Page 41 of Last Mile

At my side, Deacon was on his cell phone talking to a 911 operator. Rev pushed ahead of us to go to a hysterical woman whose husband or boyfriend lay in a pool of blood. I don’t know how long I stood frozen as I surveyed the horror around me. Finally, I began to animate again.

Slowly, I put one foot in front of the other. It felt as if I were trudging through thick mud. Although I should have been searching for my fellow Raiders, I could only think of Samantha. While I continued walking, moments of relief came as I saw my brothers.

Breakneck barked out orders to those around him to help some of the wounded.

Kim and several of the women gathered a group of kids to take back to the motel. Boone limped along with his arm over Mac’s shoulder.

When I met his gaze, he gave me a nod to let me know that while he might’ve been hit, he was okay.

One by one I saw each of my Raiders brothers, and I heaved a sigh of relief that besides a few minor gunshots, we hadn’t lost anyone.

Or so I thought.

At the far end of the clearing, I finally found Samantha crumpled on the ground. I broke into a run to get to her. But when I grew closer, I skidded to a stop.

She wasn’t alone.

She was huddled over Marley’s blood- soaked body. From where he had fallen, he had borne the brunt of the gunfire coming over the hill.

“Sam?” I questioned.

Her cries momentarily ceased. She jerked her head up from Marley’s chest to whirl around. Just as I would never forget those screams, I would never, ever forget the look of icy hatred that burned in her eyes. I didn’t have to ask her how Marley was. I knew right then and there that he was dead, and in Samantha’s eyes, I might as well have killed him myself.

CHAPTER EIGHT: SAMANTHA

Life changes in the blink of an eye. One minute you have the world resting precariously in the palm of your hands, and then the next you’re scrambling to pick up the shattered pieces of what once was.

Although I had been forced to learn that lesson when I was just eight years old, nothing could have prepared me for when I had to experience it again. The wound of losing Gavin might have cut into my soul over scar tissue, but it did nothing to dull the excruciating pain.

It was as fresh as if it were the first time I had to lose someone who meant the world to me.

No matter how hard I tried to push the memory away, the night’s agonizing events played on a macabre loop in my head.

“Gavin!” I screamed over the roar of the crowd. From the instant the shots rang out, pandemonium had ensued. I pushed and shoved strangers out of the way, not giving a damn about their well- being. I was no longer in hero mode like in the beginning when all I could think of was shielding those kids. Now all I cared about was getting to Gavin, and I didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. The longer I couldn’t find him, the more the rising panic in my chest grew. It became so intense that I began to wheeze from being unable to breathe.

Normally, in a crisis like this, we would be wired, and I would know within seconds his location and status. But I was stripped of all the devices that I’d come to rely on when I was in the field.

And then through all the chaos I saw him. I would have known his form anywhere. At the sight of him lying in the grass at the edge of the clearing, tears stung my eyes. I began shoving people harder and harder in order to get to Gavin.

When I finally reached his side, I dropped down beside him.

“Gavin? Can you hear me?” Quickly, I scanned his body to ascertain his wounds. My eyes clamped shut in pain when I saw he had been hit in both the chest and the abdomen. Any other day, those wounds wouldn’t have been an issue, because he would have been wearing his bulletproof vest.

Tears streaked down my cheeks, dripping onto Gavin’s bloodstained face. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Peterson’s emergency number. Before he picked up, I shook Gavin’s shoulders. “Don’t you dare die on me, Gavin!” I shrieked. Not caring about who was around me or might overhear me, I shouted, “That’s an order, dammit!”

His eyelids fluttered, and my heart jumped in my chest. “Gavin? Gavin, please look at me!”

Slowly his eyes opened, and he gazed up at me. “There you are. Stay with me. Okay?”

“Hello? Vargas, is that you?” Peterson’s voice echoed from the phone.

Quickly, I related to him what had happened. Then I hung up before he could say anything else. I didn’t have time to talk to him. I needed to devote all my attention to Gavin.

“Peterson knows what happened, so once the ambulance gets here, they’ll radio in to take us to the best hospital around here. They might even air- flight you, if you need it.”

Gavin wheezed out an agonized breath. “Love you. Always have . . .always will.”

My body shook as violent sobs racked me. “I love you, too. So fucking much. That’s why I want you to stay with me. Please, please stay with me.”