Emma's Protector

by Lily London

  That was all I needed to hear. I ran out of my house with my rifle in hand. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I was not going to sit around waiting for someone else to figure it out. Emma was in trouble, and I was going to be there to help get her out. I turned the radio onto the local news station and was glad to hear that they were also covering the hostage situation.

  I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Just the thought of something happening to Emma was enough to make my whole body shake. I knew I had to get a grip on my emotions and my thoughts. I had done this before. Focus on the job at hand, work the problem, and get it done. I had to focus and get a grip on my emotions. Otherwise it would be Emma that paid the price, and that wasn’t something I was going to let happen.

  Pulling up to the scene I parked as close as I could before getting out and grabbing my rifle that I had put back into the case. I walked right through the barricade and up to what looked like the command center. As I approached, I could hear them talking.

  “We have no way into the room unnoticed. From what we can see, Green has Watson with a gun to her head in front of him. We only have a small view of his head and none of his body. The only building with enough height for a sniper is on the other side of the football field, fifteen hundred yards away. That’s too far..”

  “Are you telling me that with all of SWAT, not a single one of your snipers can make a shot like that?” an officer in a suit yelled.

  I didn’t know who was who, but I could tell the second man that spoke was pissed and not impressed.

  “It’s not as simple of a shot as you think. He’s too close to Watson. We don’t have anyone trained enough for a shot like that,” the SWAT sergeant said.

  “You got one now,” I said, as I closed the gap.

  They were so wrapped up in their conversation that they hadn’t even seen me approach. They turned to look at me, and they didn’t look happy, but they would be soon.

  “Who the hell are you? How did he get onto my scene?” The SWAT sergeant roared.

  “That doesn’t matter, what does is that I’m an ex-navy Seal sniper. I can make the shot.”

  “You’re that guy, Perry, from a few weeks ago. The shooting at Tranquility Bay Ranch,” a male detective said.

  “I don’t care who you are. You are not authorized to be here. You need to leave,” the SWAT sergeant said.

  “Wait, you can make the shot?” The other man said, the one who was pissed at the sergeant a few moments ago. I didn't know him, but from the way the others acted, I guessed he was the highest ranking detective here.

  “I’ve made worse shots. It’s a hard shot, sure, but not for me. I can make it.”

  I didn’t care what the odds were, I knew I could make the shot. There was no way in hell I was going to be missing it.

  “Get him to wherever he needs to be,” the man ordered. I didn’t need to wait around to see the argument that would be taking place between him and the SWAT sergeant.

  The male detective who had recognized me nodded and led me over to a car. I put my rifle together as we drove.

  “You sure you can make the shot?” he asked.

  “Like I said, I’ve made worse, in horrible conditions. I’ll get the shot.”

  If there was one thing I could do better than anyone, it was long shots. He seemed to be content with my answer, so he focused on the road and getting me to the location. I wasn’t one for small talk anyway, so it worked out well. Once we got there, I got out and ran up through the building to the top floor. This building was equal in height to where Emma was, so it would make the shot a little easier.

  I ignored the pain that shot through my leg and got my gun set up. I knocked out some of the window to get a clear shot. With everything set, I let out a slow breath before I looked through my scope. I was able to see clearly into the room where Emma was. My heart jumped in my throat when I saw Green holding the gun to her head. Not only that, she also had bruising on her face and blood coming down it from a cut on her forehead.

  She had obviously gotten into a fight with him, but she hadn’t been able to get the upper hand. I had no idea how injured she was, but I was proud to see her hands were also banged up. She had fought back. I could see her mouth moving. She was trying to talk him down, but I could see it wasn’t working. I didn’t know much about serial killers, but I knew they were like terrorists. They didn’t tend to get talked down. He was ready to die and take as many as he could with him. I wasn’t about to let that happen.

  The weather was in my favor tonight. It was a clear night, no wind or rain. All I needed was the right moment to take the shot. I could only see his right eye and an inch of his forehead, but that was all I needed. One shot through his eye, and he would be dead. I prefer the kill zone, but I wasn’t getting that tonight. I had to time this right. Emma had no idea I would be here or if there was a sniper. I was hoping she would stay still, knowing the protocols for a hostage situation. I just had to have a little bit of faith.

  When I was confident that I had the shot, I let my breath out and squeezed. The night was so quiet, the sound of my gun going off echoed through the air. None of that mattered to me. All that did was seeing Green collapsing, leaving Emma standing and unharmed. It took her a second before she bent down to check Green for a pulse as the door to the room opened and more cops flooded the room. I grabbed my rifle and made my way out of the building as quickly as I could. I needed to get to her and make sure she was ok.

  CHAPTER

  7

  EMMA

  Walking out of the building felt different. I’d been through many different situations, some life threatening and difficult. This felt different to me, though. This time around it wasn’t a murderer, it wasn’t some terrorist. This was a serial killer that had me in a room, with a gun to my head, and I’d known that the only reason I wasn’t dead yet was he was enjoying holding my life in his hands too much. I knew he’d shoot as soon as anyone got close enough to take him down. It was only a matter of time. I had known I was going to die.

