“Oh.” She turned to Liam. “Thank you.”
“Minor,” he quipped. He was approached again by a small group of people and moved off to speak with them, giving the rest of us a little space.
“So…” Bellamy cajoled Sabrina.
She smiled, her fingers tightening around mine. “Best birthday ever.”
Bellamy beamed. “I’m so glad.” She looked back at Liam, who was once again signing autographs. “This could go on all night,” she mused. “Let’s go get some cider.”
“Better make that hot chocolate from my mom’s booth. She’d kick my ass if she saw us walking around here with someone else’s drink.”
“Of course!” Bellamy said and linked her arm in Sabrina’s. “Hey, tell me how it was when you met his parents. Aren’t they something?”
Sabrina was tugged along, and eventually our linked hands separated. I trailed behind the two women as they gossiped and giggled like high schoolers and waved at people as we went.
After some time at The Confectionary’s booth and the introduction of BearPaw Resort’s exclusive new flavor Mom had created, we were shooed off to have some fun with cups of hot chocolate in our hands.
Sabrina grew noticeably quiet as we walked away.
I bumped into her with my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes lifted. Tonight they were burnished gold, matching so many of the leaves cluttering the ground.
She held up a small gift bag with a bow on it. “I wasn’t expecting a gift from your parents.”
Ah. “You don’t like it?”
Her eyes widened and her footsteps stuttered. Automatically, I reached up to cup her elbow, keeping her steady. Our feet stopped, and we stood in the center of the crowd, staring at each other.
“I love it.” She promised. Her stare turned worried. “Did it seem like I was ungrateful?”
I shook my head. “Of course not. They know you were thankful.”
“I just…” she said, her words falling away.
“You just aren’t used to family and people doing shit for you.”
“Just Daniel,” she whispered, her eyes lowering to the ground. “We spent every birthday of mine together. Except for the times he was deployed, of course. He was the only one who ever celebrated.”
I cupped her face and leaned close to her. “Not anymore.”
She nodded, eyes still locked on mine.
“It’s overwhelming to have a family. It’s okay if you need time to get used to it. My parents are very… overbearing.”
She giggled. “But I like them.”
“They like you, too.”
From ahead, Liam whistled. I glanced up, noticing how far they’d gotten from us. I lifted a hand to tell him we were coming.
“Now I have two scarves to wear for fall,” she said, lifting the bag to indicate the gift my parents had given her.
I rolled my eyes. “You and those damn scarves.”
“I wonder how they knew I liked them,” she mused as we started to walk forward.
I shrugged, nonchalant. Truth was when Mom asked, that’s what I told her. But I wasn’t going to ruin any of the thoughtfulness of my parents’ gift for my girl. She was so touched they’d given her something. I didn’t want her to think I’d told them to gift her anything.
The minute we met up with Liam and Bellamy, Liam hitched his chin toward a nearby booth. “You up for the challenge.”
I glanced at the row of large water guns with targets and scoreboards beside them. Overhead, stuffed toys and lights dangled. The man behind the counter was dressed like a barber with a red-and-white-striped tie and some old-school hat.
A slow grin spread over my face. “You’re going down.”
“Oh boy.” Bellamy sighed. “Here we go.”
Liam and I raced over to the booth, slapped down some cash, and started shooting. Behind us, Bellamy and Sabrina laughed and watched us compete.
The competition between us drew a crowd, and soon people were cheering and watching us battle it out with giant water guns.
“You should just give up now,” I told Liam a little while later. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you in front of all these people.”
Oohs and ahs went through the crowd, and I grinned.
“Final match,” he suggested. “Winner takes all!”
Everyone around us cheered.
“How in the world did you two become some kind of attraction?” Bellamy asked from close by.
“It’s a talent, sweetheart,” Liam told her.
I glanced at Brina and winked.
“You two have fun with that. I’m going to get a candy apple over there,” she informed me, pushing away from the counter.
“You mean you aren’t going to stay here and watch me kick his ass?” I asked, offended.
“You’ve kicked his ass in almost every game you’ve played,” she noted, pointing to the scoreboards.
“That’s just cold,” Liam told her.
I cackled. “When she’s right, she’s right.”
“I’ll be right back,” she told me.
Before she could get far, I tugged her back and dropped a quick kiss to her lips.
“You ready?” Liam asked, taking aim.
I nodded, and we both looked at the guy manning the booth. People started cheering, and a little bell went off, signaling the beginning of the game.
We started “shooting,” and everyone cheered, growing louder as both scores started to rise.
“I got you!” Liam cackled as he pulled ahead.
I laughed and stepped up my aim. We were neck and neck. I was about to pull ahead and take the win.
Then, over the crowd, I heard a familiar shout.
My head twisted around as she shouted again. The people crowded around started to pitch sideways and yell as someone shoved through.
“Alex!” Sabrina screamed, sheer terror in her voice. “Alex, get down!”
“What?” As I turned, water sprayed in a wide arc.
That’s when I saw it.
A familiar red dot… one that was currently trained on the center of my chest.
