She would figure out what to do with the ugliness and lies later. Right now, she just wanted to live long enough to feel the pain of the loss and sort through the hard truths of her life.
Lord, help me. Help us.
He raised his arm and pointed the gun at Sabrina. “Sorry, but it has to be you first.”
“No!” Yvonne lunged at him as he fired.
“Ready!”
Ryan opened the door and Adam followed him in.
The sound of a gunshot rang out and he didn’t even hear the chime.
He followed Ryan as they moved through the house. Quickly but cautiously. They had no idea who the bad guys were, how many of them there were, or what they were running into.
Sirens filled the air around them as deputies arrived. But were they too late?
Another shot rang out and Adam ran past Ryan and into the den.
Mr. Kemp’s first shot hit her mother, but her mother’s momentum carried her into him and he stumbled. Sabrina reached behind her and grabbed the only thing she’d been able to see that could be a weapon. The brass elephant from the sofa table. It weighed a good fifteen pounds. She stood and heaved it at Mr. Kemp as he fired again.
Pain sliced through her leg and she couldn’t stay on her feet. She fell to the floor.
Another shot, but this one sounded different.
“Don’t move!”
Adam? She couldn’t see him, but that was definitely Adam’s voice. What was he doing there? How had he found her?
“Don’t do it!”
Another shot rang out. This one was so close her ears rang. But there was no impact—no new pain. Had he shot her mother again? Was she alive? Why was everything blurry around the edges?
Adam’s face appeared in her fading vision.
“Sabrina!”
34
Sabrina!”
She wasn’t responding.
Blood was everywhere.
Adam pressed down hard on her leg. He’d rather hurt her than lose her. “Come on, Bri. Hang in there.”
Ryan was working on Sabrina’s mother. A huge red circle was spreading on her abdomen. She was gasping for air.
The paramedics raced in and took over. Adam recognized their voices before he remembered their faces. Clark’s deep register would be in his mind forever. He was with Ryan.
“Oh, Dr. Fleming. Not you again.” Dorothy knelt beside him. “Keep the pressure on there.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
Dorothy didn’t answer, and her silence terrified him more than anything he’d seen in the last few minutes.
Dorothy was a tiny little thing and young, but she took over in a way that both impressed and frightened him. In less than a minute, Sabrina was on a stretcher and the paramedics were running out of the house with her. He was right behind them.
“I don’t have room for you in the back, sir.” Dorothy fixed him with a firm look. “We’re headed to Carrington Memorial. You know the way.”
And with that, the driver slammed the doors and flew down the driveway.
The second ambulance followed moments later.
Ryan grabbed his arm. “I’ll drive.”
35
Sabrina had survived so much in the last few weeks. Adam had been her rock. He’d been put on administrative leave for killing Kemp, and even though he’d been under investigation, he’d refused to leave her side while she recovered. She’d lost a lot of blood, but the wound itself had been quite minor. If Adam hadn’t been there to apply pressure, the outcome could have been quite different. But with a few transfusions and some quick surgery, she’d recovered quickly.
But then the truly hard things began. He’d been with her when they took her mother—she would always think of her as her mother—off life support the day after Christmas. He’d been by her side when she’d agreed to allow the hospital to use her mother’s body as a tissue donor. It had been her mother’s wish and she saw no reason to disagree.
Even after he’d been cleared to go back to work, he’d sat with her through hours of interviews with the sheriff’s office as they tried to sort out what had happened.
He’d taken care of getting her dad’s house cleaned up. He’d held her when she cried but couldn’t tell him why she was crying.
She’d leaned on him at the graveside service on New Year’s Eve.
Two graves.
Two lives separated yet connected.
She’d insisted they bury her brother beside their father. Her mother went on the other side. She didn’t think they would mind.
The service had been brief and somber. When it was over, Adam had stood by her side as people came by. Abby Campbell was first. She reached for her hand and squeezed. “We’re here, Sabrina. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you.”
Art stepped toward her and kissed her cheek. “You aren’t alone, Sabrina. I hope you know that.”
All she could do was nod.
Grandfather Campbell put one hand on her left shoulder and one hand on Adam’s right. “We’re so sorry for your losses, dear.” He looked at Adam. “You take good care of her.” He winked at Sabrina. “If he messes up, you let me know. I’ll sort him out.”
“Yes, sir.”
He squeezed her arm and stepped away.
Grandmother Campbell stood across from her, and even in that setting she was an imposing figure. Perfectly coiffed hair. A handkerchief in one hand. Her purse clutched in the other. Sabrina was shocked to see her. After all the details of her family’s sordid story had gone public, she’d rather expected Grandmother Campbell to refuse to acknowledge her in any way.