  Then, somehow SWAT was able to make the shot. I wasn’t a sniper, but even I knew it was a near impossible shot to make, just because of the football field and how he was hiding behind me.

  Yet here I was, walking out alive and basically unharmed. I had some bruising and my ribs were killing me. I was really hoping they weren’t broken and that I didn’t have a concussion. Hopefully, the headache was just a normal headache. My unit chief headed straight over to me.

  “Watson, are you ok?” He asked, already guiding me over to the paramedics.

  “I’ll be fine. Who made the shot?”

  “That guy Perry, if you can believe it. He showed up with his rifle ready to go.”

  “Clay?”

  I couldn’t believe it. Clay had been here. He made the shot. I couldn’t help but look around. I wanted to see him. I wanted to make sure he was ok, which was ridiculous considering I was the one injured. Still, I knew he was struggling. He was trying to get better but it took time. The last thing he needed was being reminded of memories he would rather forget, especially after what happened earlier tonight.

  “Oh, first name basis. Now it makes sense why he showed up. He must have seen it on the news. We’re lucky he did. We didn’t have a sniper that could make the shot. Chris took him to the location. He should be here in a few minutes. You are going to the hospital to get checked out, and I don’t want to hear any complaints about it.”

  The very last thing I wanted to do was go to a hospital, but I knew he wasn’t going to let me out of it. I just gave a nod, and he headed off to handle the scene. The paramedics started to look me over, but my eyes continued to scan the area. I only wanted to see Clay right now, and the second my eyes landed on him walking towards me, I felt like I could breathe, like everything that had just happened was washing away. The crime scene and the police surrounding us disappeared, and it was just him and me left.

  The second his eyes landed on me, he ran ov
er to me. Once he was close enough, I didn’t care about the paramedic trying to work on me, I wrapped my arms around him and welcomed the feeling of safety, something I didn’t even know I needed in my life. Being with Clay had a way of making me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world. I could have someone there by my side, a partner, that could be there for me no matter what. Someone I could be there for in return.

  “Are you ok?” he asked as he pulled back to look at me.

  “A little banged up, but alive thanks to you. You said you were good, but damn, babe, I didn’t know you were that good,” I said with a smirk.

  “Lots of practice. You need to get looked at,” he said, as he guided me back over to the paramedics, who did not look happy with the interruption. I didn’t care.

  “I’m fine,” I said as I sat down.

  “She needs to go to the hospital and get stitches for her cut. A head CT to rule out a concussion, also x-rays for her ribs. They don’t feel broken, but some do feel cracked.” The paramedic said. I looked at him and made sure he could tell I was unhappy. Traitor.

  “You’re going. I’ll meet you there. What hospital?” Clay asked, ending any debate I had.

  “Bozeman Health.”

  “Go, I’m right behind you.”

  He leaned in and placed his lips against mine. A little trip to the hospital was worth the price if it meant I would get to feel his lips on mine. The kiss was far too short for my liking, but I knew I wasn’t going to be getting any more right now. Clay headed off to his truck while I got to sit on the stretcher. They wanted me to lie down, but that wasn’t happening right now.

  On the journey to the hospital, I allowed myself to calm down and get my head back into focus. This night had not turned out like I thought it would. Hell, this case hadn’t turned out like I thought it would. I knew the odds of us getting him alive were slim, but still, I was hoping we would be able to take him in. We had no idea how many women he may have killed before we discovered him. Now it was too late, and we might never know. His apartment would need to be searched for trophies. Serial killers nearly always kept something from their victims. With any luck we would be able to see how many kills he had and hopefully it would come back as the six we knew about.

  The whole hospital experience was a process from hell. I was taken down right away for x-rays and a CT scan. Turns out I had three cracked ribs, thank-you very much asshole. But no concussion, so I was just left with a killer headache. Even though I had no concussion, the doctor was keeping me overnight for observation. When I was finally brought into a room, Clay was finally allowed to see me. He walked in and instantly came to my side, sitting down on the bed.

  “I’m ok,” I said before he could even ask.

  “Doc told me you had to spend the night and then be off work for about six weeks. I was thinking you could stay with me. I could help you recover. I have a couple spare bedrooms—you could pick one.”

  I smiled at him. That was exactly what I needed. I knew we wouldn’t be sleeping in the same bed together for a while, at least until he could trust himself, but it was one hell of a start.

  “That sounds perfect to me. Just what the doctor ordered,” I said with a warm smile.

  Spending six weeks with Clay curled up in his bed was exactly what my sore body needed. It would also let us have more time to get to know each other and see where this relationship of ours was going. I had no idea what we even were, but I was excited to find out.

  “So, I’ve decided after going through all of this that I get to call you my girlfriend. I think I’ve earned the right,” Clay said with a smirk, but I knew he was serious.

  “Oh, yeah? So does this count as our first date then? I’m not against it. It would be the most exciting first date I’ve ever had.”

