She shook her head. “No. I need to help him. He was protecting me. And he…he…”
“Hey.” He waited for her to look up at him, and he saw pools of tears in her eyes. “This isn’t your fault.”
“I don’t want him to die. I don’t want another person to die because of me!”
“The paramedics will be here soon. They’ll take care of him.” He couldn’t promise the deputy would live, but fuck, he wished he could.
She nodded slowly, a tear slipping down her cheek.
The sudden high-pitched wail of an ambulance pierced the air. The second the paramedics got there, Noah lifted his hands and stepped back, but Addie remained where she was, hands on the man’s wound.
“Addie, you can let them take care of him now.”
She shook her head, tears still in her eyes. “He can’t die.”
“Addie.” Gently, he gripped her wrists and tugged her back.
As soon as she was on her feet and away from the deputy, he pulled her into his arms. She fell against him, holding him as tightly as he held her.
But the entire time, the same thing ran through his mind.
What if he hadn’t come? What if he’d been too late?
CHAPTER 26
Addie ran her finger along the small bandage on her neck, her gaze stuck on her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her skin was still damp from the shower, and a towel was the only thing that covered her body.
She’d been attacked. Attacked in her own home. And Ellis had been stabbed.
Would he be okay? He’d been hurt protecting her. And the guilt… God, it ate at her.
She closed her eyes and breathed, but her lungs felt tight.
Voices sounded from somewhere else in the house, probably the living room. Were the deputies still out there? Or was it just Noah and Jesse? The second she’d been cleared, she’d given her version of events to Jesse, then come into the bathroom to shower. The need to wash the blood from her fingers had been so strong it was all she’d been able to think about.
She doubted she’d sleep here tonight. The glass beside the door was broken. But even if it wasn’t, her home didn’t feel safe right now. If she was honest, it hadn’t felt safe since her parents left.
In her bedroom, it was easier to hear. Hushed voices came from the other side of the closed door, and she could just make out what they were saying.
“We’ve taken prints. We’re interviewing neighbors. We’ll find something.”
It was Jesse. He sounded angry. But then, of course he did. It was his job to find this person. And not only had he not managed that yet, they’d attacked again.
“Ineedthis to be over, Jess. Tonight could have been so much fucking worse.”
She dug her nails into her palms at Noah’s words. If she’d thought Jesse sounded angry, that was a drop in the ocean compared to Noah.
But he was right. Tonight could have gone differently. She’d had aknifepressed to herthroat. She could have been killed if Noah hadn’t shown up when he did.
She took a quick step back.
It wasn’t just herself and Ellis she was worried about. Noah didn’t need to be dragged into this. He was already dealing with enough. Too much. And now her problems were weighing on top of his own, and she had no idea if he could carry it all.
She’d just opened the top drawer of her dresser when a knock thumped on the bedroom door. Before she had a chance to say anything, it opened and Noah stepped in. And God, there was something fierce about him tonight. The way his eyes were narrowed, as if he expected danger. The fisting of his hands like he was ready to jump into a battle to save her.
“Hey.”
She swallowed hard. “Is Jesse still out there?”