Adam had tensed as she took a step closer and patted Sabrina’s hand. “It is right and appropriate to grieve for them. No matter what they’ve done. No matter how many mistakes they made. It’s complicated and messy, but that’s what families are.” She made a little tsk noise. “I expect to see you at Sunday lunch in January. If you’re well enough to stand out here in this freezing cold, you can certainly sit at the table, so don’t try to make excuses.”
Sabrina was so stunned that she couldn’t think of anything to say other than “Yes, ma’am.”
Grandmother Campbell patted Adam’s cheek and winked at him. Then stepped away.
Leigh and Ryan were next, with hugs and reminders of food and fellowship waiting for them later.
Then Gabe, who shoved Anissa in front of him. Anissa had been conspicuously absent over the last few weeks, but Adam had said he’d seen her at their mandatory sessions with other law enforcement officers who’d been involved in shootings and Sabrina understood why she’d stayed away.
“I’m so sorry,” Anissa whispered and turned away. Sabrina grabbed her and wrapped her in a hug. “You saved my life. He was confused and wrong, and he would have kept going until he’d succeeded in killing me. The only person who deserves the blame for his death is Kemp. Not you. Please don’t take on a guilt you don’t deserve.”
Anissa had hugged her for a long time. No one had seemed to feel there was a need to rush. Gabe’s usual fast-paced approach to life had been missing as he stood there. When Anissa stepped back, he produced a handkerchief, which she took with a grateful nod. He’d nodded at both Sabrina and Adam and followed her to where she was being hugged by Leigh.
The captain and the sheriff had come. Her new buddy Dave. Even the paramedics, Clark and Dorothy.
Someone had told her once that funerals weren’t for the dead, but for the living. And for someone who’d done most of her living alone, the outpouring of affection and compassion had been humbling and eye-opening.
She’d never been more alone in her life—her father’s entire family was dead and her mother’s family had refused to come to the funeral to avoid being associated with any form of scandal—but somehow she knew Art was right. She wasn’t truly alone.
Adam picked her up on Sunday and they went to the early service at church. It was a surprisingly mild January day, and when they left church he t
old her he had a little surprise.
“But we have to be at lunch—” Not that she wasn’t completely terrified about that prospect.
“We have plenty of time.”
Adam drove them to Leigh’s house, but instead of going in the house, he led her down the path that led from the driveway to the lake. “Come on. I got permission.” They walked to the dock and Adam climbed aboard Leigh’s boat.
“We’re going out on the lake? Now?”
“Why not?” Adam grinned at her.
“Okay.” What was he up to? She climbed aboard and settled herself on the wide seat at the back.
Adam skillfully maneuvered the boat into deep water and cruised up the lake for a few minutes before cutting the engine in an isolated cove. He let the boat bob on the water as he climbed into the back with her.
“I love you, Sabrina Fleming.” He planted feather-light kisses on her eyelids.
“I love you too.” All the doubts she’d felt before were gone. He was hers. She was his.
It was ridiculous that it had taken such harsh circumstances for her to be so sure, but as his kisses moved from her eyelids to her cheeks, she couldn’t remember why she’d ever doubted they would work as a couple. “You’re just doing this to try to convince me that lunch with your family is a good idea. Not that I’m complaining.” She reached for his face and pulled his lips to hers.
He kissed her so completely that she wasn’t sure where she was anymore. The boat could have floated onto the shore and she wouldn’t have noticed. When he pulled away, he didn’t go far but pressed his forehead to hers. “Let’s skip lunch.”
“Very funny.”
“I’m not joking. My family is important, but not more important than you. You come first. Always and forever. Know that.”
“I do.”
“Hmm. I’d love to hear you say those words again, in a slightly more formal setting.” He slid from the seat and knelt before her. In his hand was a ring so stunning it nearly took her breath. A large brilliant-cut diamond was nestled in a collar of smaller diamonds and set in a classic platinum band. “I know this may seem sudden, but it isn’t. I’ve loved you for two years. I was an idiot not to tell you that the first time I saw you, but I’m not going to waste any more time. I want to be with you and no one but you, for better or worse, forever. Will you marry me?”
He asked the question like he wasn’t sure of her answer. Did he really think she would say anything other than yes?
She put her arms around his neck. “I love you.” She couldn’t resist kissing the lips that would be hers forever.
He returned the kiss but after a ridiculously short amount of time, he pushed her back. His eyes were full of love and laughter when he said, “Is that a yes? Because if that’s a no, I’m really confused.”
“Yes. Always yes.”
He slid the ring onto her finger. “Now, where were we?”
They were late for lunch.
Lynn H. Blackburn is the author of Beneath the Surface, Hidden Legacy, and Covert Justice, winner of the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for Beneath the Surface
Halftitle Page
Books by Lynn H. Blackburn
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
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About the Author
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In Too Deep Page 31