There was a sound of a gunshot. A force whipped her body into an arc before propelling her forward in free fall at the same time pain inflamed her back. More gunshots.
She helplessly watched the floor rush up to meet her.
When Travis heard the gunshot,he made the decision to go in. He told Nate to call 911 to send an ambulance and the police. There wasn’t time to plan the assault. He sprinted toward the house, which seemed so far away as his eyes developed tunnel vision.
Two more shots fired. Adrenalin whooshed through his veins as he shot through the deadlock and shouldered the door open, his trained eyes rapidly cleared each corner for threats before landing on the baffling tableau before him. Caitlin was standing close to Porter who had a hand on his arm.Possibly shot or grazed?Both of them were staring down at an immobile figure on the floor.
“Caitlin!” he shouted.What the fuck is going on? Why didPorter look pleased to see him when Travis was ready to kick his ass? Caitlin’s face lit up as she turned his way; her expression of relief cut through the tension coiled so tight inside him.
He was lowering his gun when horror set in. The man on the floor moved quickly, aiming his pistol at an unaware Caitlin.Crowe!Porter shouted a warning even as Travis dashed forward, arm already extended to shoot the hostile. Crowe fired first.
Travis squeezed his trigger the same time Porter did. Both bullets striking Crowe in the head given the blood spatter that followed.
Caitlin’s body had jerked before she fell face forward onto the wooden floor.
“No! Fuck, no!” Travis shouted as he skidded to his knees beside her. “Oh, God, please. No. Caitlin!”
“He got her in the back,” Porter said. “Probably ruptured a lung.”
“Don’t fucking touch her,” Travis growled. Shoving Porter away, he desperately applied pressure to her wound. Blood continued seeping out at an alarming rate. Her blood, her life was slipping away through the hole in her back.
This can’t be happening.
I can’t fucking lose her.
Not now. Not ever.
“Ambulance is on its way,” Nate said behind him. “Oh, fuck.”
Nate handed him a first aid kit.
“Her airways are clear.” Porter ignored Travis’s warning not to touch his wife.
Travis nodded numbly as he doused his fingers with alcohol and took out the Quickclot and bandages to stem the bleeding until the paramedics arrived. Caitlin’s eyes were trying to flutter open. Her breathing was labored.
“Travis,” she whispered.
He wiped his hands on his jeans and tenderly brushed her hair from her face. Her head was turned, and she was lying on her right cheek with her eyes hooded. Her lips tried to curve into a smile. A wistful smile.
“You’ll be okay, Cat. Ambulance will be here soon,” Travis said, trying to keep the calm in his voice.
“I don’t hate you . . .”
Ah, hell. She is not saying goodbye.
“Cat, shh . . . I know you don’t.”
“I don’t hate you . . .”
“Save your strength, babe.”
“I love you . . . I’m sorry I . . .”
She sighed deeply. Her eyes closed. She was so still.
No!
“Stay with me, sunshine,” his voice cracked as he exhaled on a shuddering breath. “Don’t. Please, Cat . . . don’t leave me again.”