The moment he charges for the bundle of blankets getting dragged into the ocean by the waves, I grin, even though I can hardly breathe.
My lungs don’t want to work, but my eyes still track his movements as he falls to his knees in the water, scooping up the drenched blankets, bringing them to his chest.
“The fuck!” he snaps, and I open my mouth to speak, but still can’t get any air in, the heavy weight on top of me, crushing. “Where the fuck is Bobbi?!”
I inwardly cringe, feeling like I’m about to get told off for the ruse.
In desperation, Ringo abandons the blankets, crawling over to me through the wet sand, and a moment later, the crushing weight disappears and air rushes into my lungs.
“Fuck, Angel.” He scoops my head up off the sand, his freezing wet fingers swiping the hair off my face as his frantic eyes dance between mine.
I blink up at him a few times, trying to breathe, before I finally get some air in and start coughing.
“Ringo,” I scratch out, my voice husky from coughing.
“Angel, where the fuck is Bobbi?”
“She’s okay,” I rasp, my body finally relaxing as oxygen seeps into my blood again. “I left her with Caroline.”
“The nurse?” he barks, disbelief in his tone, and I nod.
“They wanted my baby, so I led them away the only way I knew how.”
“By making everyone think you had Bobbi?” He chokes out like he’s struggling with his emotions.
“Yes, sorry for scaring you.”
He laughs. It’s a weird, unsure laugh, and despite his shaking head, there’s a smile tugging at his lips.
“You could have told me, Angel. I just watched you toss your baby to the ground and get swept into the fucking ocean.”
“There was no time.” I sigh, trying to sit up, which is when Ringo’s sharp gaze darts between me and the dead man.
“That’s his blood, right?” he asks.
“Yes. I managed to pull the trigger when he jumped on me.”
Ringo’s big hands engulf my face again, his forehead pressing to mine as he chokes out. “I thought…”
“I’m okay,” I remind him, pressing my lips to his for a quick kiss.
When I pull back, I glance over his shoulder at the bundle of blankets that were made to look like I was carrying a swaddled baby.
“You went to save her first.”
“I was coming for you next,” he growls, and I grin.
“I know, but the fact that you chose her first means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
“Shit, Angel. I’d give my own life to save both of you. In a fucking heartbeat.”
He brushes my hair back, his wild eyes roaming my face, reminding me of not just how precious he makes me feel, but how precious I am to him.
To his heart.
“I love you for that, Cam. Always,” I tell him, and words have never felt more true falling from my lips.
I will love this man for eternity. There’s no two ways about it.
