I’ve wanted to talk to her, but I haven’t trusted myself. I would never hurt Emery, but I might say things I shouldn’t. I still can’t believe that she thinks I’m interested in another woman or that I would cheat on her. Fuck, even now that we’re divorced, I couldn’t look at another woman because to me, it would be cheating. I have followed her home. I’ve sat outside the bakery and waited for her to go in or to come out at night. I know she sees me, but she’s acting like she doesn’t. But that’s fine. I need to cool off a little bit more before I talk to her.
I’ve been working all morning, working on getting Colt caught up on files and cases. We’ve gone over procedures until he can recite them in his sleep. He’s ready. Hell, he was born for this.
I’m leaving the compound when I notice the car on the side of the road. I’m on my way to Sugar Glaze, hoping to see Emery before she walks into the shop, but when I notice the lone woman standing at the open hood, I ease my Suburban to the side of the road and turn on my hazard lights.
As I walk up to her car, she looks at me worriedly. “Thanks for stopping.”
I smile at her, just so she knows I’m not some kind of psycho. “No problem. What’s wrong?”
She sniffs, and I notice the bruise on her face. Instantly, my blood starts to boil. “Uh, it just started sputtering, and smoke started coming out from the hood.”
I lean down to look at the car when I hear the squeal of tires. I no sooner lift my head than there’s a car stopping next to us in the middle of the road. “You cheatin’ bitch, is this the man you’re leaving me for?”
It doesn’t register with me that he has a gun until it’s too late. He gets off a shot, and I’m shoving the woman to the ground on the other side of the vehicle. I feel the impact of the bullet in my arm. Stumbling on the uneven ground has me falling face first to the cement, and I hit hard metal on the way down.
Dazed and disoriented, I hear screaming from the woman and know I need to act fast or we’ll both be done. I pull the 380 from my belt holster and blink, trying to clear my vision. I shake my head, but that doesn’t seem to help because pain shoots behind my eyes.
I get to my knees, and I can tell the woman is struggling as the man is trying to grab her. I squint my eyes, and the picture before me comes clearer. I take the shot before I can second-guess myself, and the man falls. I crawl toward him and pocket his gun. The woman falls to the ground, crying, but I can’t focus on that right now. I can’t seem to focus on anything. I pull my phone from my pocket.
I use voice command. “Call Walker.”
When I hear Walker’s voice, I mutter the word “help” before everything goes black.
I don’t remember anything after that. Nothing. I know Walker will find me since everyone with the Ghost Team has tracking on our phones. I feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness, the voices and sirens, but no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to wake from the black hole I’m in.
It’s not until I’m being rolled down a hall of what I assume is Jasper Hospital when everything starts to come into focus. The overhead lights seem as if they’re blaring, and I can hear Walker, almost breathless as he walks next to me.
“Walker! Walker!”
“I’m here, brother. You’re going to be okay. The woman is fine.”
I can hear the pain and yearning in my voice as I plead to him. “Emery. I need Emery.”
“I got you, brother. I’ll make the call. The bullet took a chunk out of your arm, but they can sew it, no surgery. But they need to check your head. I’ll have Emery here when you get out.”
I groan my response. Everything seems to come into super focus and then get blurry again. I have no choice but to close my eyes and let the darkness seep in. I feel a twinge in my arm and I know they’re sewing me up.
Then I feel as if I’m in a tunnel, and I’m assuming they’re doing more tests. I let my thoughts wander, and it isn’t long before I’m thinking of Emery. My thoughts always go to her, and I shouldn’t expect anything different even though everything is grainy. I swear I feel as if I can reach out and touch her as the memory starts to play out in my head.