I gestured to Hernandez with my left hand, nodding my head toward the closed door in front of me. We’d crept up on it as quickly as we dared, and so far, there seemed to be no sign of detection, but we couldn’t afford to act too quickly and make mistakes.

Too much was on the line.

He nodded back, adjusting his grip on his pistol. I did the same, took a deep breath, and quietly checked the knob. It was, of course, locked.

I backed up, Glock pointed at the door, and nodded at Hernandez again. He holstered his gun, picked up his battering ram, and positioned himself at the door. Heart pounding, I took my spot to the right of him, ready to breach the doorway as soon as the coast was clear.

Hernandez mouthed: Three, two, one—bam.

What I saw when that door opened was something that would haunt me for the rest of my goddamned life. Vinnie had bound Sarah to the bed, and he was on top of her, straddling her, squeezing the life out of her as we watched. Rage, pure fucking rage, took over me, and almost made me forget years of police training and protocol.

But if I lost sight of the rules, if I broke them, that made me no better than him. I pointed my gun at him, locking eyes with the man who was trying to kill the woman I loved. She wasn’t moving beneath him and all I could think was I’m too late. “Get off her, right now.”

He didn’t move.

I scanned the room for a weapon, any fucking excuse to take him out, but he appeared to be unarmed. Slowly, he turned his head toward me, anger burning in his eyes and his muscles bulging with pent up rage. “I should have killed you.”

“Yeah, you should have.” I kept my eyes on him, not letting myself worry about whether Sarah was conscious. One slip up, one mistake, and we could lose the chance we had at saving her. “Get off her, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

His hands didn’t leave her neck. “No.”

My finger twitched on the trigger.

“I’d listen to him if I were you,” Hernandez warned from behind me.

He laughed. He sounded crazy. “Why bother? We both know you’re going to have to shoot me. If you put me behind bars, I’ll be out in hours, just like the last time.”

My finger twitched again. “Get. Off. Her.”

“Why bother?” He let go of her throat and caressed her cheek as he stared down at her, ignoring the guns pointed at him. “She wouldn’t admit she was mine, so I reminded her.”

“She’s not yours,” I growled.

“Yeah, well, she’s not yours anymore, either.” He cocked his head. “She’s not anyone’s, because she’s dead. I kept my promise to her.”

Rage colored my vision red, and I roared as I threw myself at him. Hernandez cursed behind me, and I hit the fucker full force. We hit the ground, and struggled for dominance. As we rolled on the ground, Hernandez crept closer, his gun aimed at us as he watched with a furrowed brow. I tried to keep him down so he could get a clear shot, but Vinnie was bigger than me, and he fought with a madness that outweighed my own. In our scuffle, he got to his feet, kicked me in the ribs, and I tried to get to my own before he got to Hernandez, too.

I almost didn’t see it until too late.

Vinnie found a gun and aimed it at me.

I rolled to the left as he squeezed the trigger. The boom echoed in the small room, as did the answering one from Hernandez’s gun. I froze, breathing heavily, and slowly looked at Vinnie. He still stood, despite the spray of blood behind his head on the wall. He opened his mouth, blood spurting out, and then he hit the floor.

I wasted no time. Lurching to my feet, I rushed toward Sarah as Hernandez advanced on Vinnie to insure the threat had been neutralized. Sirens sounded in the background.

Our backup was here.

Too little, too late.

Crawling onto the bed, I reached for her, my hands trembling. I hesitated before touching her. She looked so…so…lifeless. “Sarah.”

Her skin was pale, already bruising around her eye. Her lip was bloody and split. Her eyes were shut, her mouth parted, and she held a deathly stillness to her that struck me to my very soul. I touched her skin, terrified it would feel cold to the touch, but it retained a warmth that spurred me into action. I touched her throat, searching for a pulse.

Nothing.

“No, Sar, no.” I cradled her face, tears blurring my vision as pain twisted in my chest so sharp that for a second I thought I had been hit by that bullet after all. “I love you, Sarah. Don’t leave me. I can’t lose you again.”

“Ben…” Hernandez said, his voice cracking.

All these images flashed before me. Sarah the night of our senior prom, wearing a purple dress that made her look like a princess. The tears on her face when she told me she was leaving for college, and that we weren’t together anymore. The way she’d stared at me when she came back to town and found out we’d been assigned as partners. Her face after I kissed her. The tears on her cheeks as I sang to her mother. All of it was there, for me to see.

