Her eyes flutter closed, and my heart stutters. I kiss her, holding her forehead against mine. She’s trembling against me but hides it well.
“I love you,” she whispers. “I’m sorry I didn’t say until now.”
“Tell me again when you marry me,” I say, and kiss her again.
Sawyer rolls his eyes. “Congrats. Consider this my wedding present.” He picks up the gun and pops open the cylinder.
And adds two more bullets.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Lina demands.
He grins at her. “Making this more exciting. Husband-to-be, you’re next.”
“No!” Lina stands. “You’re pissed at me! Fucking shoot me!”
Sawyer stares at her and shrugs. “Okay.”
He lifts the gun and fires.
The bang is loud, and I shout.
The bullet slams into Lina’s chest and she stumbles back, almost falling over her chair.
“Oh my God!” Ella screams.
Lina drops into her chair, her face pale, and I tear open the top of her shirt. She’s bleeding from her shoulder, panting.
“Oh, it’s a flesh wound,” Sawyer tuts. “I am a terrible shot. Lucky girl. Guy, she just made your odds a little better.” He spins the chamber and puts the gun in the middle of the table. “Go.”
Silence is crying as Y whispers in her ear. Ella is so pale, I’m worried she’s about to pass out. Gable looks beyond rageful.
“Guy,” Sawyer says. “You have ten seconds to pull that trigger, or I shoot everyone at this table.”
The warm evening air shifts the lanterns strung around the patio. I can smell cherries. Feel the sweat on my back. Hear my heart racing in my ears.
I pick up the gun.
And I look at my daughter.
Light of my life. My reason to keep going after I lost her mother. Her cheeks are flush and damp with tears, and she’s pale. Too pale. I think of baking nights, and scraped knees, and first words. My entire life is hers, and it isn’t the thought of dying that frightens me. It’s that I might never get to see her again.
I didn’t know the last time I hugged her would be my last.
“When did I last hug you, baby?”
She blinks, tears falling fast, and I wonder if she was thinking the same, because she answers quickly. “Before you left for New York.”
That’s right. It was quick. A kiss on the temple, a half-hearted embrace, because we just assumed there’d be another.
I nod. “I love you, baby.”
“Dad,” she whispers, her lips trembling. “I love you.”
I look at Gable. “Look after her.” He nods, his jaw tight.
Then I look at Lina. Bleeding, close to tears, but fighting them because she knows she needs to be strong.
“I love you, Lina Fox.”