The sound of a gunshot silenced all other noise around me, and every moment broke down into slow motion.
People nearby ducked, and out of the crumbling bodies, one materialized. She leapt forward, plowing into me, and both of us slammed into the ground.
Sabrina
Men were large children.
A fact currently being proven by the intense water gun match raging behind me.
I had to admit it was pretty entertaining. I could definitely see why everyone here at BearPaw was so taken with them. Both Liam and Alex had qualities that drew people toward them. They were both kind of mysterious but also two of the most powerful men in this town.
People were totally loving watching these guys go at it over a stupid water gun battle.
Myself included, but I was also totally entranced by this entire festival, and currently, my sights were set on the incredible display of candy apples ahead.
Smiling to myself because of the way Alex and Liam were carrying on behind me, I lifted my face into the autumn night and breathed deep. Some of the tension seemed to drain right out of me and be carried off with the leaves. Not all the tension I felt, of course, but enough to make me feel noticeably lighter.
By the time I made it to the candy apple stand, the last of the people in line had moved off, giving me an unblocked view of the setup. The sweet scent of apples lingered around me, almost overpowered by the aroma of rich caramel. I took my time gazing at all the different apples on display. Some had nuts and chocolate; others had sprinkles. There was a row of more traditional ones that didn’t have caramel, but instead that red candy coating.
The woman in the booth came over to where I was looking, a warm smile on her face. “Happy harvest,” she greeted.
I smiled, brushing some blowing strands of hair out of my face. “These apples look amazing!”
She beame
d. “It’s our specialty.”
“If I could, I’d take one of each.”
“Well, I’d sell them to ya, but don’t come back complaining of a stomachache.”
I laughed. “How about a caramel and chocolate one?” I pointed to one that looked absolutely sinful drizzled with white and dark ribbons of chocolate. “And that one over there with the pecans and cinnamon.” I thought Alex would probably like that one.
The woman grabbed both apples, which were already wrapped in clear cellophane and topped with a red bow. After she put them in a small paper sack, I handed over some cash.
“Whoa!” people were exclaiming behind us.
“Get him, Liam!” someone else hollered.
“Those boys.” The woman tsked while smiling. “They just never grew up.”
“That’s the truth.” I agreed.
“They’re good men, though, and everyone around here loves them.”
More yelling and clapping erupted behind us, and I heard Alex yell out a challenge to Liam.
“Would you look at that?” The woman chuckled. “He’s catching up.”
I turned and pushed up to my tiptoes but couldn’t see because of the crowd.
“Oh, come around here, honey.” She invited, waving me into the booth. “It’s higher up. You can see.”
“Oh, that’s okay,”
“Come on now. Don’t you want to watch your beau win?”
I felt myself blush. “You know I’m here with Alex?”
“Oh, honey, everyone knows. You two are the talk of the resort. And Caribou. Alex was the most eligible bachelor here at BearPaw, next to Liam of course.”
“Well, I like him better than Liam,” I said, smiling. As I did, I stepped up into the booth.
The woman laughed. “Well, I should think Alex would be happy to hear that.” Her eyes went back to the where everyone was cheering. “Look at them.” She giggled.
I turned from her to glance over the crowd to where Alex was battling. The second I did, an overwhelming sensation of anxiety clutched my chest and stomach at the same time. My body heaved with the strength of it, and panic sparked inside me.
I swayed forward, gripping the counter. I heard the woman saying something to me, but my ears no longer worked.
I blinked, trying to focus on Alex, wondering why I was suddenly nearly immobile with panic.
Then I saw the red dot.
Small and round, it glowed like a single evil eye. I knew exactly what it was, thanks to having Daniel for a brother. I knew exactly what a single laser-made dot was for.
A target.
And currently, that target was moving across Alex’s back to settled at the spot I knew his heart would be.
All the life drained out of me, and what went empty filled up with unfiltered adrenaline. Panicked, I swung my head around, searching for someone with a gun, only to see nothing but smiling faces and laughing people who had no clue what was about to happen.
Stupid! Guns like that can be used from a distance.
My eyes snapped back to Alex. The dot was there, centered… ready to take him out.
I didn’t think about myself in that moment or the fact that whoever was out there only wanted to remove the threat of Alex to get to me. It didn’t matter. If Alex got hurt, what happened to me was of no consequence.
“No!” I screamed. “Alex!”
“What in the heavens are you—” The woman beside me started.
He can’t hear me. There are too many people. Too many cheers.
“No!” I screamed again and launched myself over the counter. Apples and display items scattered everywhere. The paper sack in my hand went flying. The woman behind me was yelling, but I didn’t pause to listen.
I went fast, dropping over the counter and stumbling into the leaves. They clung to my feet as I ran, trying to drag me back, to slow me from reaching Alex.
“Watch out!” I screamed, pushing past people who were in my way.
“Alex! Alex!” I yelled.
People were turning to look at me. I kept shoving them aside, trying to fight through the crush of people.
“Alex, get down!”
Finally, the crowd began to part as others seemed to grasp there was some kind of emergency. I saw him, so close yet so freaking far away.
