The security guard who’d unlocked the door rushed in, his weapon pointed at the brunette who sat slumped against the wall, blinking rapidly, her wig askew. “Don’t move.” Another man and woman in uniform swarmed into the bathroom behind him.
Confident the gun-toting bitch was no longer a threat, Jeff rolled to his side,gently sliding Tara face up onto the floor. Rising to his knees, he bent over her. “Are you hurt?”
And then he saw the hole in her black sweater, a glistening wetness soaking the surrounding fabric on her upper left chest. “Oh, God. No no no.”
Jumping to his feet, he snagged a stack of paper towels from the counter. Somehow managing to keep his voice calm, he called to one of the securityguards who hovered nearby. “She needs medical attention.Now.”
The man spoke into his radio as Jeff returned to Tara, kneeling next to her on her injured side.
Eyes squeezed shut, her breath was coming in short gasps.
“I got you, honey.” Jeff pressed the wad of towels against her wound.
She inhaled sharply.
“I’m sorry, but you’re bleeding.” He scanned the rest of her body for injuriesand found nothing obvious, but now blood slowly seeped onto the tile beneath her. Had the bullet gone straight through?
He glanced down at his shirt. A dark blot covered the left side of his chest. Probing with his free hand, he found no holes, no wounds.Tara’s blood.
His throat squeezed shut.
Not now. He couldn’t lose her now.
Out of pure desperation, he slid his right hand beneath hershoulder and pressed both palms, trying to hold her together, to keep her blood inside where it belonged.
She grunted and her face scrunched up tight.
“I know. I’m sorry. Just stay with me, baby. You’re going to be okay. Someone will be here any minute to get you fixed up.”
Goddammit. Where were the doctors and nurses? Where was the code red call or whatever the fuck code they used to mobilizean emergency team within the hospital?
Across from him, the woman who’d been gunning for Tara screeched as she was cuffed and hauled to her feet. She raged and fought the guards who dragged her from the restroom, her level of hysteria nearly matching his own.
That woman had tried to kill Tara. She’d nearly succeeded.
She still might.
No. Just…no. He couldn’t have found Evan only to loseTara. He needed her. They both did. Shehadto survive this. He had to believe.
“I love you,” he said, sitting on his heels as he leaned in to kiss her cool forehead. Tears he hadn’t been aware of splashed onto her pain-creased forehead. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’m right here.”
Eyes still squeezed shut, she reached for his arm, her grip weak as a newborn. Then her hand slid away and droppedto the floor.
Her face went slack.
Jeff’s blood froze. “Tara?”No no no no no. “Tara.” His heart slammed against his chest like a kicking stallion. He couldn’t lose her. “Stay with me, babe. Come on.” He gently lowered his forehead to her own, watching her chest rise and fall, the movement almost imperceptible. “I love you, Tara Fujimoto. Ineedyou.Evan and Ineed you. Please, honey. Pleasefight.”
Where was everyone? They were in a fucking hospital. The response time should be near instant, right?
He closed his eyes and gulped at the air, unable to hear anything over the buzzing in his ears.Please don’t die.
He’d already decided to take a chance on a future with her. He already knew he wanted—hell, needed—her in his life. He didn’t need a reminder from the universe to takethe risk.
“Please, Tara. Stay with me,” he whispered, his throat in a vise.
Strong hands gripped his shoulders and tugged. “Sir? Let us in so we can help her.”
Oh, thank you Jesus. Reluctantly, he released Tara, handing over her life to the care of the half dozen men and women who swarmed into the room, filling the air with commands and vital sign readings as the group closed around her,shunting him to the side.
Within seconds, Tara was on a gurney and out the door, leaving Jeff in the suddenly silent room, covered in her blood.
