I remembered the day my mother died—vividly.

It was the worst day of my life.

I was in college at the time. I had just finished my last final and was on my way to my apartment when I got the phone call.

My dad told me the news.

He barely said anything over the phone, his silence packed with so much sorrow that I could feel it over the line. I remembered how cold I felt, how empty life felt. I’d always been close to my mother, and I took for granted how wonderful she was. I just assumed she would always be there.

Until the day she wasn’t.

Now I was reliving that nightmare, but this day was far worse.

It was worse because Titan was the love of my life.

The only woman I’d ever loved.

We hadn’t had enough time together. It was far too soon. I was supposed to go first, due to old age. I wasn’t supposed to live without her. She was the stronger one; she should be the one to live without me.

I couldn’t do this.

My driver took Thorn and me to the hospital, but we didn’t say a word to each other in the back seat. The corners were still covered with snow, patches of it sitting in the gutters. People walked in thick jackets down the sidewalk. Life in the city continued on peacefully, while chaos reigned in my heart.

Thorn stared out the window, his hands still shaking.

Mine were shaking too.

The car wasn’t moving fast enough. Time was moving too slowly. Titan was in critical condition, a bullet in her chest. She lost a lot of blood, and there’d been no update about her condition since she was rushed to the hospital.

I felt like I had a bullet in my chest too.

A lifetime later, the driver pulled up to the hospital.

Thorn and I maneuvered inside, got to the ICU, and checked in with the nurse at the front desk. When I looked at the nurse in her green scrubs, I nearly forgot how to talk like a human being. I couldn’t think correctly, so I just said what I could. “Tatum Titan…I’m her fiancé.”

The nurse obviously recognized me, judging by her look of pity. She turned to her computer, typed in Titan’s name, and pulled up her chart.

Thorn stood back, his breathing still haywire. He hadn’t calmed down since he’d read the headlines on his phones. He repeatedly dragged his hand down his face or through his hair. He was taking the news just as hard as I was—and just as silently.

“She’s…” I’d never struggled with words. I took control of every situation, spitting out my thoughts the second they came into my mind. But now, my eloquence was gone. I’d been stripped down to a grieving man…and I could barely function. “She’s alive, right?”

“Mr. Ammo, I don’t have any details on her status.” Her eyes were on her screen. “It says she was rushed to surgery the second she arrived. The bullet hit a major artery in her chest. The surgeons are working to stop the bleeding and safely remove the bullet. That’s all I know.” She turned back to me, her face showing she felt even worse for me.

I gripped the counter, taking in those words like each one was a single bullet. “Is she going to be okay?” It was a stupid question because I knew I wouldn’t get an answer. But I needed to know she would make it through this. She was my whole life. Without her, I was nothing. None of my accomplishments amounted to the importance of earning her love.

“I can’t say, Mr. Ammo. The second I get an update, I’ll let you know.”

I stayed rooted to the spot, gripping the counter for balance.

My father must have arrived with my brothers because he appeared at my side. His large hand moved to my back, and he gently pulled me away from the counter. “Let’s take a seat, Diesel. They’ll update us as soon as they know anything.”

I didn’t say anything, but I let him guide me to one of the couches in the waiting room. There were other families there, sitting in their corners and watching the TVs on the walls. The sound was off, and it showed the local news. Right now, all they could talk about was the shooting that had just happened. They played footage from the cameras in the lobby.

I didn’t look.

My body sank into the cushion, and I gripped the wooden armrest.

My father sat beside me.

Thorn sat on my other side.

And we just waited there.

I stared at my hands in my lap, my back hunched over. Just last night, she lay underneath me and asked me to marry her. She didn’t want to wait. She didn’t give a damn what anyone thought of our love affair. She wanted me forever and always. I gave her my ring, and I pledged my eternal love for her.

It was the greatest night of my life.

Now I sat in the waiting room at the hospital, hoping for good news.

Everything had changed in an instant.

My happiness was gone.

Gone.

I still didn’t know all the details of the shooting. All I gathered was Bruce rushed Titan when she got off the elevator. He gunned her down in the lobby of her building. I didn’t know what happened to him. The second I knew Titan had been shot, that was all I cared about.

If I’d just waited for her, I could have protected her.

I could be the one in surgery right now.

And she would be sitting in my place instead.

Why the fuck didn’t I just wait?

My biggest regret.

My father pressed his hand to the center of my back. He didn’t tell me everything would be alright or try to distract me from my thoughts, but he reminded me he was there, along with everyone else in the room.

Thorn turned his gaze to the TV and watched the footage.

I still couldn’t look.

I couldn’t watch my baby get shot.

My baby… I’d do anything to call her that again.

Thorn released a deep breath before he turned forward again, his jaw clenched. “She killed him. That’s my girl…”

I still didn’t look. “She did?”

“Yeah,” Thorn answered. “She got his gun from him and shot him in the face and neck.”

That was the only good news I’d gotten so far. “Good.”

“He was going to shoot her again, but she stopped him,” Thorn continued. “She’s a fighter…and I know she’s fighting right now.” His voice broke at the end so he stopped speaking.

“She is a fighter,” I whispered. Titan would do anything she could to get back to me. She was young, healthy, and strong. If anyone could overcome this, it was her. She’d been shot once, but she managed to get the gun from Bruce and destroy him. There was still hope. There was still hope I would get my baby back.

God, please.

I leaned forward and pressed my face into my hands, shutting out the room altogether. I wanted time to pass quickly, to hear the doctor say the surgery was a success. I wanted to know we still had our lives together, that I still had something to live for.

My father rubbed his hand down my back. “She’ll win, son. She always does.”

I nodded. “I know, Dad.”