“Then keep talking to me, Harmony.”
“I’m sleepy.”
“Don’t go to sleep yet.Just a few more minutes.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“Always, sweetheart.I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ouch.My arms hurt.”
“They were tied tight for a long time.Let me have your hands.”
Harmony smiled when her hands were free.“I like good dreams.I always had good dreams when you were around.You always made me feel safe.”
“I’m always going to protect you.”
“I wish you could have.But don’t blame yourself.I shouldn’t have walked out.I never thought Grant Pickens would take me from Rose.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
“It’s not your fault, Damien.Please don’t blame yourself.Live your life.Find love again.Save other people.Keep on living.Don’t let me dying stop you from doing that.”
“You’re not dying on me, beautiful.”He looked over his shoulder.“Where the fuck is that helicopter?”
“Helicopter?That’s a weird dream.Where are we going?Are we going somewhere amazing?Ooh, a beach.You are hot without a shirt on.I’d have to fight off all the other women, though.They’d be chasing you around.But you’re mine.”
“Yes, sweetheart, I’m all yours.No one else.I love you, Harmony.Only you.”
“And I love you.I got to love you for the rest of my life.That’s a pretty great thing.”
Damien touched her chest.“She’s lost a lot of blood.You have to save her.”
“Who are you talking to?”Harmony asked, her eyes falling closed.
“Harmony, stay with me.Don’t leave me.Harmony!”
Damien shoutedas Harmony passed out.She was talking to him a second ago, then she was gone.
“What the hell happened?”he demanded.
“She passed out, Damien.We need to get her onto the helicopter and to the hospital.She’s lost a lot of blood,” Holden Cross said.He was a flight paramedic and a friend, and the best damn person around to help Harmony.
“I’m going with you,” Damien demanded.
Holden didn’t answer, just nodded as he and his partner transferred Harmony to a gurney.Holden slid an IV into place while his partner cut her shirt wide open and stuck pads to her chest.
“She wouldn’t want everyone to see her exposed like that,” Damien said, hating how tight his throat was.
“We need access to her wounds.We will cover her up as soon as we get control of the bleeding.”
Her pants were sliced away from her body.Jude collected the fabric scraps of bloodstained cotton quickly and slid them into an evidence bag.
Damien knew how all this worked.He’d been to more than his fair share of crime scenes.But fuck.He’d never been in love with the victim before.
“We need to go,” Holden said.
“I’m going with you,” Damien reiterated.
