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  Pressing a kiss to her throat, I quickly washed my hands and headed for the door. “Call me if you need me.”

  She followed me out, a curious expression on her face.

  When I opened the door and revealed Malachi on the front porch, Reggie frowned. “Whatever you’re doing, boys, be careful.”

  Malachi grinned at her.

  I gave a thumb up.

  “Give my boy a kiss for me,” I called out.

  Then I closed the door behind me.

  “You ready?” he asked, shivering slightly at the chill in the air.

  I groaned. “Ready as I’ll ever be.

  ***

  “Let’s go,” I said as I slipped the wet suit into place over my shoulder and fitted the gear onto my face.

  Malachi jerked his chin, fitted his own gear into place, and dove into the river.

  I followed behind.

  Unfortunately, water leaked into my mask and I resurfaced and pulled the mask away from my face.

  When I did, something caught my eye on the shore.

  A man.

  He was standing next to a tree that overhung the water slightly, staring at us.

  However, I was too far away, and my mask was too foggy for me to really get a close look at him.

  Once I had it fixed, the guy was gone, and I dove back down to start helping.

  When I got there Malachi handed me a metal detector and a net-like device that we could dig into the dirt with.

  I thought that it might be at the surface, that we would just be able to see it, but Malachi explained that when things fell, they got buried in the dirt because of the current of the river.

  So as we scanned the area, I didn’t expect to see the red bag that Reggie had dropped.

  My first find was a cell phone in one of those plastic waterproof bags.

  My second was a bracelet.

  My third, fourth, and fifth were watches.

  It was on my fifth find that happened to be a railroad spike that I felt the tap on the shoulder.

  It’d been over an hour of us searching, and I’d kind of sort of given up hope of finding her bag. Except when I looked up to find Malachi in front of me, he was holding out Reggie’s bag.

  I fist pumped and gestured upward and he followed.

  When we finally surfaced, I ripped off my mask and hooted with excitement as Malachi surfaced right beside me.

  “Is it there?” I asked hopefully.

  He unzipped the bag and revealed her waterproof Kindle, that still worked might I add. “I don’t know where it’s at in here,” he admitted. “But it is her bag. Let’s head to the bank and make sure.”

  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.

  I was going to drive Nathan’s truck back.

  I could already tell that it was going to be a long few hours.

  But I was happy to have him home.

  He needed to be there where his family was. Where his son was.

  Even if he wasn’t awake. I knew that he needed them.

  “Any updates?” he asked.

  “He’s stable,” I said with a small shrug of my shoulders as I looked back at the man in the bed. “They removed the bullet, as you know. They’re not sure to what extent the damage is. Not until he wakes up. Which they said would be probably about forty-eight hours from now. They want some of the swelling to go down before they bring him out of the coma.”

  If he came out of the coma at all.

  The doctor hadn’t had to voice those words for me to understand.

  I knew without him saying anything at all that it was a possibility.

  “His parents are on the way here?” Malachi asked.

  I shook my head. “They went to Florida with my mom and dad for the week. They’re on the way back, but by the time they arrive, I’ll have already gotten him home, hopefully.”

  Malachi reached for me again and pulled me into his arms.

  I went willingly, pressing my face against his hard chest, and let my tears flow freely.

  “Thank you,” I said again.

  He squeezed me tight. “When he woke up in the ambulance on the ride to the hospital, he told me to tell you something.”

  I waited, tense with anticipation.

  “He said ‘tell her I love her’ and ‘it only took me getting shot in the head again to admit it.’”

  I shook my head as the tears sped up. “That stupid, bull-headed man.”

  Chapter 25

  I am a cute little ray of fuck you.

  -Text from Reggie to Nathan

  Reggie

  I would’ve cried had I had any tears left in my body to cry.

  The first SWAT team member to show up to visit with the baby was Malachi.

  The second was Foster.

  The third and fourth? Bennett and Hayes.

  It continued like this for hours until visiting hours came to a close at the end of the day.

  Once everyone was gone, and I’d given my report on my babies, I spent my own time with my new favorite snuggle bunny.

  But the baby was having a rough time of it today.

  Despite the constant influx of people to visit him, offering him love and support when his daddy couldn’t, Darren had no smiles today. No, nothing but lethargy.

  I looked across the hallway where the regular ICU was. Where Nathan was after being shot in the fucking head.

  In the fucking head.

  By a drug dealer that had been arrested, released on bond, and had then sought him out to enact his retribution for many weeks’ worth of lost sales.

  Yes.

  He’d been shot by that little weasel drug dealer who’d apparently been the one to break into my apartment and sniff my fucking panties—his words and not mine.

  I’d gone to work today because I couldn’t stand being in his hospital room with him looking so pitiful.

  But then I’d gone to work and had to deal with his son looking just as pitiful.

  Needless to say, I was about to take matters into my own hands.

  And beg Peyton to allow me to do something that I knew was against company policy and would likely get me fired.

  I was about to steal a baby.

  A tiny, fighting for his life baby that needed his daddy.

  I looked over at Peyton as I started to get Dare ready for Kangaroo Care.

  Something which we encouraged a lot of the parents to do when they’re this young.

  Dare had been rather young until this point.

  Today, though, he was a whole three weeks old. That put him at an adjusted age of thirty-one weeks if he was still in the womb.