His eyes were searching the crowd, looking for me. “What?” he said, and as he moved, that stupid red laser beam moved with him.
Now that he was turned, it was in the center of his chest.
I heard the gunshot echo through the air, and the fear of that sound somehow pushed me faster. I leapt at the man I loved, the entire time praying to God the bullet would hit me and not him.
Alex
I felt the force of the bullet slamming into the body. I felt the power behind the slug, and for a moment, I was back in the center of a war zone.
Gunfire rained down on everything and everyone. The scent of smoke and ash filtered through the air. Sounds of people screaming, crying out in death, was almost louder than the weapons being used to kill them.
Reality snapped back in the form of chaos and yelling and the feel of dead weight pressing me into the ground.
Someone just tried to kill me. To snipe me in my own backyard.
Sabrina.
She’d been running. She somehow knew what was happening, but instead of running away, she’d been heading toward me…
“Sabrina!” I roared, rolling from beneath what pinned me down and standing in one fluid movement. “Sabrina!”
A small moan from below snapped all my focus downward. A cry ripped out of my throat, and I fell onto my knees beside her. She’d been the weight on top of me, the shield pushing me down.
“Oh fuck!” I yelled, pushing her hair out of her face and leaning down to look at her. She was on her stomach, unmoving. Her breathing sounded more like a wheeze.
Her eyes strayed upward as though she were trying to look behind her.
I sat up. A sound that could only be described as a roar ripped out of me. The people still left scrambling around stopped to stare.
There was a bullet hole in her jacket. There was a bullet hole in Sabrina. My girl had just been shot.
Liam’s booted feet appeared beside me, and he dropped to his knees. “Alex!”
“She’s shot,” I told him, hollow, still staring at that damn hole. Blindly, I reached out and grabbed his shoulder to squeeze. “Someone fucking shot her!”
Sabrina moaned again and acted like she wanted to move.
I put my hands on her sides to still her movements. “Don’t move, sweetheart. Hang on. I got you.”
“Alex,” she said, her voice strained.
“Call the fucking paramedics!” I roared to Liam, who was staring down at Sabrina.
“Alex.”
“I said call the goddamn hospital!” I yelled again.
“Alex!” Liam’s hand slapped over the back of my neck and squeezed. “Why isn’t she bleeding?”
“What?” I snapped, but then the question penetrated and I remembered.
A keening sound tore out of me. Reaching for Sabrina, I hauled her up into my arms, flipping her around so I could look at her face. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” I told her.
One of her hands moved to rest on my arm. “I thought getting shot would hurt a lot worse.”
By now, instinct was kicking in, having been completely blown out of the water by seeing that bullet hole in my girl. I surged to my feet, bringing her with me, hunching myself around her body.
“Bellamy?” I asked Liam.
He moved behind the water gun booth and returned with her also in his arms.
“Let’s go,” I barked.
Instead of heading through the center of the festival where everyone was scattering and running in fear, we moved off into the trees, taking cover in the mountain we knew so well.
“We gotta get to a hospital,” Liam said. “Sabrina, stay with us!”
“Is she shot?” Bellamy gasped, worry
clear in her voice.
I glanced down at Brina as I moved quickly, her eyes focusing on me.
“What happened to me?”
“Hush,” I told her. “Hang on.”
Finally, we came to where Liam had parked, his orange truck pretty much a beacon in the parking lot. It almost made me turn for our SUV, but it was farther away, and these women needed concealment.
“Leave Bellamy,” I ordered. “Pull the truck up as close to the trees as you can get.”
Liam set his wife beside me, and I shifted so I was in front of her.
“Haul ass,” I told him, and he took off.
Seconds later, the Xtreme roared over the road, up onto the landscape, and right beside the tree line.
I opened the back door and ushered Bellamy into the cab.
“Get down!” Liam and I both demanded at the same time, causing Bellamy to sink onto the floor. I put Sabrina onto the floor behind the passenger seat and pulled back.
“Alex?” she called out, reaching for me.
“Take them to the hospital,” I instructed Liam and then went running back into the trees.
Sabrina
I took a bullet for that moron, and what does he do?
Run off in search of the man who tried to shoot him!
If I wasn’t in so much pain right then, I’d be inventing new swear names I could call him. I was going to kill him for doing this!
If he makes it back.
That seemed to curtail every other thought and worry inside my mind. I whimpered at just the idea he might be out there right now, getting shot.
“Stop the truck.” I gasped. “Stop the truck!”
The engine didn’t slow. In fact, it seemed to rev.
“Liam,” I said, mustering all the force I could into my voice. “We have to go back for him!”
“I’m getting you both out of danger right now.” Liam denied the request. “Alex can handle himself.”
“He almost just died!” I sobbed, feeling the surge of tears rush to my eyes. “I can’t leave him!” I said, heaving up off the floor and then falling over against the seat.
“Sabrina!” Liam demanded. “Get down!”
“No!” I yelled. “I won’t until you take me back to Alex!”
Subzero (BearPaw Resort Book 4) Page 21