Mending Hearts (The American Soldier Collection 11)

They hurried toward the front as canisters of tear gas and explosions of light filled the small cabin.

Then Alana screamed, “No!”

* * * *

She gripped the knife and struck him in the shoulder. The glass shattered, and the room erupted into smoke, and light blinded her. She was hysterical as Neil struck her, and she couldn’t see where he was. She caught hold of his head and neck, wrapped her arms around his neck, twisted the rope, and began to pull with all her might, choking him. His back was over her front, crushing her. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, and he kept pounding backward against the ground. Her spine and the backs of her legs ached, and she lost her breath and thought her lungs would collapse. Then there was yelling, and she saw the men in black covered in SWAT gear. She released her hold, and when Neil turned to grab her neck, a shot rang out, the bullet hitting him in the head.

Neil fell to the ground, and she scooted backward, fell onto her back, and cried out in pain.

“Alana, you’re okay. It’s over, honey. It’s over,” Gunner told her as he knelt over her and stared at her.

“I need a medic right away. Call the chopper,” he said.

“Alana! Alana!”

She could barely keep her eyes open as exhaustion struck her, but she saw Jaxon, Gabe, Geno, Jeb, and Gator before everything went black and she passed out.

Chapter 10

None of them wanted to think about what could have happened to her. As Gunner explained to Gabe, Jaxon, Gator, Geno, and Jeb what was found at Neil’s house, they were even more shocked. Neil had definitely lost his mind after leaving the service five years ago. But it was crazy how they came to the conclusion that Neil became obsessed with Alana. Neil had pictures of her throughout his house. He had photographs of her at the clothing boutique, at Casper’s, and even at the estate sale. To think that he was the one hiding in that woods watching her over two months was insane.

Gabe looked at Jaxon, who felt responsible.

“I should have been more diligent in protecting her and watching over her. We knew that someone was in the woods. We let the local deputy look into it, but we should have taken care of that ourselves,” Jaxon stated through clenched teeth.

They were outside of the hospital room. Alana was resting. She was badly bruised all over and had swe

lling on her eyes and her cheeks and lips. She had a few bruised ribs and what they thought was internal bleeding that the doctors finally got under control.

“It’s not anyone’s fault. Who would ever think someone like this would show up in Salvation or Tranquility? She was just being herself. A friendly, outgoing person helping a customer in the store. The guy she helped find a shirt turned out to be a psycho,” Gator added.

“I can’t let anything like this happen to her, to us, again,” Jaxon said.

“We can’t let anything like this happen again. We need to make some changes,” Geno told them.

“Yes, changes she is going to fight us tooth and nail on,” Jeb said.

“She’s a daughter of a Marine. I think she’ll handle it fine. She did take the knife from Neil, stab him, then put him in a chokehold.” Jaxon shook his head then ran his hands through his hair.

“Let’s go be with her so she’s not alone when she wakes up.” Gabe said and turned toward the door.

“Alone? Are you kidding me? This place has been hopping since she got here three days ago. I just want to get her home,” Jaxon said.

“So do we, brother. So do we,” Gator stated as he placed his hand on Jaxon’s shoulder, and they all entered the room.

* * * *

Alana awoke and could hardly open her eyes, but at least she was out of the hospital and with her men. It was the same thing every day, every time she fell asleep and then woke up. Pain. She was starting to get used to it and being bitchy about it too. The guys would curse under their breaths, angry at her injuries and her appearance. She knew she must look pretty bad since everyone was keeping her as far away from mirrors as possible. But with her eyes so swollen and the special cream on them, everything was blurry anyway. At least there wasn’t permanent damage or vision damage from what the doctors could tell.

“Hey, sleepy head.” She heard Gator’s voice, and she moaned softly.

“Easy, baby, don’t move. There’s no place to get to. Just rest.”

“I’ve been resting forever,” she snapped at him.

She felt another hand touch her thigh, and she jerked, scared by the unexpected touch. Alana then cringed, and Gabe cursed.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I forgot,” he told her.