A fraction of a second before her eyes fall shut, her body going completely still.
“Jessica!” I plead as my world shatters around me, but there is only silence in return.
She’s gone.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
MATTHEW
R-run… T-to… Y-you…
Jessica’s stuttering words still ring in my head.
That small smile playing on her lips as her eyes fell shut.
R-run… T-to… Y-you…
She ran to me, and I couldn’t help her.
Couldn’t save her.
The ambulance comes to a sudden stop, making me jerk, doors flying open and snapping me back to the present.
My fingers tighten around hers as she’s pushed out of the ambulance.
Lights, people, and voices are like a distant buzz around me as I keep my gaze locked on Jessica’s pale face.
So fucking pale.
Her pulse was barely there.
Her body felt almost weightless in my arms as I carried her out of the woods.
That damn bloody stain grew bigger with each step I took as I ran to get her help.
Droplets of blood seeped onto my arms.
Herblood.
Hold on, baby. Just hold on.
She was shot.
Because of me.
Because I wasn’t fast enough.
R-run… T-to… Y-you…
“Sir, you have to let go.”
A hand touches mine, trying to push me away, but I shake my head, my fingers squeezing harder.
I can’t let go.
I can’t let her slip through my fingers.
I can’t lose her.
