Joshua was in pain during Friday night’s game. Fort Worth High was playing hated rival Sabino and he’d been taking cheap hits all night. As soon as he would get the ball, they would hit him, knock him down, and get in some jabs the ref couldn’t see. More than once they had knocked the air out of him.

“Back off from Katarina. That’s your last warning,” one of the players snarled at him.

Joshua stood and took his helmet off. “I fucking knew it, Brody!”

“What?” Brody tried for innocent and failed. “Don’t go running off to tell your little best friend. She won’t believe you.”

“Fuck you, piece of shit.” Joshua spit at him.

“I’m just getting warmed up, Reynolds.”

Joshua went back to the huddle and Damon cocked an eyebrow at him. Joshua shook his head and motioned for Damon to call the play. The ball was snapped and Joshua ran down field. Colin caught it and ran into the end zone, and Joshua was blindsided, causing his helmet to fly off.

“Oh God!” Paige ran onto the field along with Katarina and the medics.

“That’s it asshole! I’m done!” Damon threw off his helmet and tackled Brody.

The fight was on, and the field was covered not only with Sabino players, but also Fort Worth’s players and their parents. Tyler was trying to get his son off Brody.

“Damon!” Tyler yanked him off.

Tanner was in his own fight and he had the guy on the ground crushing his windpipe when his father pulled him off.

“Back off!” Damon pulled him around, looking into his eyes.

“Joshua!” Katarina flew to his side and put his head in her lap.

“He’ll be fine. Mild concussion,” the medic told her.

Joshua sat out the rest of the game, but it didn’t matter. Fort Worth beat them by thirty-five points. They came off the field and Katarina was with Brody, getting into his car.

“This isn’t over, Brody.” Joshua walked faster.

“Get in the car!” Brody shoved her in and started his car. Joshua jumped in his Jeep with Damon and Tanner, along with Colin.

They sped out of the school parking lot and Joshua was right on Brody’s tail. They rounded the corner and Katarina double-checked her seatbelt was locked.

“Slow down, Brody! They aren’t going to kick your ass with me here.”

“I’m getting us to my house, and then I’ll slow down.” Brody glanced in the rearview mirror. Joshua had slowed down to the speed limit, but he wasn’t falling for it. He gunned it, making a race for the bridge.

“Brody, slow down. You can’t take the turn this fast!”

Paige was following in her own car, watching the scene unfold in front of her. Joshua was doing the speed limit. Brody, on the other hand, was doing about eighty. She watched in horror as the car went up on two wheels, flipped over and smashed down the embankment. She grabbed her cell phone and started calling 911.

“Shit!” Joshua slid to a halt and jumped out. The car was upside down in the water and sinking fast. He grabbed the towline on the Jeep and scrambled down to Brody’s car.

“Hit the reverse button, Colin!”

“The line is snagged on something!” Tanner ran down and tried to get it free.

“It’s sinking!” Paige screamed.

Colin jumped in the Jeep and put it in reverse, stopping the car from sinking completely. He put it in four-by-four, but it had been cold and rainy all day and the mud was making it hard for him to back up. The Jeep wasn’t backing up, but the car had stopped sinking.

“Pull it out!” Tanner got the towline untangled.

“I can’t! I can only keep it from sinking more!”

Joshua jumped into the cold water and went under. Katarina was still strapped in her seat upside down and their eyes met. Hers were terror-filled. Joshua tried the door and, though it wouldn’t budge, the window was down just enough. He motioned Katarina back and kicked it with all he had. The glass shattered and he tried to get her out. He was running out of air and went back up for a breath.

“Hurry up!” Joshua yelled before diving back under.

He reached for the seatbelt. He popped it off and grabbed her. They made it to the surface, where Damon was already dragging Brody out of the water. Katarina was like a dead weight in his arms and Joshua realized she wasn’t breathing.

“Kat!” Josh put her down and CPR. He pumped her chest and then another breath. “Oh God, please. Please don’t leave me, Kat!”

Everyone remained silent as Josh tried to bring Kat back to life. Colin was crying, and Brody was sitting on the shore shaking his head.

“I didn’t mean to.”

Damon whirled on him. “Not. One. More. Word.”

“Kat, please.” Josh gave her another breath, cradling her in his arms. “I love you.”

Paige stepped back. She had heard it as well as the rest of the group. What Joshua thought had been a quiet whisper was actually a devastated cry. Kat coughed loudly and spit water out. She took a deep breath and coughed again.

“Joshua?”

“Oh, God!” Joshua held her in his arms and felt her heartbeat on his chest. Kat’s arms went around him as the ambulance pulled up.

“You don’t ever come near my daughter again!” Jake was charging down the embankment toward Brody, yelling, “I will kill you!”

“Jake.” Parker tried to grab his hand. “He’s just a kid.”