  That was a milestone.

  And after getting the okay from the doctor for Kangaroo Care after lunch, I knew that it would work.

  I’d perk Dare up while hopefully helping Nathan—who still hadn’t opened his eyes after being brought to the hospital four days ago—at the same time.

  Though, I wasn’t sure that when I was granted permission to do Kangaroo Care, that they knew exactly who Dare would be doing it with.

  Chapter 26

  Thou shall not try me.

  -Text from Reggie to Nathan

  Nathan

  My head hurt.

  That was the first thing that I realized.

  The second thing was that there was a heavy weight on my chest that wasn’t altogether uncomfortable, but it was an odd sensation, nonetheless.

  Thirdly, I could hear Reggie talking.

  And I didn’t like what I heard.

  “…I cheated. I didn’t actually get more homeruns than you.” She paused. “I actually got one less. I… well… let’s just say that I totally used an illegal bat. And I had my friends lie when we were at away games. You never figured it out.”

  I was going to spank her ass.

  That was the first thing I was going to do.

  As soon as I could lift my hands.

  My fingers twitched and I felt my heavy eyelids start to drag apart.

  It felt like I was lifting a thousand pounds off the floor rather than opening my lids, but eventually I managed it.

  I blinked.

  Once. Twice. Three times.

  Then I stared at the white ceiling as I tried to get my body to cooperate.

  That was when I realized that I only had one eye open.

  Not two.

  I frowned in concentration, but I couldn’t get the other one to open for the life of me.

  “I have loved you since we were kids,” she said softly. “When you started dating Eerie, I think that my heart practically fell out of my chest. I felt like I was walking around with an open chest wound for years. I’ve never wanted to die more in my life than when you first started dating her.”

  I felt something besides my stupid head start hurting.

  My heart was pounding in my chest as it felt like it would break into two.

  “When I suggested we get married,” she said, “I never in a million years thought you’d say yes. I thought for sure you’d laugh it off. But then you said yes. I… Nathan? I wasn’t drunk enough not to remember that day. Not to know that my actions had consequences.”

  I’d been drunk, too. But not that drunk.

  “I saved my virginity for you,” I heard a while later. “I just figured that I’d get you to notice me when we were younger. I didn’t think I’d make it until years later when you needed me out of necessity and not want.”

  My stomach dropped at her words.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out.

  My tongue didn’t work correctly, and I couldn’t even get a groan to fall free of my lips.

  Nothing.

  Not a damn thing.

  I couldn’t even make my arm lift to place it on her hand where I could feel it close to mine.

  “The first time I knew that I loved you was when we were nine. You and I were playing in the yard, and I hit the ball over the fence into the neighbor’s yard. You scaled the fence and got it back, then threw me a hundred more balls. You’re the reason that I was so good, Nathan. I wanted to impress you,” she said.

  Still no words would came out.

  “How’s our patient?” a stern, rather annoyed voice asked. “I see that you’ve stolen him away again.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor.”

  Reggie’s words didn’t sound
like she was sorry. Not at all.

  “If Dare wasn’t doing so well, I’d be talking to the board about firing your ass,” the doctor grumbled.

  Dr. Dense. Darren’s pediatrician.

  What the hell was he doing in my hospital room?

  Then I saw the doctor come into view.

  He was looking at something on my chest.

  What the hell?

  Something moved on my chest and that was when I heard the soft, sweetest squeak of protest that I’d ever heard in my life.

  Dare.

  Dare was on my chest.

  I felt a tear slip out of my eye.

  “Who do we have here?”

  I felt another tear slip out upon hearing another squeak of protest.

  “He’s doing so good,” Dr. D said. “He’s lively today, isn’t he?”

  “Yes,” Reggie said. “I had to barricade him in because he was moving so much. I swear, he’s just like his father. So freakin’ strong and independent.”

  I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips.

  God, I loved the woman.

  With my whole heart.

  I tilted my head then, causing pain to explode behind my eyeballs. Despite the pain, however, I kept my eye open and looked for the source of her voice.

  I found her in a chair, feet curled up underneath of her, with her upper torso covered by my SWAT sweatshirt.

  I felt my lips kick up at the corner as I stared at the love of my life.

  “That’s my sweatshirt,” I rasped.

  Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked at me so hesitantly that I would’ve laughed had I known it wouldn’t hurt like a bitch.

  “Nathan,” she breathed, standing up.

  Dr. D laughed. “Everything’s doing good, Reg. Keep up the good work.”

  Then he was gone, leaving the two of us to talk.

  She walked up to me and placed both of her hands on my face.

  “It’s my sweatshirt now, silly,” she teased.

  I smiled weakly. “What’s wrong with me?”

  Her smile fell. “You were shot in the head by that drug dealer that used to deal outside my apartment. You’ve been in a coma for days.”

  “Shot in the head?” I asked. “Like, actually shot in the head? Again?”

  Her lips twitched. “Yes, shot in the head.” She moved the hand on the left side of my face around to the back of my head. “You were shot through the back of your head. Actually, you were shot in the back, but the tank you were wearing deflected it into the back of your head. It pierced your skull back here.” She pressed lightly. “And then exited your head up here.” She pressed her fingers lightly to the side of my head right above my eye. “It traveled around your skull. You were so fucking lucky.”