“Ace!” I fling myself at him. “Ace! Oh, God. Your arm!” More loudly, I yell, “I need QuikClot! Bandages! A tourniquet!”
“What’s going on?” Saint asks in my ear. He sounds more than a little freaked out. “Tink! What’s going on?”
“Ace!” I reply. My voice is shaking. I yank Ace to the ground, then tear at my shirt, ripping a strip of fabric from it. “Ace was shot. He’s bleeding all?—”
“Tink.” Not Saint this time. Ace.
“Ace.” I try to pull his hand away from the wound so I can check it. “Don’t move. Just let me help. Try to stay calm.”
Ironic, yes, given that I’m about to lose it myself. But his arm is covered in blood! An artery could be severed, and he could be bleeding out right now. “Indy!” I shout. “I need help! Now!”
“Yara.” It’s firmer this time. Ace touches my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. “Look at me.”
“Ace.” A sob expands in my chest. “Oh, Ace. Why?—”
Indy comes rushing over and drops to his knees beside us. “Shit, Jensen,” he says. “I thought we agreed no one was getting shot.”
“I’m fine,” Ace replies. But he doesn’t look fine. He looks like he’s in pain. Like he’s bleeding from?—
“You have a hole in your arm!” I blurt. “A hole!”
“Tink.” Ace pulls off his goggles, then removes mine. “Look at me.”
It’s dark without the night vision goggles, but there’s enough light to see his eyes, and the anger simmering there. “What were you thinking? Why didn’t you stay down?” he demands. “You could have beenkilled.”
“What?” I’m taken aback by his anger. “Heshotyou. I had to do something.”
“Better me than you,” Ace retorts. “That’s why I knocked you out of the way.” His voice rises. “That’s why I wanted you tostay down.”
“Stay down? And leave you to get hurt again? Are you kidding me?”
“Yes. Stay down. Soyoudon’t get hurt.” He grimaces as Indy packs QuikClot into his wound. “You’re more important, Yara. Always.”
“No!” I blurt. “I’m not more important.” Tears sting my eyes. “You’re more important, Ace. Because you’re amazing and wonderful and—” My voice cracks. “Iloveyou. I had to protect you. Just like you protected me. Because that’s what people who love each other do. They?—”
Ace’s mouth crashes down on mine, silencing the rest of my words.
It’s a hard kiss. A desperate one. One tasting slightly of salt, which I belatedly realize is because I’m crying.
When we break apart, Ace strokes my lower lip with his thumb. He stares at me, almost in wonder. “You love me?”
“Yes.” I sniff at my tears. “Yes. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I got scared. I don’t know why; I just did. And then… I thought I’d tell you once we get back home. I should have told you before. I know I should have. I’m sorry. But I love you. More than anyone in the world. And I can’t…”
Turning to Indy, I ask, “Is he going to be okay?”
A smile tugs at Indy’s lips. “Yes. Looks like it missed everything important. With the QuikClot and bandages, he should be good. Once we get to a safer location, I’ll clean it better and put in some stitches.”
“Oh.” I finally sag. “Oh.”
“Yara got hit in the vest,” Ace tells Indy, sounding very pissed off about it. “We need to check her for cracked ribs. Hematomas.”
“I’m okay,” I insist. “Don’t worry about me. Just?—”
“Of course I’m going to worry about you,” Ace interrupts. “I love you, Yara. It’s so dumb?—”
“Dumb?” I ask.
“Dumb that I didn’t tell you sooner. Because I’ve been wanting to tell you. I shouldn’t have waited this long.”
