by Sophie Oak
Panic swamped Gemma’s every sense. Jesse was dying and so was she. How would Cade survive?
She pulled and pulled and tried to get her foot free. The sandal was stuck. And no one would know where she was. She would drown so close to the surface.
Air horn. It might not scare the freaking bears but it could do what it had been made to do—alert someone to where she was.
It might be Patrick. Or it might be Henry.
A bullet or a savior. Anything was better than dying like this. Cold and alone.
Live. Her one new mandate. She wasn’t going to break it now. She dug into her bag, items she no longer needed floating away with the river.
She grabbed the air horn and let the rest go.
With one final hope, she thrust her arm up and pressed the button.
* * * *
Cade shot out of the truck the minute Nate hit the brakes.
“Goddamn it, Cade!”
He could hear Nate yelling, but he didn’t care. In the distance, he saw red and blue flashing signals. Either the night shift at the sheriff’s or Ty.
“We’re over here.” Nell was on her knees over a prone figure.
Jesse. Oh, his heart nearly stopped as he saw Jesse lying there on the ground. His best friend. His brother. Why the fuck had he left? It had been easier than staying. Easier than just trying to be a better man. And now Jesse’s blood soaked the ground around him.
Someone plowed through, shoving him to the side. Caleb Burke. He set his kit on the ground. “Baby, I need some light. Alexei, you keep anyone who fucking comes close off me.”
Holly Lang immediately stood over Jesse’s body and shined a flashlight down, while Alexei tugged on Cade’s shirt. “Come and allow doctor to work on friend.”
“He’s unconscious. GSW to the abdomen. I need an ambulance. He needs surgery.” Caleb turned his eyes up to Cade. “He’s strong. Nell stopped a lot of the bleeding. I just need to dig the bullet out and make sure he didn’t nick any vitals. Ty was five minutes behind me. Go find Gemma.”
With a deep sigh of relief, he turned to Nell, who was talking to Nate and Cam.
“I think they went to the backwoods. By the river.”
The river. Every muscle in his body stiffened, and his brain threatened to stop functioning. The river. It would always come back to her. Flashes of the night hit his brain. The cold. The dank air that filled his lungs before nothing could. His sister’s eyes as she died.
And none of it mattered. All that mattered was Gemma.
He very calmly worked his way around the building as Nate and Cam planned a strategy. His strategy was to find Gemma and take any bullet that came her way. And to keep her away from the freaking river.
He heard a flurry of bullets and took off. Nate was suddenly on his heels, and Cam managed to get in front of him. Cam ran like a freaking running back, sprinting ahead, his gun in his hand. Nate grabbed at Cade, forcing him to stop.
“You will not get killed while I’m on duty.”
Panic threatened to overtake him. “Please. God, Nate, I love her. What would you do if it was Callie out there?”
“If I wasn’t trained? I would let me do my goddamn job. That man has a gun and he’s using it.” Nate’s face was fierce. “You stay here or I’ll use mine on you and I will put your ass in jail for obstruction of justice.”
Cade stopped. What was he doing? Charging in when he didn’t even have a gun. Hadn’t he fucked up enough? Did he just have to keep on doing it?
Cade sank to his knees in the soft dirt. He could smell the river, hear it rushing by. He was miles from the river he’d nearly lost his life in, but he’d never really left it. He’d pretended to walk around and to smile and party and play all of life’s little games, but the best part of him had died that day.
He was back there. Eight years old and pissed off at the world because Annie always got all the attention. Annie was on drill team and got to be in the homecoming court, and who gave a shit about that? He’d come up with a plan. Annie got everything and he got nothing, so he’d left. Packed up his Power Rangers backpack and left.
He hadn’t counted on the rain. He hadn’t counted on the storms that seemed to shake the whole earth that night. And he hadn’t counted on his parents and Annie rushing to get him even though the storm should have kept them at home.
God. He’d killed them all because he was a brat who couldn’t handle his sister’s success. And she had nothing but a grave because he’d walked out.
