I was just turning around and paddling my way to the bank when I felt it.
Something hard hit my head and threw me backward.
I inhaled a lungful of water and came back up sputtering.
My head hurt.
Bad.
But I couldn’t expel the water from my lungs because suddenly I couldn’t make my legs work.
I never thought that by going and fishing her ring out of the bottom of the river that I’d wind up dead by drowning.
In fact, ever since we were kids and Reggie teased me mercilessly, I’d taken countless swim lessons, and ultimately forced myself to swim, and swim well, just so she couldn’t do it anymore.
And now I was going to drown?
Hell fucking no I wasn’t.
I kicked with my legs even though it caused fire to burn through my sides.
I was coughing and choking, but still I forced my legs to work.
They were working, right?
“Nathan!”
I heard Malachi’s voice, but there was something in my eyes preventing me from seeing.
Water, maybe?
I wasn’t sure.
All I knew was that my legs were slowing, and now my arms felt like lead weights.
Something tugged on my shoulder.
Then someone circled his meaty forearm around my throat and started to kick against the current, pulling me toward the shore.
I went limp, utterly exhausted and unable to make anything work anymore.
I got lost in the pain in my head, flickering in and out of consciousness and only realized that I was able to see long minutes later when I felt something wipe at my face.
“Fuck,” I heard Malachi say.
I blinked up at him.
“Thanks. I thought I was going to drown,” I muttered, eyes feeling heavy. “Not sure what happened. I can swim like a fish.”
He was ripping off his wetsuit, followed shortly by his t-shirt.
“You almost drowned because you were shot in the head,” he said with a seriousness that made me blink.
“I was shot?” I asked.
He pressed the t-shirt to my head and I groaned.
That sure the fuck didn’t feel good.
Not even a little bit.
“Yes, you were shot,” he said. “Hold that there. I have to run back to the car and call 911.”
I nodded my head and then wished I hadn’t.
Nausea exploded inside of me at the movement.
“Did you see who shot me?” I asked, feeling my heart start to speed.
“Yes,” he barked. “Stay awake, man. I’ll be back.”
I didn’t stay awake.
In fact, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
My last thought was of Reggie.
Fuck, she was going to be so upset.
And I’d never even told her I loved her.
Maybe now I never could.Chapter 24
Sorry I’m late. My husband had to poop.
-Text from Reggie to Nathan
Reggie
“Hello?”
“Reggie,” Malachi said, sounding tired and sick to his stomach. “Something happened.”
***
“…manhunt in effect for all of the lower portions of Deep East Texas this evening. A man, Darius Rowlson, who was arrested last month for dealing drugs, was released last week on house arrest. Today, Rowlson shot an officer in the head then fled. Authorities have not been able to find him as of yet.”
“Reggie?”
I looked up to find Malachi standing in the doorway of Nathan’s hospital room.
I got up and ran to him, throwing my arms around him.
“Thank you,” I said as I burst into tears. “Thank you, thank you.”
Thank you for saving him.
After hearing what had happened from the doctor, I’d known that a huge part of why Nathan had survived had everything to do with the man that was hugging me back just as fiercely as I was hugging him.
After a long while, Malachi finally pulled away.
I reluctantly let him go and smiled sadly at him.
“Are you okay?” I wondered.
He looked like he might break at any second.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Tired. I…” He paused and put his hand in his pocket. When he pulled it back out, it was to find him holding it out to me with my wedding ring in it.
I gasped and reached for it with shaky hands.
“He found it!” I cried.
“We did,” Malachi said. “We found your bag and he’d just tucked it away in his wetsuit when everything happened.”
When he was shot.
“Did they find Darius?” I asked, my voice full of hope.
“Not yet.” He paused. “But all of Texas is looking for him, honey. We’ll find him.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder, then glanced over it to see the man in the bed.
Nathan didn’t even look like himself.
His entire head was wrapped with gauze, and the only thing that we could see was his left eye, nose and chin.
“They said that they’d transfer him tomorrow,” I said to Malachi. “They’re going to fly him home on one of Amelia’s dad’s helicopters.”
Actually, Adam was going to fly him home.
Zach, a doctor and another of the SWAT team’s family friend, was going to ride down here with Adam, along with a few of his colleagues that worked with Zach when he was picking up extra shifts in the ER, had volunteered to help get Nathan home.