Absolution (The Protectors 1)

“Cole!” I shouted and gently pushed him off of me. “Oh my God,” I whispered when I saw that the entire right side of his shirt was covered in blood. I sat there in stunned silence for a split second and then my instincts kicked in and I leaned over him and jammed my hands down on the hole that the blood was seeping from.

“Cole,” I said desperately as I tried to get him to focus on me. His eyes were open but he was staring straight up at the ceiling so I didn’t know if he was aware of me. “You’re going to be okay,” I said frantically. “Just stay with me, okay?” Cole finally looked at me and his lips parted like he wanted to say something but nothing came out.

“Mace!” I screamed. And then I just kept screaming Mace’s name as I watched Cole’s glassy eyes close.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Mace

I had my knee on the woman’s back to hold her down when I heard Jonas shouting my name. The bodyguards had finally reached me and one began cuffing the woman as the other took possession of the gun that I handed him. But one look at Jonas had me scrambling off the woman and shoving past the bodyguard.

Jonas was covered in blood. Cole’s blood.

“Call an ambulance!” I screamed to anyone who would listen as I reached Cole’s side.

“Cole, hang in there, okay?” I said even though his eyes were closed. Jonas’s hands were soaked in blood where he was pressing on the hole in Cole’s side but when blood starting pooling beneath Cole on the floor, pure panic flooded through me.

Jonas kept saying my name but I knew I couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t do anything except watch the life blood of one of the men I loved seep out of him while the other man I loved begged me not to let it happen.

“Mace, you need to move back,” I heard someone say. I knew in the back of mind before I even turned that it was Ronan but I couldn’t comprehend what he wanted. And then he was grabbing me by the chin, his hold gentle. “Mace, let him go so I can help him,” Ronan whispered.

Ronan never whispered. He never touched anyone unless it was to inflict pain.

I moved back and watched as Ronan pushed Cole up onto his side. Blood soaked through the back of Cole’s shirt. “Mace, help Jonas keep pressure on his front. We need to slow the bleeding.”

Ronan spoke with such calm authority that I found myself moving to Cole’s other side. I put my hands on top of Jonas’s and pushed as hard as I could. I felt Cole’s body being pushed against us as Ronan applied pressure to Cole’s back. People were running around us crying and shouting but all I heard was Jonas’s harsh breathing. I couldn’t look at him because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it together if I did. But even when the paramedics arrived and pushed us both out of the way, I didn’t want to touch Jonas.

Because I’d failed him.

I’d failed Cole.

I’d failed.

Again.

* * *

It was Ronan who rode in the ambulance with Cole because he’d somehow managed to stem the worst of Cole’s bleeding and had refused to release his hold on Cole even when the paramedics arrived. In fact, he was the one who’d begun barking orders at them and I knew from the things he’d said that he’d been holding out on me. I’d just assumed he had some type of law enforcement or military background but from the moment he’d taken charge of Cole’s care, I knew he was much more than that.

I’d managed to snap out of my cocoon of paralyzing fear as soon as the ambulance had pulled away from the building. One of Jonas’s bodyguards had directed us to a car and I’d climbed in back with Jonas. We hadn’t touched or spoken at first because we’d both been too numb from the shock but when Jonas’s fingers finally linked with mine, the contact unlocked my brain and I pulled him against me. I could feel his hot tears against my neck and I had no doubt he could feel mine as well.

Ronan was nowhere to be found when we arrived at the hospital, but a nurse directed us to a private exam room so Jonas and I could wash our hands while we waited for someone to tell us what was going on. While I logically knew we’d only been in the room for a few minutes, it felt like hours and as each minute dragged by, I grew more frantic that Cole was already gone and the doctors were just trying to get up the nerve to tell us.

I’d given up on trying to stand still and began pacing the small room as Jonas leaned back against the wall, his arms wrapped around himself.