He put his hands over his eyes. If Gemma died, nothing would matter. He should have been with her. He should have taken the bullet Jesse had taken. Jesse was the good one.
It was a weak sound that penetrated his ear. Like a shout from a muffled horn.
Cade brought his head up. Maybe he’d just imagined it.
Nate walked out of the woods, his walkie-talkie in his hands. “Yeah, I’m going to need another bus. Don’t hurry. He’s a corpse. Henry Flanders says he tripped. No. I don’t have eyes on Gemma. It looks like she ran. No blood trail.”
Gemma got away?
There it was again. That weird sound. It was coming from his left. From the river.
“Cade, why don’t you head home and check to see if Gemma ran back there. Patrick Welch is dead. He didn’t have time to hide a body, and Henry says this whole episode lasted less than five minutes. She’s gotta be hoofing it home.”
Home. Gemma wouldn’t go home. Gemma might lead a killer away from Jesse, but she would never run home when he was dying.
A third strangled sound was heard.
“Is that an air horn?” Nate asked. “Do we have kayakers in trouble? Who the hell gets on the river in the fall? It’s damn cold.”
But Cade just took off running because he knew who it was. Gemma. Gemma, his always-prepared, had-a-purse-bigger-than-a-damn-drugstore baby, was in the river, and she was calling for help. For him.
He’d lost his life in a river in Florida. He’d clung to a tree limb, survival his only goal. He’d gone into the river a bratty little kid and what they pulled out had been a zombie, a body that moved through life but didn’t feel it.
Nancy cracked his shell, but he’d betrayed her.
Jesse wormed his way in.
Gemma. Gemma made him want to live again.
He saw it. A little white horn shining in the moonlight. She was under the water, her arm in the air, begging for help.
Without a second thought, he dove in. He hadn’t swum in years, his fear of the water so strong, but his parents had forced him to learn before and that training didn’t go away.
His parents. His sister. Nancy, his not-mom who had loved him. They weren’t ghosts who weighed him down. They’d loved him. He’d screwed up, but he hadn’t meant to. He’d been a child. But a man went into the water this time. A man who loved a woman. A man who wouldn’t come out again unless she was in his arms, whole and alive.
The water hit his system like an out-of-control freight train coming straight from the arctic. His skin burned where the water touched it, but the moon was high in the sky and the water was clear. He could see her.
She was caught and failing. Her foot had slipped between the branches of a log. She’d twisted and turned until she couldn’t move, trapped in a deadly little puzzle.
Her head came up, her eyes flaring with panic. She reached for him. He grabbed her arm and tried to pull, but she was well stuck. He pulled harder. And then again. Nothing. He was ready to pull her foot off. He didn’t give a shit. He’d carry her around, but she had to get out of here. She was panicking. She refused to let go. She was dragging him down.
His lungs were burning so she must be drowning. He braced himself against the log and pulled again with every ounce of strength he had. If she stayed here, he would, too. He would hold on and drown with her. He pulled until his lungs felt like they would explode and then Gemma moved, her body pulling free.
Another body entered the water, white washing all around. There was a
great whoosh, the sound filling his ears. He clutched her, trying to get to the surface. Big hands came out, pulling at Gemma’s body.
Cam. Cam was an athlete. Cam would take her. Cam could get her out.
Cade’s job was done. He let her go. Cam immediately pulled her to the surface.
Cade tried to follow, but he was stuck. The whole river was alive with things that pulled a person under. The river was hungry. Wanting.
And it was all right. Gemma was okay. Jesse would live. Cade could give in.
Or he could finally fucking fight. He’d spent too many years waiting for this. Longing for this. He’d waited for the water to take him. So easy. He wouldn’t have to fight. Wouldn’t have to hurt.
And he wouldn’t be able to love.
Cade pulled, struggling. His pants were caught. Gemma was above. He should be above. He needed to be with Gemma. With Jesse. With his family.
