Gage’s body jerked from the impact of the bullet.

“Gage!” Felicia screamed as she ducked out from around the Jeep where Steven and she had been hiding while Billy ran to the house and called the police.

Every time she’d held herself apart from him these last few weeks slammed through Felicia’s mind in a kaleidoscope of regrets. She’d been so stupid.

Steven tried to grab her, but his fingers just slipped over the fabric of her sleeve as she twisted away from him.  

“Felicia, don’t,” Steven yelled after her. “He’s unstable.”

As Gage’s body folded to the ground, she screamed again, running as fast as she could to get to him. Nothing else mattered but getting to Gage.

No, no, no, no.

Blood pooled beneath Gage. She could see it as she ran. Her legs couldn’t move fast enough.

She dropped to Gage’s right side; Austin dropped to his left. There was so much blood.

“I...I didn’t...mean to,” the young airman said over her shoulder, but she didn’t even care that he still waved a gun around. He’d have to shoot her in the back if he wanted her to get her away from Gage. She firmly planted herself between the guy and Gage.

“Gage,” she whispered as she searched for his wound.

“Doc...” Gage gasped.

She sobbed in relief.

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah. Who has the medical degree here?” Blood spurted out of a small wound high on his thigh. She ripped off her top and began to apply pressure. “Austin, I need your belt.” There was a lot of blood. The bullet might have hit an artery, and she had to work really fast. They needed to get Gage to the ER sooner rather than later.

Austin scrambled to follow her instructions.

“I thought that fancy medical degree”—Gage winced as Felicia wound the belt high on his thigh and he began to pant through the pain—“was for animals.”

“Same basics, I promise.”

“Is he going to be okay?” the airman called out.

Austin shot him a look of pure hatred. “No! You fucker. You shot my dad.”

Austin tried to scramble to his feet, but Gage grabbed Austin’s arm with a tight enough grip to hold him down. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Gage hissed at Austin.

Felicia wanted to punch Gage. “So this is a do as I say, not as I do event then.” She growled at him.

He swung his gaze to hers as if suddenly realizing that she might be a little angry with him. But she had just watched him put himself in front of an armed, unstable gunman and then saw him get shot. She was allowed to be a little peeved.

Suddenly, the distant sound of sirens filled the air.

“You called the cops?” The airman’s voice rose in panic.

“Dalton,” Steven said in his most soothing voice. He’d come out from behind the Jeep and was trying to distract Dalton’s attention from them by putting himself in front of the unhinged man. “Come on. This isn’t you. Why don’t you hand me the gun so that things don’t get messy when they arrive?”

“No, no, no.”

Felicia glanced over her shoulder. The airman—Steven had called him Dalton—spun in a circle, looking around in panic, looking for escape.

His gaze landed on her. He pointed at her, and his expression morphed into pure hatred. “She screwed this all up. I did this for you, Major. I only wanted to love you. It’s her fault. Everything got fucked up because of her.” The airman’s voice had been shaky with panic, but now it had hardened with hatred as he seemed to be in control again.

“Doc,” Gage whispered urgently. “You need to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she whispered, even as Gage tried to not so gently shove her and Austin behind him.

She wanted to get Gage out of the line of fire, but she worried that helping him to stand would draw Dalton’s attention back to him. Glancing over her shoulder again, she saw that Steven had put himself in between them and Dalton.

But she couldn’t worry about them when Gage was bleeding here. Her hands shook where she still held the T-shirt to Gage’s leg. He had started to look really pale and waxen.

“Hey, Gage, you with me?”

His eyes had momentarily shut, but now they fluttered open.

“I need you to stay conscious, okay? I need you to stay here with me.”

“No.” He gripped at her arm. “You need to leave.”

“Nope. You know why I can’t do that? Because I love you, you big idiot, so you can’t die or get hurt even worse, okay?”

Gage’s eyes widened. “Seriously, all it took to get you to say it to get shot? Totally worth it.”

She giggled and it sounded more than a little hysterical as her eyes filled with tears. “You’re an idiot.”

Dammit. There was too much blood pooling on the fabric in her hand. She had to keep Gage’s focus off that and on her. She needed him conscious, not passing out from the sight of the blood or drawing Dalton’s attention to him again.

If that meant bantering and joking with him, that was the best weapon she had right now while Steven distracted Dalton.

Behind them, Steven was trying to talk Dalton down. “You know, Airman Kennedy, you’ve been one of the best admin troops I’ve ever had. No, maintenance wasn’t your thing, but I think we’ve found your calling in the office.”

Dalton was crying. “That’s why you should stay in the Air Force. You’re one of the good ones. Why did you have to get led astray by that Jezebel? She’s the daughter of Satan.”

Felicia’s eyes widened dramatically at Gage. He looked to be close to passing out, and she had to keep his attention. “I’ve had people who didn’t like me before, but I think that’s a first. Should I tell him that my dad was a manager the Ford shop in Las Cruces?”

“I wouldn’t,” Gage whispered in a droll tone. “What if his last piece of shit car was a Ford? You already have several strikes against you.”

“Hmm, you make a good point.”

“Dad,” Austin hissed. “How can you guys even joke right now?”

She met Austin’s terrified gaze over Gage’s shoulder. “Because we know that the sirens are getting closer, and they’re going to get him detained. We’re going to be okay.” She put as much confidence as she could into those whispered words and just prayed that they turned out to be true.

Finally, the sound of the police cars screamed into the ranch parking. Felicia felt the first threads of hope. She knew Steven still stood between them and Dalton like a huge, fierce protector, and there was no way Dalton would get around him. She also didn’t think he’d hurt Steven, since his obsession appeared to be more devotion to Steven than anything else.

But then Dalton began to scream, and Felicia glanced over her shoulder instinctively draping herself over Gage and Austin to protect them in that split second.

Dalton said, “If I can’t have you, no one can.”

The gun fired. Steven crumpled to the ground, and Felicia watched in horror as Dalton turned the gun on himself.