She hadn’t had enough time. There was so much more she’d wanted to do. She’d wanted to bring Brian home safe and sound. To tell her parents how much she loved and appreciated them. Stand proudly beside Corinne when she graduated with honors.
And Shane. She had dreamed of a whole lifetime with him. A houseful of children – he would make such lovely babies...
Inwardly she sighed, and gave herself over to whatever force was leading her now. The power of it was immense; there was no hope of fighting it. She’d never been overly religious, but she’d tried to live a good life and be a good daughter, sister, friend, teacher. Hopefully, it had been enough.
Chapter Twenty
Shane gathered Lacie up into his arms, pulling her close against him, warming her with his body heat as Michael wrapped a blanket around the both of them. Her heart was beating again, but it was too slow, laboring harder than it should have. The shot Michael had given her was keeping her going, but just barely, until they could get her to an ER.
She hung limply, like a lifeless rag doll, as Shane held her, murmuring into her ear, words of love and apology. Michael sat beside them in the back seat, constantly monitoring her pulse and breathing while Kane drove like a bat out of hell down the mountain to the nearest medical facility, using the Hummer to create his own shortcuts and bring their ETA as close as he could, wishing to hell he’d had the foresight to have had Sean standing by with the chopper. Kane radioed ahead, repeating Michael’s commands to the waiting staff verbatim.
Shane held on tight, cushioning Lacie as much against the rugged terrain, but the situation was dire enough that a few more bumps and bruises were the least of their worries.
Kane executed a perfect horizontal slide into the emergency entrance. Michael was out before it even stopped moving, barking orders.
“Shane.” Kane’s voice was sharp, cold, but it needed to be to get through to his brother. Shane glanced at him, holding Lacie against him, looking as lost as Kane had ever seen him. He’d gotten out of the vehicle, but he made no move to place Lacie on the waiting stretcher.
“She needs help, Shane. Let Michael do his thing.” Shane blinked as if he didn’t understand.
“Shane. You have to let her go. Now.”
“Never.” Shane’s eyes narrowed in warning as Kane took a step forward, but Kane refused to back down.
“Shane. She’s dying, man.”
The words were harsh, but true, and probably the only ones that could have gotten Shane to release his death grip on Lacie. Reluctantly Shane loosened his hold, putting her into Michael’s arms. He swallowed hard, and looked to Michael with a silent, desperate plea.
“I’ve got her, Shane,” Michael said gently. Then, without wasting another second, they were moving her inside.
Shane watched, frozen, praying for one of Michael’s medical miracles. In a rare show of affection, Kane laid his large hand on Shane’s shoulder. “Mick’s got this, Shane,” he said quietly. “He won’t lose her.”
Kane prayed he had not just lied to his brother.
*
Shane sat by her side, holding her hand as the fluid dripped into her body. For all that she’d been through, she’d never looked more beautiful. Like a fairy tale princess. Silken blonde waves framed her face, her expression one of supreme peace as she drifted in the throes of some ancient magic spell.
His heart.
He was vaguely aware of the others standing in the background, talking in muted tones. He knew it was out of respect for him that they didn’t speak of it, but he knew. He had seen the evidence of what Davidson had done to her. He had drugged her and taken what she would not freely give him. And it had nearly killed her. Had, in fact. And it was only through the grace of God and his brother’s medical skill that she was still with them.
Silent tears dropped onto her hand, each one a prayer that she had been unconscious for it all.
“Come back to me, a croie beloved,” he whispered. “I need you.”
*
From somewhere very far away, Lacie heard the words, floating to her as if in a dream, spoken in a voice she longed to hear.
*
“How is she?” Jake asked quietly. The bizarre irony of the situation was not lost on him. Nearly five years before, it had been Shane asking Jake the same question as Taryn lay still and unmoving after the psychotic stalker who had murdered her entire family had caught up to her ten years later.
And, just as Jake hadn’t been able to answer then, so Shane couldn’t now.