  “It would be hard to top. Think of the looks we’ll get when we tell people.”

  “Looks like it’s settled then. We are dating,” I said with a small laugh.

  “Perfect.” Clay said as he leaned in for a kiss. I was very happy to return it, only it was once again cut short by a phone ringing. This time around it was his phone going off.

  The slight look of confusion on his face told me he either didn’t know who was calling him or he was confused as to why that person was calling him. I could only hear his half of the conversation though.

  “Hello. Yes, this is him. What? She’s awake? Is she ok?”

  I had no idea who he was talking about, but the emotions that played across his face told me he was going through a lot. He went from shocked, to happy, to concerned in all of five seconds.

  “That fast? No, of course she can stay with me. Is she sure? Alright, I’ll make sure it’s ready. I’ll be there. Thank-you.”

  “Are you ok? What’s going on?” I asked, once he was off the phone.

  “That was Mylie’s doctor. She woke up,” Clay said, still completely shocked.

  “Babe, that’s amazing. Is she ok?”

  “The doctor says she’ll be ok with a lot of physical therapy. She can even be released in a week or so, he said.”

  “That fast. Wow.”

  “Apparently, she is healthy, and there isn’t a need for her to be stuck in the hospital while she goes through the therapy. She wants to come stay with me instead of our parents.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  I knew he wasn’t close with his family. It was hard for soldiers to come back and go back to a life they had. They no longer fit into the mold that they did before they saw the horrors of the world. What happened to Mylie only made that gap even bigger between them.

  “I’m surprised she would want to stay with me and not our parents. But if she wants to be with me, then that’s where she’ll be. I’m not going to turn my back on her. I failed her once. I won’t do it again,” Clay said with a strength to his voice that I hadn’t heard before.

  “You didn’t fail her the first time, and I’m sure she would tell you the same thing. When you go to pick her up, you can expect me to be there with you.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I know I don’t. I want to be. I care about you. We’re in this together. No matter what.” I said, putting as much love into my voice as I could.

  He placed his hand against my cheek and ran his thumb back and forth. I could see the love he had in his eyes. I had no idea how we were both already falling for the other, but I didn’t care. We were, and it felt amazing.

  “No matter what.” Clay agreed.

  Our path was unknown ahead of us, but one thing I knew for certain. We were going to be together when we reached the end. Nothing was ever going to stand in our way.

  EPILOGUE

  CLAY

  Icouldn’t seem to get my leg to stop bouncing. It had been three years since I’d been on a plane. You would think after being on a plane literally hundreds of times, I would be used to it. Ever since my last operation, though, I couldn’t stand them. Emma placed her hand on my thigh and gave me a warm smile.

  Just seeing her was enough to help calm me down. I was still pissed off about the bruising and cut to her face. My mind couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened to her if I hadn’t been able to make that shot. If I hadn’t been able to get into my truck and go to her. I never thought in a million years I would be in this place—being around people without feeling like my skin was crawling, being able to look through my scope and take the shots. I did it for Derek, but he was my brother. I felt relieved to know that I still had an edge, even if I didn’t always feel it.

  I knew one thing. I would not be where I was right now if I hadn’t met Emma, if I hadn’t taken the chance and been with her. Derek was right. Some risks in life are worth taking, and Emma was definitely one of them. I knew I had a long way to go still. I wasn’t magically better, but I was at least on the road to getting better, finally.

  “You ok?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know what to say to her.”

  We were on our way ba
ck to Texas to pick up my sister. She was cleared to leave the hospital and could go home. She had a long road of her own recovery, but she had finally woken up. She would need physical therapy to help strengthen her body again. Plus, therapy to deal with the trauma she went through. The doctors said it would take roughly six months before she was back to being fully healthy physically, but she would make it and have a life again.

  I was surprised to discover that she wanted to come and stay with me on the ranch instead of our parents’ place. I hadn’t really seen Mylie in years, and I knew I hadn’t left things with her on good terms. Still, I wasn’t about to tell her no. if she wanted to stay with me, then that is where she was going to be. Quinn helped me to get the house in order with everything she would need until her body was stronger. He would also be checking in on her every few days to make sure she was healing properly. It paid to have an ex-medic on the ranch.

  “You’ll know when you see her.” Emma reassured me.

  When we touched down, we made our way through the crowded airport to get to our rental car. We only packed a carry on because we were only going to be picking up Mylie and then heading back to the ranch. It would be a long day for me and Emma, but it would be better for Mylie to get home and settled in. I was worried about the travel for Emma and her injured ribs, but she assured me she would be fine. If there was one thing that Emma was, it was tough.

  We picked up our car, and I drove us to the hospital. Emma was looking out the window. This was the first time she had been to Texas. To me, it was where I grew up, but it no longer felt like home. The ranch was my home, and being here only cemented that.

  “Not much to see eh?” Emma said.

  “You get used to the desert views. But I have to agree. I do like the view in Montana better. Even if the winter sucks.”