The evening air was crisp, the sun just finishing its trip across the sky. Streetlights began winking to life in the fading light as William and I walked, hand in hand.

We’d spent the afternoon with Jessica and Peter at a new wine tasting room in Seattle near Queen Anne. Jessica had been dying to go for weeks. The winery owners had partnered with local artists to showcase their work, which made her art-loving heart blissfully happy. Art and wine, as she’d said, was a perfect pairing.

The wine had been lovely, and we’d all enjoyed sampling a variety of hors d’oeuvres. Cheeses, olives, bacon-wrapped dates. Fresh crusty bread and smoked salmon. We’d left the tasting room relaxed from the wine, and very full. After saying goodbye to Jessica and Peter, we’d decided to take a walk before heading back to William’s Jeep.

“Jessica still looks at me funny,” William said.

“No, she doesn’t,” I said. “Does she?”

“Sometimes,” he said. “It’s not like she’s still suspicious. But I think she’s trying to figure me out.”

“Maybe she’s trying to picture you in a plaid shirt, chopping wood,” I said. “Or dressed in camo, tracking elk.”

He shook his head and we turned a corner, walking up a hill. “Maybe. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I went to see a guy who teaches archery the other day.”

“Did you? Why?.”

“Jack’s website has a picture of me with a bow and arrow,” he said, “I was curious if I still knew how to shoot one. He let me test one out.”

“And?”

“I’m very good at it,” he said.

I laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” he said. “I don’t remember ever having done it before, but I knew exactly what to do. And I’m a great shot.”

“Next thing I know, I’ll come home, and you’ll be skinning a deer in the front yard.”

“I hear venison is delicious,” he said.

I laughed again but William stopped, his hand tightening around mine.

“What’s wrong?”

His eyes were wide, and he pulled me closer. “That’s it.”

“That’s what?”

“It wasn’t a building.”

“What?” I glanced around, but the street was deserted. Then I realized what he was looking at. Flanking the street, right next to us, was a tall brick wall, covered in ivy. It straddled the distance between two buildings, most of its surface covered in the leafy green vines.

It looked exactly like William’s painting.

My heart started racing and my limbs tingled with the sudden surge of adrenaline. William looked around, his jaw clenched tight, still keeping his grip on my hand.

“Maybe we should keep walking,” I said, my voice small in the growing darkness. “Get out of here.”

He nodded but just as he pulled me forward, a man with a hood drawn up over his head, his hands in his pockets, stepped around the corner.

It felt as if everything began to move in slow motion, but it all happened in an instant. The hooded man looked up, still walking toward us, and pulled his hand out of his pocket. Raised it, pointing something at me. William let go of my hand and shoved me hard toward the ivy-covered wall.

I heard an odd metallic swish. William grunted, his body jerking backward. There had hardly been a sound. My shoulder hit the wall, pain radiating down my arm. William staggered, then straightened. His left arm hung limp at his side, but he stalked toward the man.

Another swish, then a ping. William kept walking.

“Fuck,” the man said. A voice I recognized.

He raised the gun again—I could see it now, the barrel long and round. I screamed. William walked straight for the gun, unflinching. Before the man could fire another shot, William grabbed his arm and stepped in closer.

They struggled, William with one arm hanging useless at his side. The man’s hood fell backward, but I already knew who it was. Blake’s face contorted in an angry grimace and he landed a blow across William’s jaw. William’s head barely moved, and he twisted Blake’s arm.

With shaking hands and a pounding heart, I fumbled for my phone, trying to get my handbag’s zipper open.

The two men stumbled backward, out of the circle of light cast from the streetlight above. I could see them moving, struggling for control. Low grunts and growls. Another metallic swish and one of them hit the ground, the other standing above him.

I couldn’t take a breath, like the air had been kicked from my lungs. Oh my god, please no. With my heart in my throat, I rushed to them.

William looked back at me over his shoulder. Blake lay at his feet, unmoving, his body a crumpled heap. The gun fell from William’s hand and clattered on the pavement. His eyes met mine and for the barest hint of a second, he smiled.

Then his legs buckled, and he collapsed onto the ground.

I was at his side in an instant. Blood soaked his shirt, running down his arm. I kicked the gun farther away, but Blake wasn’t moving.

“William.” I cradled his head in my lap. “William, please. Baby, please don’t leave me. Please don’t die.”