. We were facing each other, still sweaty from another mind-blowing lovemaking session. She fell asleep almost as soon as I eased out of her, a hushed moan of disappointment escaping both our mouths at the absence of the connection. Sometimes I would pull her against my chest, needing her body as close to mine as possible, but this night I wanted to see her face. I could have lain there for days, just looking at her angelic face. The only thing I needed was for her eyes to open. I knew that if they did, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back from ravaging her again, but she needed her rest, so I let her be.
“You are so beautiful,” I whispered, trailing my finger from her rosy cheek to her full lips. She never stirred or pulled away, but like always, leaned toward my touch. Even in her sleep. “I wish I could tell you this when you’re awake, but you know me—overthinking shit, as always.” I let my finger move over to her hair and played with a strand that was curled in between us. “I wish I had the guts to tell you how much I love you. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about you at least a hundred times. I dream of marrying you, making a family, and growing old with you.
“I hate myself for waiting so long to kiss you. The time I wasted, being afraid you’d say no and push me away.” I stopped and took a deep breath. “I love you, Lillian Locke, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
I didn’t mean to say it as loud as I did, so when she mumbled a little and scooted closer to me, I couldn’t do anything but hold my breath and wait.
“Richard,” she whispered, and then fell back to sleep.
I exhaled and pulled her to my chest. “Right here, baby,” I whispered, letting my exhaustion take over.
A man’s voice pulled me away from my memories. “I said move away from the girl.”
I ignored his outburst. “I promise, baby. I’m not letting you go.”
Hands reached under my arms and pulled me away from Lee’s limp body.
“There’s blood on him,” said a woman.
I struggled against them, but everything felt like a blur until I heard one of them call out.
“Down here! They’re all down here.”
I went to sit up, but the woman looking me over pushed me back down to the ground.
“Where is he hurt?” the male voice asked.
“I can’t find any wounds. I think he’s just in shock.”
I turned my head toward Lee and watched as two paramedics worked on her. She wasn’t moving, she wasn’t breathing, she was just—
“We got a pulse!” one of them yelled.
“Come on, Miss, hang in there,” the other paramedic said as he placed a breathing tube down her throat.
She’s alive.
Someone sat me up and shone a light in my right eye. “Sir, can you tell me your name?”
“Richard,” I said, still not taking my gaze off Lee.
He nodded and moved the light to my left eye. “Can you tell us if you have been injured in any way?”
Injured? The love of my life has been shot, and is fighting for her life, hanging on
by a thread. I’m not injured, I’m fucking destroyed.
“No,” I replied.
“Well, Richard,” the paramedic said. “We’re going to have to take you to the hospital anyway. The police will meet you there to ask you some questions.”
I didn’t respond. My only thoughts were of Lee. I watched as they lifted her onto the gurney, moved her to the ambulance, and drove away. This was not how it was supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to be her in there. It was supposed to be me. Hadn’t she gone through enough?
“He’s stabilized; let’s get a gurney.”
For a second I thought he was talking about me, but I realized he wasn’t when they rolled the bed over to David. That fucker is alive? I didn’t even know I was running toward him until three police officers pulled me back and held me down.
“He fucking shot her! He doesn’t deserve to live. He’s a murderer, and you’re just going to save him?”
Cold steel wrapped around my wrists as I continued to scream.
Ambulance after ambulance arrived and parked outside the abandoned cabin after I was thrown in the back of a police car. Lee and David Reed’s ambulances were long gone, and I was pissed. Pissed that they were trying to keep David alive, and pissed that I wasn’t with Lee where I belonged.
The third ambulance to leave was Emma’s. I watched as they carried her out of the building with Adam at her side, and took off before I could even get their attention. The officer who cuffed me then made his way toward the car when another man waved him over. It was Chase. They exchanged words before Chase came over and opened my door.
“Are you injured?”
“No.”
He looked up at the officer and slammed the door.
“Take him to the precinct. He’s not injured and I need answers.”
Hours later, Adam joined me in the interrogation room where I’d been dumped. I walked right up to him and wrapped my arms around him for a tight hug. I didn’t care how weird we might have looked at that moment, I was just happy to see that he was okay. He told me that Emma was fine and at the hospital with the others. When I asked how Lee was doing, he just shook his head and shrugged. Chase came in soon after and was quick to start drilling us with questions.
“So let me get this straight, you two broke into Officer Locke’s house, stole confidential files, and decided to camp out on the suspect’s property?”
“If you’re looking for an apology, then you’re wasting your breath,” Adam said. “If it wasn’t for us, those girls would either still be down there, or dead.” He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, closing himself off like he normally did when he was pissed.
“You’re probably right, but that doesn’t mean you guys can just do whatever you want,” Chase said. “You should have called us the second you saw David Reed pull up, but instead you shot him in the back! It’s hard to arrest someone when they’re stuck in surgery fighting for their life.”
“Can you honestly tell me that you care if this prick lives or dies?” I asked, gritting my teeth. “You had his brother, and you let him go. Excuse me if I don’t give a rat’s ass if we stepped on your toes.”
“It’s called obstruction of justice, boys, and where did it get you? A man is dead, and two more people are fighting for their lives from gunshot wounds.”
“We had nothing to do with Thomas’ death,” Adam said. “He was already dead when I went down there.”
