When the rolling came to a stop, she blinked and stared up into Sinjin’s eyes.
“Are you okay, Isla?” he asked, gaze wild as he drew back and glanced her over. “You’re bleeding.”
“How…?” She blinked again as he stood up and pulled her with him. “Are you real?” she asked, half afraid she’d actually been shot and had died.
“Yes,” he muttered, voice raw with emotion, his breath warm on her skin as he crushed her close. “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re okay. You’re okay.”
She clung to him, shaking, watching the other shooter fall to the ground while the hostage remained standing.
LEO’s rushed forward to secure the hostage, and from herother side, she turned to see Mac and Dex carry Sally to an ambulance.
How had they not hit her when they’d rolled?
“It’s over, Isla,” Sinjin said, still holding her tight. “You’re okay.”
“I am now,” she affirmed, noting that he was shaking too. “I’m okay, Sinjin. I’m okay. You saved me.”
He was here and he’d saved her…and he was here, her mind kept repeating. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to let him go. She’d never felt more wanted or needed in her life.
They stood that way, holding each other, for how long, she had no idea and didn’t care. She just breathed him in and felt him doing the same with her.
Eventually, he released her to yank his shirt off with one hand then he quickly tugged it over her head. That’s when it dawned on her that she’d taken hers off for Sally and had been standing around in her bra.
Once the shirt was in place, falling down to her thighs, she watched as Gabe and a few officers approached.
“You two okay?” Gabe asked, and she glanced behind him to see the man that had threatened her was dead on the ground, with a GSW to the head.
Sinjin nodded. “We’re good.”
She slid her hand in his and squeezed her silent agreement.
He tugged her close and set his forehead to hers. “I have a lot I want to tell you and to say, but it’s going to have to wait until we deal with this, I’m afraid.”
Isla nodded, aware that there would be statements and examinations required. But that was okay. She’d get through it. Knowing he was there and would be with her made it easier to face.
***
Hours later, Isla sat on her couch, snuggled close against Sinjin, while Loki snored in his bed. She was happy that everything was over. Both shooters were dead. Their last names were Briganti. They were the sons of the man who had died of the Code Blue in the ICU on Friday. It was sad. Made no sense to her. But at least all of the wounded had pulled through, even the male nurse who had been lying motionless on the ground.
She sighed, and Sinjin tugged her closer, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m so sorry about yesterday,” he said. “I’m an ass. If I had gone to your house sooner, then maybe you wouldn’t have been at the hospital today. I’m sorry,” he repeated. “You needed me, and I was hours away. I’m sorry.”
She inhaled and drew back to stare at him as shock whispered through her. “You were at my house yesterday?”
After several hours of just staring at her laptop without typing one word of her assessment, she’d given up and hopped in her car to take a drive and try to clear her head, but it hadn’t worked. She’d still felt horrible at how she’d left things with him, even though he’d needed time.
He nodded. “Yes, around dusk. I came to apologize but you were gone. God, I’m sorry, Isla, and I’m so sorry it led to you going through shit today.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” she said, cupping his face. “Don’t you even think that, Sinjin. Of course, I would’ve gone there today. I was honored to receive a more detailed handwritten recommendation from Sally. And the only thing you’re guilty of is saving me. I’m alive because you stopped that creep from shooting me.”
He set his forehead to hers and nodded. “I’m just glad my father was able to get that chopper.”
Isla blinked. “Wait. You were in that chopper?”
He nodded. “Yes, my dad and another cop from El Paso.”
Her heart rocked. “You were with your dad? How?”
