“I didn’t protect him,” she managed to get out. “I’m sorry.”
I gripped her tighter as she closed her eyes, people running into the diner and heading toward us. Paramedics stopped next to us, one pair going to Cade and the other to Lola.
They worked fast, checking their wounds and, all the while, I sat there, not able to do a thing. I was stunned, my anger having flushed right out of me, but then I glanced over to Jace’s still body, and it returned tenfold. I wished he was still alive so I could cause him the pain he’d been trying to cause me.
They lifted Lola onto a stretcher, and one of the paramedics asked, “Are you coming with her?”
I looked over at Cade who was being wheeled out, Jord at his side. “Go,” Cade said. “Go with Lola and my baby sister.”
My stomach bottomed out, and all I could manage was a nod as I followed them and got into the back of the ambulance with Lola’s still body.
* * *
LOLA
I’d been awake for ten minutes according to the clock on the sterile wall. Each second that went by was announced with the tick of the second hand, and for some reason, I found it comforting.
I was still here, taking breaths, and staring at the man who slept beside me. From the dark circles under his eyes, and the scruff on his face, I’d say he hadn’t left the hospital in days. The calendar on the clock told me I’d been in here for two days, which meant I’d lost an entire block of time.
I was desperate to wake Brody up, but I needed to work through everything that had happened in the diner. Jace had been about to shoot me a second time, but the shot that rang out was from Brody, destroying the person who had come to harm us. He was always there, ready to take on anything he could. There’d been a millisecond where I doubted if he’d get there in time, but my gut knew the truth. It knew he’d never leave us in danger.
He groaned in the chair, moving around to try and get comfortable as his eyes opened a little. He stared right at me, closed them back up, and then sprang into action. He stood, pressing the button on the back of the bed to call the nurse, his hands hovering over me.
“Lola?”
“Hey,” I tried to say, my dry throat making it hard to talk properly.
He reached for some water, holding it to my lips, and it was pure heaven. “Take it slowly,” he warned, and I did as he said when my stomach churned followed by a kick.
The relief at feeling the baby almost had my chest caving in. “What happened?”
“Jace—”
“No.” I shook my head and rested back against the pillows, taking Brody’s hand in mine and bringing it to my chest. My heart was pounding, and I needed his touch to center me. “What happened after?” I paused. “Cade?”
“Is home and living the high life thanks to Jan and her daughter, Aria.”
I snorted. “He’ll hate that.”
Brody’s lips quirked. “Yep. He’s already threatened to go on hunger strike.”
I laughed, the sound throaty, but the more we talked, the easier it was to breathe. “How long did that last?”
“About the same amount of time it took Jan to make grilled cheese.” His grin turned somber, and his other hand clasped the side of my face, his rough fingertips clutching me. “I thought I was going to lose you.” His eyes shined with unshed tears. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
I wanted to crack some kind of joke and bring light to the situation, but I couldn’t manage to bring it forth. I’d been too close to death that time. Nothing compared to having a gun pointed at you and a bullet piercing your skin. The pain was one thing, but the terror of losing your life in the blink of an eye was another.
“I’m sorry,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. I couldn’t have stopped them even if I wanted to. “I’m so sorry.”
“No.” He leaned down and placed his forehead against mine. “You have nothing to be sorry for, darlin'. Nothing at all.” He inhaled a breath, but it stuttered back out of him. “I love you so much it hurts.”
I placed my hand on his cheek, loving the roughness of his stubble. “I love you, too.”
“Marry me,” he croaked out, his voice rougher and deeper than I’d ever heard it before. “Marry me so you can be by my side every day for the rest of my life.”
“I’ll be there every day anyway.”
“I don’t care.” His dark-brown eyes met mine, promises shining in their depths. Promises I craved to hold on to and make him keep. “Marry me. Be my wife. Your soul is half of mine, and they need to be joined forever, or I think I may just die.”