Page 62 of Loving a Billionaire

In the distance, sirens wailed through the streets. Austin wanted to sigh with relief, but Talia was still shot and bleeding profusely. He dropped to his knees beside her, yanking off his suit jacket. He wadded it into a ball and pressed it against her side.

Weakly, she smiled at him. “I’m glad you arrived when you had, or I’d be—”

“Shhh...” He placed a finger to her lips. “Don’t talk. Save your energy. Help is on the way.”

Her arm shook, lowering the gun. He took it from her and aimed it at Ariki. The man was still rolling on the ground in agony. At least Austin knew why Ariki had done all of this. He hoped his former friend got the death penalty. Then again, death was too good for him. He deserved to be tortured for the rest of his days.

Gently, Austin wrapped an arm around Talia. “You’re going to be all right.” Worry escalated as the color from her face disappeared, and her body grew weaker.

“Austin... I love you. I’m sorry we couldn’t... be together.”

“No!” he said in a commanding tone. “You are not going to die. Do you hear me? You will live through this, and I will take care of you.” His throat clogged with emotion, and he swallowed hard. “Talia, look at me. My strength will give you strength. I can’t lose you. I won’t be able to live without you in my life. So if you give up, you’ll be ending my life, as well. Do you want that on your conscience?”

Her weak gaze met his and she smiled faintly. “When did... you take up... kickboxing?”

He chuckled lightly. “In college. Do you know how to do it, too?”

“Yes.”

“Then instead of arm wrestling, let’s do a round of kickboxing.”

Her smile stretched. “You’re on.”

TWENTY-ONE

Talia’s pain levelwas lower than normal. Either that or she’d taken a bullet somewhere she wasn’t used to hurting. She’d taken bullets before, but none of them had made her nearly bleed to death like this one had.

As she lay in the hospital bed with tubes running through her arms, in addition to the IV, she watched the nurse shoot another dose of pain medication from the syringe to her tubing. Soon, she’d feel fine.

The operation had been successful, thank goodness. But she had lost a lot of blood. The doctor had mentioned that she was very lucky. The bullet grazed off her rib and barely missed piercing her kidney by half an inch. If the bullet would have punctured an organ, she certainly wouldn’t be laying in this hospital bed, complaining of her pain. But now, she just had to worry about the discomfort from the stitches, and the bruised rib.

If it hadn’t been for Austin’s quick thinking, she would have been dead with a bullet through the head. He had thought of the best way to take Ariki down. If Austin would have jumped on him, there was the chance that Ariki would have pulled the trigger, anyway. But because Austin brought instant pain to the man’s legs, that’s what made him release the gun.

The cops and ambulance had shown up immediately. Her team wasn’t too far behind. Not long after that, she had passed out, probably because of her low blood levels. When she’d awakened, the doctor assured her she would be fine. She had only wanted one thing at that moment. Austin. Thankfully, the hospital staff allowed him inside the recovery room.

When he first looked at her, tears had filled his eyes as he smiled. This amazing man was so incredibly loving and caring. How had she gotten to be so lucky?