"Stay with me, Alex.We're leaving this hellhole, baby."
Stairs appear as he shoulders through a door.He keeps talking to the dispatcher, answering questions I can barely understand anymore.My hand slips from the wound, too heavy to hold up.
"God, I'm glad I'm not dying in that ugly basement."
"You're not dying, period."His voice is raw, desperate.
"But if I do, it's in the arms of my gorgeous man."
Cole's pace quickens.Suddenly, blinding sunlight assaults my eyes as we burst through another door.I squeeze them shut against the burn.
"I believe we're in an abandoned warehouse," Cole tells the dispatcher.I force my eyes open to slits, catching glimpses of massive windows on either side of the vast space.
"We've got your location.An ambulance and trauma helicopter are on their way."
"Hurry!"
Little stars dance across my vision.I blink, trying to clear them, but they multiply with each attempt."C-Cole."
He sinks to his knees, laying me on what feels like concrete.His hands replace mine over the wound, pressing hard.
"Hold on, baby.They're coming."
I always thought dying would be terrifying, but here, with Cole, a strange peace settles over me.I won this fight.I saved him.I stare into those ocean-blue eyes I love so much, lifting my trembling hand to his cheek.
"I love you, and I'm yours, Cole Walker."The words come out breathy, weak."All rights reserved.Forever and always."
His lips quiver as he leans down, pressing the softest kiss to mine.Tears – his or mine, I'm not sure – splash between us.
"Don't you dare give up on me!"Raw anguish breaks through his voice."I need you.You're my power woman in heels."
I try to smile, but something's pulling me under.Like being dragged into deep water, watching the surface get farther and farther away.I fight it with everything I have left."I...love..."But the words fade as white light bleeds into my vision.
The last thing I hear is Cole's voice, breaking on my name:
"Alex!Stay with me.ALEX!"
Then nothing but darkness claims me.
43
COLE
A burning sensation blasts through my chest when she goes limp in my arms, her body suddenly heavy and lifeless.
"No!Alex!"The scream tears from my throat, raw and primal.
I lay her flat on the ground with trembling hands, fingers searching desperately for a pulse, eyes fixed on her chest—Nothing.My world stops spinning.No, this can't happen again.Please God, not again.
Sirens wail in the distance, but I can't wait.Won't wait.My hands find their position on her breastbone, and I start compressions.After my father died, I swore I'd never be helpless again.I took CPR courses, yearly refreshers, prepared for every emergency.But nothing could have prepared me for this—doing chest compressions on the woman I love, feeling her ribs flex beneath my desperate pushes.
"Come on, Alex."Push.Push.Push."You said we would get out of this shithole together."Push.Push.Push."So don't you fucking dare leave me!"
Tilt her head back.Pinch her nose.Breathe life into her lungs.Watch her chest rise.Again.Again.Please baby, breathe.
"Sir, let us take over."A male voice breaks through my concentration.
"I can't!"The words come out strangled, my eyes never leaving Alisha's face.Her lips are turning blue.No, no, no.
