Chapter 32

Jake

My mind’s reeling, and my body is numb. Part of that numbness might be because of the local anesthetic they gave me before they patched up my shoulder. And then there’s the pain meds, dripping through a tube into my arm, making me loopy.

After cleaning me up, they put me in a bed, in a room which is now filled with people all talking quietly at once. My people. My family.

There’s a second bed in my room, but it’s empty.

Like me.

Everyone’s here, except for Beth and the baby. Shane left his wife and newborn son at home. Beth doesn’t know about the shooting, because Shane doesn’t want to upset her. He says she’s got enough on her plate right now.

My big brother Jamie sits in the chair beside my bed and reaches toward me. When his hand comes into contact with my arm, he slides it down until he encounters my hand, which he grips hard. “Everything’s going to be all right,” he says. “Just hang in there.”

That’s easy for him to say. His woman was never shot in the chest.

I failed her.

There’s a slight commotion at the foot of the bed as my youngest sister, Lia, takes a seat, making herself at home. She pats my leg. “You fucking saved her life, dude. I’m proud of you.”

“I failed her.”

“What part of you fucking saved her life did you not understand?” Lia frowns at me. “If you hadn’t taken that bullet for her, and eroded its momentum, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now wondering when the hell she’ll finally get out of surgery. We’d be picking out her casket instead.”

Mom smiles at Lia. “Watch your language please, sweetheart.” Mom’s sitting on the other side of my bed, holding my right hand. She looks the same as I feel right now. Gutted.

My sister Sophie rushes through the door, her dark eyes wide and frantic as she zeroes in on me. “Oh, my God, Jake.” She comes to my bedside and leans down to kiss my forehead. “Thank God you’re all right. You’re both going to be all right.”

“Hi, Soph.”

Sophie looks around the room. “Any word on Annie yet?”

“She’s still in surgery, honey,” my dad says. “We’re still waiting to hear something.”

My entire family is here, except for my sister Hannah, who lives in the wilds of Wyoming, up in the mountains where there’s no cell signal. No one’s been able to reach her yet.

All my big, boisterous, loving family is here. Three brothers, two sisters, my parents. Jamie’s girlfriend, Molly. Lia’s boyfriend, Jonah. And still, I feel empty. Alone.

Shane turns his head to something happening out in the hallway. Then he pushes away from the wall he’s been leaning against and walks out the door. My youngest brother, Liam, goes with him. A minute later, they return.

“I just talked to Annie’s mother,” Shane says. “She says Annie is out of surgery and in recovery now. She’s in critical, yet stable, condition. She’s going to be all right.”

I pull my right hand free and cover my face with it, wanting to hide my pain and relief and tears.

“Did they say anything more?” my mom says.

“The bullet hit her left lung,” Shane says. “The damage has been repaired. The concern now is for infection and the functionality of the lung. Right now, she’s being kept sedated.”

Shane walks up to the foot of the bed and reaches down to grasp my ankle. “Give yourself some credit, Jake. Annie’s alive because of you. If you hadn’t slowed the bullet, it would have destroyed her lungs, or possibly hit her heart, which would likely have been fatal.”

I close my eyes, wishing I could just shut everyone out. I love my family, and I know they mean well, but right now I’m just sick inside. My heart, my mind… I just can’t handle it right now. All I wanted to do was protect Annie. I swore to her that asshole would never hurt her or Aiden again, and I failed her.

And poor Aiden! My God, if Annie had died—I can’t even think about it.