Everything happened so quickly that time moved in a blur. As Hernández’s bullet flew through the air, Joseph dived into its path, blocking me from harm. At the same time, one of the hidden snipers also shot, and his bullet impaled itself in Hernández’s chest.
My son and the leader of the Bloodline dropped to the ground at the same time.
Around me, all the other fighting ceased, as the Bloodline fell. Jeffrey and his team took out every member of the cartel that remained.
Shaking, and unable to process what had happened, I walked over to Joseph, where he lay, bleeding on the floor.
“Dad,” my son croaked weakly. “Find Alyssa. She’s pregnant.”
26
ALYSSA
“I’m worried your wound is turning septic,” I said, as I examined the gunshot wound on David’s leg from where he’d taken a bullet to save me.
It was a shame he hadn’t been able to stop my brother the second time he’d aimed his gun at me. Maybe it was dumb luck or perhaps Joseph had had a change of heart at the last minute, but for whatever reason, his second shot had barely grazed my foot.
Joseph had fled back into the cabin, leaving me alone with a wounded David. Unsure if the other members of the Bloodline would come looking for mine and David’s bodies as proof Joseph had finished us off, I dragged David as far away from the cabin as I could.
That’s when he regained consciousness.
“My car is parked outside the bar by Mount Baldy Notch, if we can make it there, we can call for help.”
“Okay, but I need to wrap your wound first,” I’d said, tearing a piece off my T-shirt, and wrapping it around David’s leg.
I hadn’t had the strength to move David much further, let alone drag him to the bar by Mount Baldy Notch, and so I’d done the best I could.
The area around the cabin the Bloodline had been using as their hideout was deeply wooded, without any other buildings nearby. Save for one abandoned shack that might have once been used to store supplies – perhaps firewood.
It was there I managed to lead David, and it was there we’d been hiding out ever since.
As neither of us had phones with us – I didn’t knowwhatJoseph had done with my backpack when he’d taken me from the café in Blue Jay – we had no idea how much time had passed. The only indication we had at all was as the sun slowly rose.
“We need to get help, but I have no idea if the Bloodline members are still at the cabin or what.”
“Hernández said he planned to use the both of us as bait to lure your father and Jeffrey here,” David informed me. “I’m surprised your brother let us escape.”
I hadn’t known what Hernández intended to do but hearing this combined with Joseph’s second shot missing me, I was starting to wonder if perhaps my brotherhadhad second thoughts. Had he saved my life at the last moment? And if so, what did that mean for his relationship with Hernández? Plus, surely Jeffrey had discovered David and I were missing by now? Mavis and Lawrence had known enough for David to be able to track Joseph as far as Crestline. Might the same be true for Jeffrey and his team.
“I still think we should try to get to my car. Even if you can’t carry me, you could go alone. If you can get my phone—”
David stopped speaking as we heard a helicopter overhead.
“You don’t think that could be Jeffrey?” I asked weakly, too afraid to hope we might actually be rescued.
When David had been thrown into the cellar at the Bloodline’s cabin, I’d started to believe we might actually make it out of the situation alive. But since Joseph had shot David, and we’d been hiding in an abandoned storage shack, I was beginning to lose all hope.
The sound of the helicopter overhead renewed my hope. Even if itwasn’tJeffrey looking for us, we still might be able to signal the helicopter somehow.
“Quick, get out there and see if you can flag it down,” David insisted.
Even though rescue could be just moments away, I hesitated. Of course, I wanted to be found, but once we were rescued it would be time to face reality.
Were the Bloodline still hunting my family? What had happened to Joseph? And how would my parents react once they learned I was pregnant with David’s baby?
As if reading my thoughts, David cautiously clambered to his feet despite how much it must have hurt him and limped over to me. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and kissed my forehead.
“Don’t worry, Alyssa. Everything will be okay. I love you, and I won’t letanythingstop the three of us being a family. Even if that means facing down your angry father. We’ve come this far; I won’t lose you now.”
