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"Good. Stay put. I'm on my way. Don't do anything—"
"Ethan might bolt. I'm just sitting here, Jake," I cut in, assuring him but feeling the lie twist in my gut.
"Promise me, Kay," he pressed. A quiet desperation in his voice had me squeezing the phone tighter.
"Promise," I whispered, the word tasting like ash. We both knew I was full of shit.
The line went dead, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. My gaze flickered back to the van. Something about it felt off, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were running out of time. Minutes crawled by, but my patience was wearing thinner with each passing second.
"Fuck it," I muttered under my breath. I stepped out of the cruiser, keeping low, and approached the van. The silence of the morning was a blanket over the world, the soft crunch of gravel under my boots seeming loud as hell. I told myself whoever was inside couldn't see out any better than I could see in.
A rookie mistake, assuming.
I reached the back of the van and crouched down, trying to make sense of any sound that might come from inside. That's when the world turned upside down. The engine roared to life, a sound so unexpected it sent a jolt through me, and before I knew it, the van was backing up fast.
Instinct had me diving out of the way, but not fast enough. The van clipped me hard, sending me sprawling to the dirt. Pain exploded in my head, bright lights dancing in my vision. I tried to call out, to move, but everything was sluggish; sounds were muffled, and my body wouldn't cooperate.
Footsteps approached, heavy and deliberate. Through the swimming dots of light and shadow, a figure knelt beside me. I tried to focus, tried to make out a face, any identifying feature, but it was like trying to see through a fog.
A hand touched my shoulder, and I wanted to recoil and fight, but I was trapped in my failing senses. A voice said something, but it was like I was underwater, the words distorted and distant. The figure leaned closer, and I could feel their breath against my face. Panic flared in my chest, a scream building there but never making it past my lips.
Then, the world went black, and I knew no more.
Chapter Twenty-Two
JAKE
My car's tires screeched as I took the corner faster than I should have, my heart pounding against my ribs like it was trying to escape. My mind was stuck on the last thing I said to Kayla, that goddamn promise she made. I shouldn’t have hung up; I shouldn't have left her alone.
As I skidded into the lot of the general store, the sight that greeted me punched the air out of my lungs. There was Kayla on the ground, a figure in a black hoodie towering over her, crowbar raised high. "No, no, no!" I shouted, though I knew she couldn't hear me.
I laid on the horn, a desperate, blaring sound that shattered the morning silence as I jumped out, my gun already in hand.
"Police! Drop the fucking weapon!"
My voice was lost in the roar as the figure, spooked by the sound or maybe the sight of a gun, darted back into the van. The engine revved, and the van peeled out, dirt and gravel spitting up from its tires.
For a second, I was torn. My instincts screamed to chase the assailant, to bring them down. But Kayla was on the ground, so damn still.
"Fuck!" I cursed, holstering my gun and pulling out my cell with shaking hands. "Dispatch, this is Officer Jake Barrows. I need units tracking a white van heading north from the general store on Fifth, suspect involved in a felony assault."
I rattled off the details as I dropped to my knees beside Kayla. "And get me a goddamn ambulance! We have an office down!"
I tossed the phone aside, my attention entirely on Kayla. "Kay, come on, open your eyes." I tapped her cheek lightly, my hands trembling. Her eyes fluttered, a groan escaping her lips, and relief washed over me in an icy wave. She wasn't dead. Thank God she wasn't dead.
"Stay with me, Kay. Help's coming." I could hear the fear in my voice, the anger at myself for not being there sooner, for ever leaving her side.
Her eyes finally opened, glassy and unfocused. "Jake?"
"Yeah, it's me. Just hang in there, okay?" Her eyes closed again. I was vaguely aware of the sounds of sirens approaching, but it felt like they were miles away.
The EMTs arrived in what must have been minutes, but it felt like hours had passed as I watched them load Kayla onto a stretcher. Her hand found mine, her grip weak but there, and I clung to it until they pried her from me to get her into the ambulance.
"I'm coming with you," I said, moving to climb in after her.
"Sir, you can't—"
"The hell I can't. She's my partner."