She couldn’t be gone.

Couldn’t be dead.

Not my Sarah.

We had too much to do together, her and I. Hell, I hadn’t even gotten to tell her I loved her. Choking on an unshed sob, I pressed my mouth to hers, kissing her.

“I love you,” I whispered against her lips.

As my mouth was on hers, she gasped for air, coughing.

I’d never been so happy to have someone cough in my face. I pulled back, eyes wide, and searched for a pulse again. It was there. Faint, but there. People rushed into the room, and chaos erupted.

I didn’t pay it any mind.

My eyes were on the woman I loved. “Sarah? Can you hear me?”

Her lashes fluttered open, and she stared up at me. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth, trying to speak, but nothing came out.

“Shh.” I cupped her cheeks. “It’s okay. He’s gone. He’ll never hurt you again, I swear it.”

“Let’s untie her,” someone said from behind me. It took me a second to realize who it was. My father. We were out of our jurisdiction, so I hadn’t expected him to come personally. “I’ll get her legs.”

I nodded and climbed off her. Gently, we rolled her to her side as the lights flicked on. She blinked and moaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the onslaught of light. As I reached for her ties, I noticed the misshapen bend to her arm. The bruising and slight bulge hinted at a break.

My throat ached, but I swallowed past the pain. “Careful. Her arm’s broken—something might be injured on her leg, too.”

Dad hesitated, then touched her legs, searching for any signs of further injury. “I…I don’t think so.” He locked eyes with me. “Ben…”

I focused on her wrists, undoing the knots.

My hands shook too much to grip them, so it took me longer than it should have, but I finally succeeded. She gasped for air as she scanned the room. As her gaze fell on Vinnie's lifeless body, she started trembling. I quickly undid her wrists the rest of the way, and looked at the door.

Paramedics approached.

“They’re almost here. They’ll help you feel better.”

She breathed heavily, trying to speak again. Nothing came out. I leaned closer, sensing she had something she had to say. “What?”

Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. I locked eyes with her, my chest tight and my throat even tighter. Jesus, she couldn’t even speak. I almost wished the guy on the floor wasn’t dead so I could kill him again.

And again. And again.

“Ben?” Hernandez said.

I blinked. “Yeah?”

“Time to get checked out for that concussion.”

I shook my head, closing my hand on Sarah’s. The one not currently attached to a possibly broken arm. I wasn’t sure who held onto who more tightly—her or me. “No. I’m not leaving her.”

“You don’t have to. You can go in together.”

Dad cleared his throat, then gestured to the closest paramedic. “Can you please ensure they ride in the same ambulance?”

“There’s only one gurney.”

“I can ride sitting up.” I looked at the man. “I’m not leaving her.”

“She’s his partner,” Hernandez said. “Come on.”

The paramedic hesitated, then said, “Fine. But if you pass out, it’s on you.”

She clung to me, worry in her eyes. “I’m fine. They’re just worrying needlessly about me. You know how hard my head is.”

She tried to speak and failed…again.

“Shh. I’m here.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead, even though the room spun when I did so.

“Your mom is okay,” Dad added. “I left men in charge of her. She’s sleeping, peacefully unaware of what happened.”

Sarah sagged against the bed, closing her eyes, tears trickling down her face.

I wiped them away.

“Sir, we need to get in.”

I nodded and let go of her. My hand immediately felt the loss of her skin on mine. I watched them work over her, talking amongst themselves as they loaded her up on a gurney. Behind us, a cop covered Vinnie’s body with a tarp, but not before I caught Sarah staring at it.

They wheeled her out, and I started to follow. Dad caught my arm. “Son?”

I stiffened. “I know I disobeyed orders, but I don’t give a damn. Fire me if you must, but don’t punish Hernandez. He had nothing to do with it.”

As if he sensed my words, Hernandez glanced over his shoulder at me from outside the room. He was briefing the others on what went down, more than likely.

“I wasn’t going to chastise you,” he said quietly. “I was going to tell you to take the week off to care for your partner.”

I stared at him. “She won’t be my partner much longer. I have no intention of losing her again. Not after this. Never again.”

My father nodded, lowering his head. “I know. You guys are being reassigned partners because I chose to do so, not because of any wrongdoing. There will be no repercussions for you, or her. I think we all suffered enough tonight.”

“Dad…”

“It’s done.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Go take care of your partner. That’s an order.”

I nodded, saying nothing else.

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I could.