His lungs were depleted. He couldn’t breathe, but he wasn’t done. He wanted Gemma. He wanted that family they could have. He wouldn’t leave her alone. He would have his future. He would live.
There was another great white rush. Cam. His hand came out, reaching for him. Cade grabbed his hand and together they pulled. His jeans tore and he was free.
He broke the surface, the cold washing over him. Life rushed at him as he crawled up the bank.
“We have her back. Breath sounds are good.” Ty’s voice broke through the quiet. There was the beautiful sound of coughing. “Let’s move her. Get her to the hospital.”
Cade let his head rest back. He was half frozen, but it didn’t matter. Gemma was good. And he was alive.
Cam stared down at him. “Are you all right, man?”
Cade nodded. He was all right. He was fine. They were alive. His little family was safe.
* * * *
He sat by Gemma’s bed, dreaming.
This time was different. He was in the river. He was eight, but he was calm. The water surrounded him, but he knew. He would survive.
His sister wouldn’t. He turned in his seat, no longer eight years old, but a man who could look at her with mature eyes. He’d made a child’s mistake, and he missed his sister. He wished she’d lived, but she would have hated the way he’d stumbled through life. Annie had taken it in both hands and not stopped until she’d drained it dry. Like Gemma. Annie would have adored Gemma.
He turned his head, the moonlight illuminating Annie’s face. Where always she’d been panicked, now there was a small smile on her face. Her light brown hair floated around her, giving her a halo. His sweet sister. His angel. Why had he ever thought she’d want him to stay down here with her?
She reached for him, not to drag him down, but to touch him one last time. His parents were there, reaching for him, too, a final good-bye. And Nancy with her gentle smile. She’d taught him how to cook. She’d brought him together with his best friend.
He stayed there for a moment, the river now not such a terrible place to be. His former family was here. But he couldn’t stay because all his tomorrows were above, in the air with Gemma and Jesse.
He held Annie’s hand. Just for a moment because other hands reached for him, pulling him up, to the surface.
Where he belonged.
Chapter Nineteen
“Holy shit balls, Nate. Think about it. Atlanto-occipital dislocation. Do you have any idea how few physicians see that in a lifetime? It’s insanely rare. And who sees it? This guy. Right here in Bliss, Colorado. I know I complain about the autopsies but this makes them all worthwhile.”
Caleb’s voice roused Gemma from her dreams. Her dreams where Jesse was alive and Cade didn’t run. She kept her eyes shut, hoping to go back there.
“Caleb, I don’t even know what that Atlanto thing is. Henry said the guy fell.”
Caleb huffed. “You think the dude fell and internally decapitated himself? Seriously? Henry is lying. This is the kind of thing that happens when man meets bus or man meets ridiculously well-trained killer. I don’t think Henry qualifies as mass transit.”
Patrick was dead. Thank god.
“Leave him be, man.”
Caleb kept at it. “Don’t you want to know? I could call my brother. He’s got serious connections. Henry isn’t some pacifist. He’s trained. He’s either mafia or more likely CIA. Henry fucking Flanders is ex-CIA. Come on, don’t you want to know?”
Gemma forced her eyes open. Henry had helped her, risking his relationship with his wife. She seriously doubted Nell knew a thing about Henry’s past. And it should stay that way. Bliss was a place for second chances. She should know. “Let him be. Henry has his secrets. Let him keep them.”
Caleb frowned, striding to her, checking all the monitors hooked up to her body. “Gemma, you’re in the hospital.”
Yeah, the stark white all around her and the fact that it was twenty degrees below comfortable told her that. She groaned. “I can’t afford the hospital.”
Caleb smiled, a rarity. “Oh, this particular stay is all paid up, Gemma. Look around.”
Her head throbbed, but she forced herself to sit up. Her room was filled with flowers. Lilies and roses and gardenias and pansies and daisies. It was like someone had bought out a florist. “What the hell?”
Caleb busied himself doing all the doctor stuff he seemed to deeply enjoy. He took her blood pressure.
