Time passes slowly, yet nothing happens. I keep my eyes on the road and then on the men. My heart won't calm, and my skin sweats with anxiety. He's coming. I know he is. But what if he isn't? What if the cops come and the men hear? It'll only take a single bullet to end my life before they take off.

I'm relying on someone else to save me. And I fucking hate that.

I think I hear a car coming through the trees and closer to the entrance, and it distracts me. It also gets the men's attention and they raise their guns. No, no! I can't let them shoot. I start to stand, but the deafening sounds of guns being fired stops me in my tracks.

Bullets ring out from my left and right. But I can't see where they're coming from. They ricochet off the cars, and I instantly scramble back behind the shed to find cover.

I turn my body to run, but I slam into a hard, unmoving chest. My eyes flash to a set of light blue eyes, but before I can react, the man's pinning my arms down and carrying me toward the back of the shed. I kick out as hard as I can and land a blow to his shin. I try to push him off me as he curses and nearly drops me. I hear bullets hitting the metal of the cars. I hear men shouting and yelling. The sound of a man getting shot and falling to the ground fills my ears.

“Left, left!” someone calls out. These are the sounds of an ambush.

Fear overwhelms my body, but I force my limbs to push him away. I didn't come this close to escaping, just to be taken again. I refuse to stop fighting.

“Jesus, woman, I'm here to protect you.” He pushes me against the shed with all of his body weight. I try to move my arm so I can get an uppercut in, but he leans his entire body against me, rendering both of us useless. I continue to struggle. I won't give up. “Calm the fuck down! Tommy sent me.” My body stills as I hear a few men call out. “On the passenger side!” A bullet and then another.

“Tommy said stay here.” He pulls away a bit. “He'll fucking kill me if you go out there.”

I turn my head to face him as the sounds die down and see a kid. He can't be any more than in his early twenties. He's got shaggy hair and an uneven patch of stubble. He backs his body away slowly, looking at me like I might take off.

“Don't move,” he says with his finger pointed at me. If I was in a different situation, I'd roll my eyes. But right now, I'm full of nerves and apprehension.

“Can I have a gun?” My body heats as I ask.

“Tommy said you'd ask for one.” He laughs and slowly hands me a gun. The first thing I do is check for bullets. It's loaded. He eyes me warily. “You think he'd short you on ammo?”

“Not him, no,” I say, taking a step toward the edge of the shed.

“Don't. He'll kill me. For real,” he pleads with me, rocking on his feet. “Just stay here.”

He takes a peek around the corner and grins. “They really only sent four.” He shakes his head and smiles from ear to ear. “Fucking idiots.” He turns to face me, leaving his body exposed, and I yank him back to the safety behind the shed.

“Take cover,” I practically yell at him. Dumbass kid.

“They're done,” he says defensively, with his forehead scrunched up.

“Stay back here until you hear otherwise.” I feel like I'm back at the academy. This kid's gonna get his ass shot.

He smirks at me. “No wonder Tommy likes you.” It's silent all around us; I think it's over. “You really a cop?” he asks.

Before I can reply, I hear the answer behind me.

“No, she's not.” I turn and immediately wrap my arms around Tommy's neck. I have to stand on my tiptoes. His large arms wrap around my body as he lifts me up. He buries his head in my neck.

“Is it over?” I ask him, looking around to see something, anything, but I'm still in the back, so I can't see shit.

“It's over. Probably a little overkill,” he says with a huff of a laugh.

“Really, only four?” the kid says from behind me. I lift my head up in Tommy's arms to face the shaggy kid.

“Well, they thought it'd just be me,” Tommy explains.

“Dude, you should take offense to that.”

“Get outta here, Brant.” The kid takes off as Tommy turns me in his arms.

“Are you alright?” he asks me, as his eyes roam down every inch of exposed skin. He touches the small gash on my forehead and it makes me wince. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he says in a voice so soft and sincere I can feel his agony.

I shake my head, “don’t be. It’s not your fault.” He tries to object, but I give him a small kiss and try to distract him, but when I pull back there’s still pain in his eyes.

He gently brushes the pieces of rock and glass off of me, but I fall against his chest and hold onto him. “It's alright baby, I'm right here.” He pulls back from me and takes my chin in his hand. It feels so good to just be held by him. He gives me a soft, sweet kiss and it soothes every part of me. “Is the baby okay?” he asks, looking down on me with worry in his eyes.

Tears prick at my eyes as I say, “Vincent told you.” My heart stops beating, and the world seems to blur around us.

“Yeah,” he says, putting a hand on my belly as he asks, “Tell me you're alright?”

I push the words out through my sob, “I'm okay.” I bury myself in his chest, feeling completely safe and secure. But then I remember, the cops will be here any minute. “You need to go. I called the cops.”

At the word cops, the noise around us stops and I realize the other Valettis are still here.

“You called the cops?” Vince comes up to our left, and Tommy angles his body so that his shoulder is between me and Vincent. I hold onto him as my body heats and a wave of nausea hits me. I had to. I didn't know they were all coming. I never would've guessed that.

“What was she supposed to do, Vince?” Tommy asks. “We've got enough time to get out of here anyway.”

Vince looks between the two of us and then says, “She has to stay here so they'll find her. Or else they'll come looking.”

Tommy nods his head slowly, but he's clearly not planning on listening. His grip on me tightens. “Don't be stupid, Tommy. She'll be fine. She'll be out in a few hours,” Vince points out.

“I don't wanna leave her.” His words are absolute.

“I'll say I was inside the shed and I didn't see anything,” I quickly say. Vince searches my face, like he's not sure if I'm being truthful or not.

“They touch you?” Vince asks. At first I'm confused, but then I realize what he's asking. I shake my head as my eyes fall and Tommy's grip tightens on me.

“You did real good. Guess they taught you something right, huh?” Vince talks to me, and I struggle to respond. I don't want to talk about being a cop with him. Not now, not ever.

I give him a tight smile in return and say, “Thanks.”

“We saved your ass, remember that,” he says before turning away from me. He yells out to the men who are picking up the bodies and lifting them into the back of their cars.

“I don't want to leave you,” Tommy whispers into my ear.

“Go, baby, please.” The danger is gone and the cops will be here soon. He needs to go. Him being here will only complicate things. It'll give the department leverage to use against the Valettis, and more ties to the Petrov case. The reminder of the case has me wanting to know if Petrov is truly dead. My eyes fly to Tommy's. I should ask him. I still don't know. The words are there, but I don't say them. The power they held before has waned. Before I can ask, I hear the sirens in the distance. “Go,” I tell him, staring in his eyes, begging him to listen to me.

“I'll be watching and waiting, baby. I'll be right here for you.” He kisses me again as Vince's car pulls up in front of us.

“Move your ass, Tommy! We gotta go!” he calls out, and I hear a door open.

“I love you, Tommy.” I have to tell him. I can't hold it in anymore.

Before he leaves, he gives me a small smile and brushes the hair out of my face as he says, “I love you, too.”