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She nods again, her expectant eyes not leaving mine this time.
“Need you to tell her, ‘Forever.’”
“Forever?” She furrows her eyebrows.
I lick my lips at the meaning behind my words. “That’s right, sweetheart. Forever.”
“Okay, but may-maybe you can just tell her yourself?”
I choke on a sardonic laugh and shake my head, and her shoulders sag, as if suddenly aware of the severity of our situation.
“Thank you.” A tear streams down her face once again, and my heart tugs to draw her toward me, to embrace her, and tell her it’s all my fault. That I’m sorry. That she’s deserving too. Like my wife was.
Instead, I turn on my heel and motion for her to join me, and when we reach the small window, I take out my gun with the silencer attached, then I shoot through the lock. I’m another bullet down and need every single one of them. It doesn’t hurt like I expected it to, because that bullet will spare this girl’s life.
It will get her home to her babies, to her men who are devoted to her, and, more importantly, it will get her home to my girl.
“Up.” I lower myself and put my hands together for her to climb on and heave her onto the small windowsill.
A storm of heavy thuds above us makes my heart race at the realization of what I will walk into, but I refuse to back down or consider any other option.
Tia glances down at me as I check the safety clips on my guns, and then I say the one word that springs her into action.
“Run.”
She turns and pushes through the window with ease, then runs toward my SUV, and I pray she makes it there safely. Taking a deep breath, I steel myself, step forward, and open the door to the basement.
My plan falls into place as I become the perfect distraction to allow Tia to escape.
Regret floods me as I step out into the line of the men waiting on the other side of the door. Regret over the secrets I’ve kept and the lies I’ve told, hoping to keep my family safe but never giving them an opportunity of more.
My wife and boys will grow up to know I gave the ultimate sacrifice; I gave up being with them so they could have so much more.
So they could have them in their lives.
I fire bullets freely, but it becomes white noise as they fire back just as quick. Footsteps thunder down the stairs in my direction, and even though I know I’m taking down one man after the other, I’m also acutely aware of the pain searing through my chest, leg, and shoulder as bullet after bullet slices through me and my vision becomes hazy.
My footing stumbles when warmth flows down my chest, and I drop to my knees with a heavy thud when another bullet sends a shooting pain up my spine. I can only hope that Tia has made it out, that she’s driving toward the gate not looking back but looking forward to the future with her babies.
That she forgives me for the pain she’s endured and lives a life of happiness with my family by her side, protecting her, like I should have done.
As my eyes flutter, I fight to keep them open, to send another bullet through the stairwell. I try in vain to protect myself, but now all I see is Sky, my beautiful girl. She has our boys around her and her belly full with my baby. A bloody cough escapes me, and I wince at the torrent of pain searing into my chest, making it difficult for me to inhale.
My mind wanders away from the pain and to our children. Another, more excruciating, surge of hurt spears through me thinking about me not being there to watch them grow into the strong, reliable, and protective men I know they’ll become, and I hate myself for it.
Will Sky have the little girl I always wished for? Or will our baby add to our brood of boys.
The rattling in my chest as I try to breathe becomes louder, and I concentrate on looking down at Sky as we dance. I sing “It’s You I’ve Been Looking For” by Lewis Brice, and my lip twitches at the memory as I float above the scene playing out.
She smiles up at me, those bright-blue eyes that captured me from the first moment I saw her. They’re full of life, life I want her to lead even if I’m not by her side.
The whooshing in my ears encompasses me, causing my entire body to drift away from her, and I want to scream, I want to shout, to bring her back where she belongs, in my arms, curled up in my safety.
But then Sky steps toward me once again, and standing in the sand, her hair blows in the sea breeze and her eyes settle on mine, and she’s never looked so damn beautiful. So damn mine.
“Forever,” she whispers with a soft smile that forces my body to sag at having her feel the same way about me as I do her. For her to be back where she belongs.
“Forever, baby,” I whisper as I finally close my eyes, succumbing to the darkness surrounding me.
I’m numb now, my body free as the room becomes silent, and so does my mind, apart from the gentle whisper of her lips to reassure me as I descend into a sea of darkness. “Forever.”
My lips move one final time, determined to tell her how I feel.
“Forever.”
TO BE CONTINUED . .