Nate passed her several cards. “Nell figured it all out. She’s been on the news networks telling everyone that Senator Allen Cameron bribed an EPA official and then paid to have you killed. It’s all over the news. Cameron’s had to pull out of the race. There’s going to be an inquest and everyone is talking about jail time for the senator and several members of his team.”
Gemma shook her head. “And all this is from the networks?”
“No,” Nate said. “This is all courtesy of two men from Texas. Apparently Senator Cameron has a couple of estranged children. They don’t exactly love the guy. These are from a man named Jack Barnes and his half brother, Lucas Cameron, who changed his name to O’Malley when he got married.”
She looked at one of the notes. It was written in a blunt, masculine hand and thanked her for doing the one thing he hadn’t been able to do—“take the old goat down.” He invited her to his ranch in someplace called Willow Fork. The note from Lucas O’Malley included a job offer from a firm in Dallas.
“They’re really grateful,” Nate said. “And, Gemma, Barnes paid your hospital bills, all of them. And Jesse’s.”
Jesse was alive? Tears pricked her eyes. “Jesse?”
Caleb gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Apparently getting to view and catalog an internal decapitation helped with his bedside manner. “It looked worse than it was, Gemma. He was lucky. No serious damage. I’m keeping the both of you here just for observation. And because Barnes has a really big wallet.”
He was okay. She took a deep breath, tears threatening to overtake her. Jesse was alive.
Nate pointed to the bed next to hers. “He’s been here the whole time. Your mom and Naomi just took him out for some fresh air. He wouldn’t leave until Caleb promised him you would be alive when he came back. He’s a little paranoid.”
The door opened and Jesse’s smiling face came into view. He was in a wheelchair being pushed by her mom.
“You’re awake. Baby, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” He motioned for her mom to stop and got to his feet.
Her heart soared. “Should you be walking?”
Caleb gave her a smile. “He’s good, Gemma. After a week or so he won’t even notice he was injured. He lost some blood and a tiny section of his liver. But don’t worry. That grows back. Seriously, as bullets go, he took a good one. He won’t even have a big scar. I was able to use the robot.”
Jesse shuffled her way, his eyes gleaming. “I wouldn’t miss my wedding day, baby.”
Her mom and Jesse and Naomi surrounded her with love. She accepted it all. But something was missing. She looked up at Jesse. “Is Cade gone?�
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He sighed and sat down on the bed beside her. “Baby, he saved you. I’ll tell you the whole story, but as to whether or not he’s staying, I don’t know.”
Her mom smoothed back her hair. “He came in with you. He stayed here all night long, sitting right there and holding your hand.”
Naomi frowned. “But this morning after Caleb assured him you were both okay, he had me take him to that bar. He said he had something to do. I haven’t seen him since.”
Jesse put an arm around her. “Baby, it’s going to be okay. If he leaves, that’s on him. We’ll be just fine. So this Lucas guy offered you a job. Does that mean we’re moving to Dallas?”
She couldn’t even conceive of moving. This was her home. Patrick was wrong. She did belong here. “Nope. I don’t want to move. And I heard a rumor that in a month or so, my health benefits should kick in and I won’t need rich guys to rush in and save me.”
Nate smiled. “Uhm, I wouldn’t say that. They’re really not that great. But I’m happy to hear I don’t need another office manager. You don’t have any other crazy stalker person in your past, do you?”
She couldn’t say that with any real promise. “Hopefully not. And I might have to go part time because I’m getting my license to practice in Colorado and then I’m going to challenge the county ordinance.”
“Thereby giving the mayor a heart attack. Nice, Gemma,” Caleb said.
One by one they all left and others took their places. The whole town came out to say hello.
She was surrounded by friends and loved ones. But the one she needed to see didn’t walk through her door.
Late that night, she carefully cuddled against Jesse and slept and dreamed of a world where Cade didn’t leave.
* * * *
Cade stood outside the door and wondered why he was so damn nervous. They were just beyond the door. He’d spent two days getting everything ready and now the fact that he’d only talked to Gemma on the phone really hit him.