If it was the last thing he did.
Finally, as the spots began to clear, he saw Benning walking toward them, limping slightly as though he was injured. But he had a grin on his face, as he advanced on the two of them.
And this time, Aaron didn’t know if he had any more fight in him. If he could hold him off.
“Aaron,” Bailey begged him, trying to pull him back down by her side, but he didn’t move. He couldn’t. It was as though his feet were rooted to the ground, every bone in his body telling him that the only thing that mattered was Bailey’s safety. Just like he had done all those years ago, he would sacrifice himself to protect her.
“Get out of the way, Ward,” Benning said, sneering at him. “You really want to leave her to die alone? Your shot was meant for her. Move so I can do her, too. That way, you can have your little romantic moment before you both go.”
“Shut up,” Aaron snarled back at him. “You’re not getting past me.” He never wanted to hear Benning talking about what he and Bailey had together. It was just for them.
He would never allow anything between the two of them to be sullied by what these monsters would say about them. Benning would never understand the love Aaron had for Bailey, anyway. Or the love she had for him in return. He was a man who scared women, a man who made them feel as though they weren’tsafe. He would never understand sacrificing everything for that person, doing anything to make sure they were protected and cared for.
“You sure?” Benning asked, cocking the gun again. How many bullets were left in there? Aaron eyed the barrel, contemplating his next move. But there was no way, no way he could win this. He was starting to feel woozy and tired from the blood loss. He wasn’t going to make it much longer.
No matter all that had happened, though, Aaron had never imagined a cop would point a gun at him like this. Someone he was supposed to be brothers-in-arms with, no less.
But Benning clearly felt none of that for him. Benning had banded with a team like Ziegler and his cronies, men who would likely turn their backs on him the first chance they got.
That was something Aaron could take away from this, at least. Benning would never be happy. None of them would be. They had to live their lives looking over their shoulders, never able to rest, never able to slow down, never able to stop. Aaron had lived more than half a decade in peace, really finding comfort in himself and the choices he’d made—enough so that when Bailey came back into his life, he had been able to meet her and tell her how he really felt.
Benning pressed the gun against his chest. Then, a voice cut in from beside them.
“Wait. Let me.”
Ziegler was on his feet again, standing there, holding out his hand for the gun. Even through it was clear Benning wanted to be the one to pull the trigger himself, he knew better than to argue with their leader, and he handed the gun over to him, pressing it into his palm.
Ziegler stepped forward and took his place in front of Aaron, grinning widely.
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he spat. “See you, Ward.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Bailey didn’t understand how they’d gotten here. They had gone from being in each other’s arms, his voice in her ear promising her she was going to be okay, to this—to this man holding a gun against Aaron’s head, ready to end him for good.
Bailey hid behind him, hanging on to him for dear life, arms wrapped around his waist and face pressed into his back. He would never let her take this bullet for him, that much she knew for sure, but she still didn’t want to let him die without feeling her here with him. She loved him too much for that.
There had to be something she could do. As Ziegler took a breath and steadied up his shot, time slowed, spreading out before her and giving her a moment to gather herself. She had to make her move now, she knew that, but what could she do? She was right behind him. Could she make it out in time? She remembered what she had done to take down Lee, taking him out at the legs, and she knew she was going to have to pull the same thing again.
No time to think. Only time to act. And if she didn’t move now, she and Aaron wouldn’t be alive much longer.
She lunged out from behind Aaron, rolling down to the left, and caught Ziegler’s eye, drawing his attention from Aaron just long enough for her to drive a leg into his, sending him crashing to the ground. He squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet up above their heads, and Bailey rolled out of the way and under the van so it wouldn’t hit her on the way down, crawling quickly to the other side.
A commotion had broken out around her again, and it took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t Ziegler and the others causing it. No, this time, there were people here on their side. Xavier and Cade rushed past her, followed by Lawson, and a few men from the tactical team at the lodge. She scrambled to her feet, only interested in one thing: Aaron.
He had managed to make it to the back of the van, leaving the other highly trained people to take down the corrupt cops who had done this to them. Bailey checked on him, and found his face pale, his eyes distant.
“Here, put some pressure on this,” she told him, linking her hands through his and pressing them into his wound.
And then, she heard Xavier yelling for help. When she turned, she saw Ziegler scrambling toward the gun where he had dropped it on the ground. She sprang up and dived toward it, kicking it out of his reach, and then grabbed it and let off the rest of the shots into the ground. She didn’t want anyone else using this tonight.
She sank to her knees as the guys took down the cops, subduing them one by one until there was no fight left to be had. Xavier came over to her and offered her a hand, helping her up to her feet.
“How did you know?” she asked, and he shrugged.
“When Aaron went looking for you and didn’t come back, I figured something was up,” he remarked. “And then when we heard the gunshots, we knew you must need our help.”
“Thank you,” she whispered softly to him. The words didn’t feel strong enough for how grateful she really was. If it hadn’t been for him, and the rest of the guys from Warrior Peak, she would have lost Aaron, and she knew she would never have been able to live with that.
