“You don’t have to do this,” Jon says. “You can walk away.”
Jack laughs. “Are you kidding? After that bitch ruined all my plans? No, Jon. You can walk away. You can choose to survive. You always were a cocky little shit, and I always managed to put you in your place.” He puts his arms out wide. “And as you can see, I’m still five steps ahead of you.”
“How do you think this is going to work?” Jon asks. “She’s a public figure, and she just called you out. You don’t think people are going to link her death directly back to you?”
His smile makes me sick. “Accidents happen. They can’t connect a death to me if she’s never found. I’ve got lots more dogs, and they’re always hungry.” Jack’s eyes flick to me. “Have anything to say?”
“You don’t scare me.”
He chuckles. “Then why are you standing behind Johnny boy here?”
“Because she doesn’t have a choice,” Jon says. “You want her, you’re going to have to go through me. This is a long time coming, Jack. You want to settle this like men?”
“It’s not my fault that you only brought your fighting arms to protect your woman. You may do well in the ring, but your fists aren’t a match for my gun. Bad planning, Jon.”
Just then, Georgie launches himself at Jack and bites him in the leg. He screams and flails, trying to shake the small dog from his leg, but Georgie’s teeth are sunk in, and there’s already blood seeping through his pants. As he tries to free himself from Georgie, the gun goes off. Jon is suddenly on him, executing a perfect kick to the gun and knocking it out of his hand. They go down together, a tangle of limbs and punches.
I can see the gun, and I run for it. Jack can’t get it back. The sun has dipped below the ridge and the woods are getting dark quickly. I can see beams of light lights now, streaming through the trees. People are getting closer, but I have no way of knowing who they are. Are they here to help us or help Jack?
I point the gun at Jack, but I can’t do anything. Fuck. There’s no way that I won’t hit Jon if I pull the trigger. They’re too close together. But Jon doesn’t need the help. He’s unleashed himself and his perfect precision on Jack’s face, and I see the moment he connects.
Jack goes still, but Jon keeps hitting him. Jack’s face is bloody, but he’s unconscious, if not worse. Jon’s going to kill him, and as much as I have no sympathy for this man, I’m not letting Jon go to jail.
“Jon, stop.” He doesn’t. “Stop!”
Suddenly he looks at me and sees the gun, and he registers what he’s done. He stands as lights burst through the trees.
“Police!”
Jon and I raise our hands. “It’s Lawson,” the officer shouts. “Singleton is unconscious.”
I put down the gun, but I move my hands slowly and keep them in front of me. The two cops don’t even seem to pay any attention to me, scooping up the gun and moving to secure Singleton. And then I’m in Jon’s arms, wrapped up so tightly that I can barely breathe.
And I don’t care. If I get to stay in his arms I never have to breathe again. “Are you okay?”
“My hand will hurt tomorrow,” he says. “But other than that, I’m fine.”
“How did you find me?”
He smiles in the darkening light. “There’s a tracker in Georgie’s collar. In all the dog’s collars. They told Ben that they were taking you to a different hotel than what you told me. And Ben and I pieced it together.”
Behind him, the cops have cuffed Singleton, though he is still unconscious on the ground.
Jon tilts my face up and studies me. His fingertips run over my cheeks and down my shoulders, searching for signs of injury. They move frantically with equal parts possession and care. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” I say through chattering teeth. I’m uninjured but I’m wet and cold, and given what could have happened, that’s nothing. Georgie scrabbles for attention at my hip, and I scratch him behind his ears.
“When I realized that he had you,” Jon says, “I was terrified. And the only thing I wanted to do was to tell you that I loved you. Not casually. Not as a slip up that I could brush off or that you could ignore. But truly. To look you in the eyes and tell you I love you. I don’t care if you think it’s too soon. It’s not for me. I love you, Sadie.”
“I love you,” I say back. Because of course I do. It’s impossible not to. Something connected us that first night and never let us go. And when I heard his voice, at a time when I was more scared than I’d ever been my entire life, I knew. I just knew. This is the man who is meant for me. Who will love me and protect me no matter what. Yes, we met in the most casual way, and I never intended for any of this, but I can’t deny what’s in front of me, and it’s not something I can ever let go.