“A stupid asshole kid who very nearly killed our daughter!”

“I’m sorry!” Brody broke down and two paramedics pulled him up, and loaded him into an ambulance.

The other paramedics put Katarina into another one.

“I’ve got room for two,” he told them.

“Parker, take Josh. I’ll meet you at the hospital.” Jake rested his head against Parker’s before getting into the ambulance. “She’s okay, babe.”

“I love you.”

Damon got in the Jeep and they got Brody’s car back up on the shore before taking off to the hospital. Parker was with Katarina, and Joshua sat in the waiting room with everyone else. Damon handed him his keys.

“She could have died.” Joshua broke down.

“Joshua?” Paige looked at him.

“Oh God, I’m sorry, Paige. We were supposed to go out.”

“I don’t care about that. Is she going to be okay?”

Joshua ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, she will be.”

“You saved her life. You should go get changed. Your clothes are soaked.”

“I’ll take him.” One of the nurses took Joshua by the arm.

Damon came up next to her and put his arm around her. “Are you okay? I know you heard him.”

“Now’s not the time.”

“Damon?” Lily stood nearby with his gym bag.

“Lily!” Damon ran and picked her up in his arms. The bag dropped and Lily wrapped her arms around him.

“I brought your car.” Lily held him tight.

“You did? How did you get my stuff?”

“I went to your locker. I kind of figured your combination was your birthday.”

“It’s your birthday too.”

“You should get changed. You’re going to freeze.”

“I don’t feel it.” Damon searched her face. “What’s wrong?”

“They said you went in. I — didn’t know…” Lily choked back a sob.

“Hey, I’m fine.” Damon pulled her close.

“You’re wet.”

“I’ll just go change.”

They waited tensely on Parker and Jake to get their daughter’s update. Katarina had been taken to X-ray to look for any signs of broken bones. Joshua sat with the rest of the guys. Paige had gone home and Joshua glanced at his friends.

“I feel bad.”

“She heard you, but better to know now than way later on,” Tanner told him. “You love her.”

“I always have.” Joshua sighed.

“Joshua, you can see her now,” Parker said tiredly as he entered the waiting room.

Joshua pushed open the door to Kat’s room, and then sat down next to the bed. He took her hand and put his head down. The tears came and he didn’t even bother to try and stop them. He had almost lost her tonight.

“Hey.”

Joshua looked up and saw her smiling at him. “Hey.”

“Don’t cry. I’m alive, thanks to you.”

“When I saw your face in the car…” Joshua couldn’t get that image out of his head.

“I’m okay.” Kat caressed his cheek. “Look at me.”

“If I had lost you — I don’t know, Kat.” Josh shook his head.

Katarina scooted over in the bed and patted it. “Come here.”

Joshua got in and she moved closer to him. He sighed and held her close. “You’re warmer.”

“I’m tired.” Kat yawned.

“Go to sleep,” Joshua whispered.

“Will you stay here?”

“All night.”

Ryan had arrived looking for his uncles when Brody came out of the exam room. As soon as he saw Ryan he tried to get away.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Ryan threw him into the wall. “You come near my sister ever again and I will kill you.”

“Ryan.”

Ryan looked at his Uncle Jake. “Just let me kick his ass just a little.”

“Let him go. I think he’s learned a lesson. Haven’t you Brody?”

“Yes, Mr. Greco.” Brody tried to get loose and Ryan tightened his grip on the front of his shirt.

“Ever.” Ryan let Brody go and smiled when a cop immediately arrested him on aggravated speeding, reckless driving, and endangerment charges. He turned to see his other uncle smiling at him. “Hey, Uncle Parker.”

“She’s asleep, but Joshua is in there with her. She was asking for you earlier.” Parker hugged Ryan.

“I’ll wait until she gets up. I heard Joshua saved her life.”

“Yes, he did. Gave her CPR at the scene.” Jake sat down and ran his hand through his hair.

“Well, at least I don’t have to put up with asshole Brody anymore.” Ryan sat down in the chair, stretching his arms out.

Parker chuckled. “You are so much like your father.”

“Why, thank you.” Ryan winked. “Now if we could just get rid of Joe.”

“I think Nikolai is working on that.”

“Oh, God. That alone would scare the shit out me if I was a teenage boy. Nikolai Markov coming after me.” Jake grinned.

“He is just like Vince,” Parker agreed.

“Oh, good God.” Ryan sighed.

“No shit.”

“I’m kinda glad we decided to stop after one,” Jake laughed.

Parker teased, “Well, seeing that we agreed having another one of you was too risky…”

Ryan cracked up. “Really?”

“No. We just decided that with the life we lead, one was enough, and we love her with our whole hearts. Besides, she has you as a brother.” Jake took his hand.

“And I will always have her back,” Ryan promised.

Parker hugged him. “Thank God.”