“And like I told the officer who brought me in, Lee was already above ground when Adam and I saw her, and David was pointing a gun at her. If Adam hadn’t shot him, then she’d be dead right now. We all would be.”
“You two still have a lot to answer for,” Chase said.
I slammed my elbows on the desk and rested my head in my hands. I was beyond annoyed with all of this. Lee and my sister were in the hospital, and I was here. To hell with this.
“Look,” I said, glaring at the man who was fast becoming my least favorite person in this world—second only to the fucking asshole who should have died at that mine. “Unless you or Officer Locke plan on pressing charges for us breaking into his house, I’m not answering any more fucking questions.”
“I agree,” Adam said. “Anything more will require an attorney present.” He then looked over at the mirror and flipped it off. “And that goes for all of you watching back there, too.”
Agent Chase stood up fast, causing his chair to fall back onto the floor. I looked up and rolled my eyes as he bent over the desk and glared at us. “They could have all died because you two wanted to play cowboy for a day. You could have died, too. I hope you both understand that because of you two, we’ll probably never know the full story.” He ran his hands over his face. “Go. Be with your girlfriends, but understand that this isn’t over.”
Adam and I didn’t answer; as soon as we heard the word go, we were out of our chairs and out the door. Once we got our belongings back, I called Luke to pick us up.
Luke told us as soon as we got in the car that Lee was in surgery, and Emma was sedated, as were the other girls. They had all been placed in a quiet and very secluded area in the hospital, receiving much-needed medical attention and rest.
“Richard?” Luke said, moving his eyes from the road to look me over.
“Yeah?”
“You’re covered in blood, little bro.”
I looked down at myself. I hadn’t paid attention to my appearance until he pointed it out. “It’s . . . um . . . it’s not mine,” I said, running my hands through my hair.
“Is it his?” Luke asked next, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
“No, there would be more,” I replied. Which was true. If I had killed him, it would have looked like I had bathed in it.
“Then—”
“It’s Lee’s, Luke,” Adam said. “Let’s just get to the hospital.”
When we finally crested the hill and the hospital came into view, there were nothing but flashing lights, news vans, and reporters everywhere.
“Oh yeah, the vultures showed up less than an hour after they all got here,” Luke said, flipping them off as we drove by the crowd.
Lee and Emma didn’t need this. None of them did.
Luke led the way through the parking garage and the endless halls until, finally, I saw my parents up ahead.
“Mom!”
She turned, and the look on her face almost made me want to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. “Shit.”
“You have no idea,” Luke whispered.
“Thanks for the warning, jerk.”
I stopped walking when my mother started coming toward me. Her face was puffy and red, from crying most likely, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Adam and Luke stood back as my mom reached up and slapped me across the face.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again,” she said, and then pulled me into a tight embrace. She sobbed into my neck as I wrapped my arms around her and rocked her back and forth.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I promise,” I whispered into her hair. I felt her nod against my neck, and I smiled in relief. I deserved way more than just a slap in the face for what I had put her through, but I would do it all again knowing I’d get my girls back. “It was all Adam’s idea,” I said, before burrowing my face in her hair.
“I heard that, you dick,” Adam mumbled.
It had been three days and Lee was still in a medically induced coma after her surgery. They had started taking her off the medication, and we were expecting her to wake up at any time. You would think from the amount of stuff in her room that Lee was on her deathbed. Flowers were stacked everywhere, cards were taped on the walls, and tons of gifts lined the small hospital room floor. Noah and I joked how Lee would hate all this attention.
She was never left alone. Sadie and Noah would switch every twelve hours so they could eat and sleep, but neither of them ever looked like they actually had. As for me, I had yet to leave. I showered, slept, and ate in the hospital. Everyone had be
gged me to get out and breathe some fresh air, but I couldn’t. I’d promised Lee I would stay with her, and I planned on keeping that promise. Although I was itching for a cigarette.
A day ago, the FBI had held a press conference to confirm that the girls had been found and that the suspect was in custody. What they had failed to mention was that the asshole was upstairs, in a different area of the hospital, recovering from the bullet wound that should have ended his life.
“Richard?”
I turned to see a young nurse standing in Lee’s doorway. “Yes?”
“There is someone who would like to meet you,” she said.
I glanced over at Noah, who looked as tired as I felt. “I’m good,” he said. “My mom will be here soon to switch with me.”
I nodded and then followed the young nurse down the hall to where I knew the other girls were staying. She opened one of the doors, gave me a small smile, and stepped aside. I walked into the dimly lit room and recognized Anna. I had each of the girls’ names and images ingrained into my memory. And Noah told me that when he had spoken to Anna, she’d told him that she and Lee had become close during their time together. I hadn’t planned on meeting her or any of the girls until Lee was awake, but who was I to turn down her request?
“Wow, you are a cutie,” she said, smiling. “Lee spoke about you all the time, but her words didn’t do you any justice.” She ran her hand over her large belly and sighed. “How is she?”
“Stable,” I said, scratching the back of my neck, unsure of how to respond to her compliment. “She’s supposed to wake up any moment.” I motioned toward the chair next to her bed. She nodded and smiled. “So how are you holding up?”
She waited until I sat down before answering. “Better, I guess.” She rubbed her belly again, and I could see her eyes gloss over a little. “It’s a girl.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, unsure of what to say. “Have you decided if—”
“If I’m going to keep her?” she answered, wiping her eyes. “I don’t know yet, but I already know what I’m going to name her if I do.”
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