If anyone comes in, it will be the only way I have to defend myself.
He disappears out the back door closest to the cabin, leaving me with Liam bleeding and unconscious in my hands.
Gizmo nudges me, whimpering softly.
He’s hurt, too.
The way Lorell flung him across the barn…
“I’m so sorry, buddy.” Tears stream down my face. "We’ll get you to the vet, too. You’ll be okay. He'll be okay. Everyone will be okay…"
Everyone will be okay…
Everyone will be okay…
That's what I have to keep telling myself because the alternative isn't possible.
I can't lose him.
He can't die because of me, because of my mistake.
He can't die because he loved me.
The only person in the world who ever did…and now he's paying for it.
A sob tears from my chest, my tears coming harder, my breaths hitching more and more as the seconds tick by, then minutes that feel like hours until the sound of a truck hits my ears.
And it’s the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
It means there’s a glimmer of hope.
"You hear that, Liam? It's Connor.” I brush a kiss across his lips, hoping he can hear me, hoping he knows that I'm here with him. “You're going to be okay."
You have to be.
Heavy footsteps approach, and Connor reappears. He holds out the shotgun. "Take this while I carry him."
My hands tremble, and I nod, reluctant to take the pressure off his wound, but I grab the gun and step back. Connor squats and lifts Liam's limp body from the floor.
I have to look away from all the blood that pooled underneath him, the blood smeared all across the space where he fought with Lorell.
My stomach turns, and I swallow back the bile rising in my throat.
Connor situates Liam in his arms, straining under his weight, and moves toward the main barn door. He locks eyes with me as we reach the sliver of moonlight streaming in. "Shoot anything that moves out there. You understand me?"
I nod, using the back of my hand to wipe away the tears quickly so I can see through them enough to actually aim if I have to. Despite my entire body shaking, my palms being slick with blood, I raise it and keep it steady with my finger resting just above the trigger.
To protect Liam.
To protect the McBrides.
To protect myself…
I’ll pull it without even blinking.
Giz trots along with us, limping slightly but keeping up.
Connor peers around the edge of the door. The truck sits only a few feet away, engine running, but the lights are off so as not to draw more unwanted attention this direction.
