“Stay here,” Alan directed. I watched as he ran toward a group of agents huddled together.

“Think they found him?”

“I don’t know,” Tyler said and squeezed my hand. “Why would they bring us here?”

“Identify Andy.” That caused me to want to vomit. I wished the words back the moment they slipped past my lips.

“He’s not dead.” Tyler wrapped his hand behind my neck. “Don’t even think like that.”

There were several gun shots coming from the house about ten yards away. “Tyler,” I said, unsure what to think or feel. We watched as the local police were scrambling toward the house. The agents that brought us here were already inside.

About five minutes later, Alan appeared in front of us, slightly out of breath. “He escaped,” he said and ran toward the SUV that just pulled up beside us. “Stay put,” he barked and jumped into the backseat.

I let my body fall to the ground. What were we doing here? Did they think Stephen was inside the house? As my mind wandered toward all the negative thoughts, an ambulance pulled up and hit the brakes quickly. Two EMTs jumped out and ran to the back to grab a stretcher. As they rolled it inside, I had this visual of Stephen being carried back out with a sheet covering his whole body. I threw my hands over my eyes, hating where my mind continued to take me.

“Zo.” Tyler nudged my side. “Look.”

The paramedics were carrying someone out with a sheet covering the body. “No,” I yelled and jumped up. “No, no, no.” I placed my hands on the mattress. It took me a moment before I had the strength to pull the sheet back. “Andy,” I said and placed my hand on his chest. “Oh, Andy, I’m so sorry.” I glanced up at the woman standing across from me. “Did he just die?”

“The coroner needs to look him over and tell you the time of death. I’m sorry.” She moved the sheet back over Andy.

I stepped back and watched as they lifted him up into the back of the ambulance. How unfair. He was so young. I fell to the ground and wrapped my arms around my legs. This night was not getting better. I didn’t know how much more I could take.

“Zoe.” Tyler knelt down beside me. We sat there holding hands and staring at one another.

“Did you see him?” I heard someone yell beside me. I glanced up and then turned in the direction the man was looking. An agent was running down the road toward a figure who was dragging a body behind him.

I jumped up. This seemed too easy. Then the word sloppy rolled through my mind. Detective Alan said the killer had started to become sloppy with his abductions. They had not figured out the reason, but they had a feeling he was desperate for something.

Another agent blew past me. “Grab the van,” the guy yelled.

Tyler and I both stepped back, trying to stay out of the way. There were several agents all heading in the same direction. The van with Alan appeared and they all jumped out. It had to be the killer. Was that Stephen being dragged? I wrapped my arms around my chest and waited. I needed to think positively. Stephen was alive. He would be okay.

Without thinking, I started to walk toward the group of agents huddled in a circle right in the middle of the road. “Hold him down,” the woman who drove us here said and knelt to place cuffs around his wrists. “This is your lucky day.” She pushed her knee into his back and stood up.

As the cluster of agents dissipated, there was a paramedic straddling a lifeless body while giving chest compressions. “Charge the defibrillator.”

The other guy yelled fifteen seconds.

“We don’t have much time.” She rubbed the paddles together and waited until the machine flashed one second. “Clear.” She placed the paddles on the person’s chest. As the machine beeped and sent a charge, the body lifted off the ground.

I stepped closer, trying to see the body. As the face came into view, I realized it was Stephen. No.

The machine showed a flatline. “Charge it again.” A few seconds later, it beeped. “Clear.” Everything went silent as we waited to see if the charge would help. Could they bring him back to life? Right as I was losing hope, there was a faint beep beep. “There he is.” Without waiting another second, the paramedic started to bark off orders.

Alan touched my shoulder. “Do you both want to ride in the ambulance with him?”

“Can we?” I turned to face the detective.

“Follow me.”

I reached for Tyler’s hand as we approached the truck. The one paramedic was starting an I.V. while the other was placing electrodes on different areas of Stephen’s chest.

The paramedic finished attaching several wires to a machine. “You can sit here,” he said and jumped out of the ambulance. He ran around the side and a second later, the engine started up.

I looked back at Tyler. “You get in first.” Stephen’s face was covered in blood and his shirt was soaked. I placed my hand on his thigh and watched how Tyler reached for his hand. “Is he going to be okay?” I asked the woman checking the machines. Once I asked the question, I knew it was ridiculous. He had to be brought back to life just minutes ago.

“We’ll know more when we get to the hospital.” She adjusted the oxygen mask. “I’m concerned about the stab wound.”

The truck peeled out with lights flashing as they sped down the road. I couldn’t stop staring at Tyler and how he watched Stephen. It was as if he had forgotten I was there. I could hear him from over the noise of the ambulance. “I’m so sorry. I was wrong to change what we had. Please forgive me.”

His words caught me off guard. What did he mean by change what they had? Was he meaning, me? Did Tyler regret including me? I sat back on the bench and rested my head against the metal. Did I do it again? Did I give my heart too soon? I thought those old habits had died the moment I set foot in Las Vegas?

The ride to the hospital took about ten minutes. The whole time we were in the back of the vehicle, Tyler never once looked my way. It was as if he really did forget about me.

As they pulled up to the entrance to the hospital, I jumped out and stepped to the side. Tyler was holding Stephen’s hand as he jumped out and followed the paramedics through the sliding glass doors.

I watched as they disappeared around the corner. A few minutes later, the paramedics hopped into the ambulance and drove off. The parking lot was empty. As the truck turned, everything felt quiet. Too quiet. I placed my hands in my pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of my feet. Before I made a split-second decision that could change everything, I glanced around hoping to see someone, anyone, but I was alone. Something I had begun to feel all too familiar with over the years.