Jessie blocked out Patrick’s degrading words and gripped the gun with both hands. She aimed it at his chest.
No. I don’t want to kill him.
She lowered the gun a few inches, closed her eyes, and squeezed the trigger.
* * *
Jessie’s screampushed its way through the dark fog filling Robert’s head.
I’ve got to get to her.
Sitting up, he gasped for air. He shook off the dizzying effects of hitting his head and winced at the pain shooting through his skull.
Jessie’s soft voice reached him again, followed by Patrick’s deeper one. Robert couldn’t make sense of the words, but Pendleton’s angry tones drove him to his feet. He retrieved his gun that lay a few feet away and grabbed a hold of the door frame, waiting for the world to stop spinning and wishing the burning in his shoulder would go away already.
Pendleton blocked Robert’s view of Jessie, but he could tell she cowered on the floor near the bed. Pendleton raised a thick lamp above his head, and Robert’s blood turned cold as he read the man’s intentions.
Patrick could kill Jessie if he struck her hard enough.
He tensed, preparing to shoot the man in the back.
A gunshot exploded through the air, and Robert jerked. It took him a full three seconds to realize he hadn’t taken another bullet.
Jessie.
Robert’s mind reeled. Had Pendleton somehow exchanged the lamp for a gun and shot Jessie? His stomach dropped at the thought.
Robert surveyed the room. The smell of gunpowder hung in the air.
Pendleton lay on the floor, groaning, and Jessie sat—back to the bed, eyes closed—gripping a handgun.
“Jess!” Relief flooded over Robert, weakening his knees. He holstered his weapon and stepped into the room.
Jessie’s eyes popped open. “Robert? You’re alive?” She tossed the gun on the floor as though it had burned her. “Did I kill him?”
Pendleton groaned again as Robert dropped to one knee beside him. He checked the bullet wound he’d given him—in the shoulder—and the one Jessie had given—him in the thigh. Both had ripped clean through the muscle and didn’t bleed profusely. They would hurt like crazy, but Pendleton wouldn’t bleed to death.
“Nope.” Robert said. It was a good thing Jessie was the one who shot the man, because if Robert had shot him, Pendletonwouldbe dead.
Robert flipped Pendleton over amid a howl of pain and cuffed him. He left him lying face down on the disgusting carpet that now sported smears of Pendleton’s blood. With two bullet wounds, he wasn’t going anywhere.
He turned to Jessie. His gaze roamed over her body, searching for signs of injury. Relief washed over him when he didn’t see any immediate signs of injury. His blood turned hot, however, at the sight of blood on her cheek and the bruises forming there. He dropped to his knees in front of her and carefully placed a hand on her cheek and searched her face for signs of pain.
“Are you hurt anywhere besides your face? Is the baby okay?” If something happened to her baby, he’d never forgive himself for not being there for her when she needed him. He didn’t want Jessie to lose another baby. And he didn’t want to lose Jessie.
“I’m fine, I think.” Putting her hand to her side, she winced as she sat up straighter. “I hit my side on the corner of the desk, but I think it’s just bruised.”
Robert saw the concern in her eyes, though. He couldn’t stand it any longer. He pulled her into his arms. “Oh Jess, I was so afraid I wouldn’t make it to you in time. I can’t bear to lose you again.”
Jessie clung to him. “I knew you would come. You’ve always been there for me. But I saw him shoot you—” She choked back a sob and pulled back enough to study his bullet-proof vest. She poked at the bullet embedded in the chest of his vest, and her eyes filled with tears.
“I’m fine,” he said. “I promised I would always be here for you. I meant it then, and I mean it now.”
Giving in to the emotionally charged atmosphere between them, he pressed his lips to hers in a heated kiss, releasing all the fear of the past thirty minutes and the frustration of the past three months. Jessie was still married, but Robert didn’t care. The man lying in handcuffs didn’t deserve her, and Robert needed to let her know how much she meant to him.
Jessie’s lips parted, and she returned the kiss, matching the passion that ignited inside him.
Kissing Jessie had always given Robert a glimpse of heaven, and today was no different, despite this filthy motel room and the fact that her sorry excuse of a husband lay behind him. Robert took his time exploring her mouth. Her kiss tasted the same as it always had, but the flavor was richer and deeper than he remembered.
