“Since that means you’ll have to marry me first, we’ll discuss it,” he says, and then he drops his voice an octave to add, “I say we shoot and run behind the bar for cover.”
He said that last part in Spanish, which catches me off guard, as it takes a minute for me to understand. I hope they don’t know what he’s saying.
Then, it’s too late. One of the men shoots. I wait to feel pain, even as I’m pulling the trigger. I take off running, but I don’t get two steps before Skull is covering me with his back, picking me up and throwing me over the bar, all while shooting behind him. A second later, he dives for cover with me. I sit up and shoot again. It doesn’t take long before I’ve emptied my clip.
I have to be more careful. I just have Katie’s backup clip and then I’m out.
“How are you on ammo?” I ask Skull, not turning around to look at him.
“Are Torch and the boys on their way?”
“Should be fifteen, maybe twenty minutes behind me.”
“Use this gun and protect yourself, mi cielo,” he says. His voice is gruff, and when I turn around to look, I find him pale. I don’t see any blood, so I start to breathe easier.
“You use that gun. I’ve got Katie’s,” I tell him, taking another shot at Colin’s men. “We just need to hold on a little longer. I’ve been here ten minutes, so help will be here shortly, sweetheart.” I shoot again. “He must have hit you really hard. I should have made myself known sooner. I’m so sorry.”
All the time I’m talking, I’m shooting. I could almost squeal in victory when I take out one of the shooters. I look briefly back at Skull to see why he’s not shooting.
“Te amo,” he whispers, then falls against me.
My heart feels like it’s in a vise grip because only when he falls do I notice the river of red on his back. He’s been shot! It must’ve happened when he played all hero and tried to cover me.
I lay him down on his side, as best I can with one hand. I shoot with the other. I don’t know if I hit anywhere within the vicinity of the others. Once I have Skull turned to his side, I pull my shirt off and push it against his wound. I stay like that, applying pressure while shooting blindly every few minutes over the top of the bar.
I’ve just fired the last bullet in Katie’s gun when I hear Torch yell.
“Skull! Beth!”
I scream, “Behind the bar! Hurry!” and then drop my gun, holding onto the blood-soaked shirt on Skull’s back with all my might. “They’re here, sweetheart. Your men are here. We’ll be okay now. You just need to hold on. Hold on for us, Skull. Hold on,” I repeat over and over, my body shaking and tears running so hard down my face that they blind me.
God, please let him hold on.
“Beth!” I yell, jerking up.
Everything in me screams in protest. It takes me a minute to figure out where I am. Finally, I realize that I’m in a bed—a hospital bed, to be exact. I look around at the same time I feel a hand touch my forehead. I glance up to find Beth’s gray eyes full of worry and concern.
“I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here.”
“You have circles,” I tell her, and it’s then that I notice my voice is hoarse and my throat feels raw.
“That I do,” she whispers, kissing me gently on the lips. My mouth is dry and the feeling of her lips is different than what I remember and lasts too short because I can’t manage to deepen the kiss. It seems like forever since I’ve tasted her. Before I can protest, she looks to the end of the room. “Go to the nurse’s station and tell them he’s awake,” she says, and it’s then that I notice her voice is hoarse too, but not quite as much as mine.
When she looks back around, she has tears shimmering in her eyes.
“You’re crying, mi cielo,” I tell her, trying to tighten my hold on her arm to pull her back to me. I can’t seem to even grip her though. I’m as weak as a kitten. “Stop crying. I do not want you to cry,” I tell her, frustrated because sitting up seems beyond what my body is willing to do. “Why am I here?” I ask, trying to remember what happened to put me in the hospital.
“You were shot by one of Viper’s men,” comes a voice I recognize, though I can’t understand what he’d be doing here. His words send alarm bells running through me.
“Get out of here. Beth had nothing to do with any of this…”
“Rest easy, son. I know what happened. I couldn’t be more proud of my daughter,” Tucker says.
I look from him to Beth, stunned. “You’ve met?”
“Yes,” she confirms. “I’m getting to know my father quite well, actually. It’s all okay, sweetheart. Don’t worry. It’s not good for you.”
“How long have I been out?” I ask, feeling very out of my depth.
“A month,” she whispers.
My hand flexes inside of hers. “Mierda…” I whisper, not being able to believe it. “Gabby? You?”