Then, just when I think we might be making a clean escape, the earth beneath us shakes and loud explosions erupt around us.
We help each other up, the adrenaline racing through my veins as we start to run, hunched low. There’s smoke filling the air around us, turning the misty morning into what looks like a war zone, and the men in the house start shouting, hindering our escape.
We find a wide tree, looking back to the house and the explosion sites. I don’t see anyone near it, but any second, I know those men will see we are gone.
“What do we do?” I ask Didi, relying on her for just about everything, including my emotional state.
“I think we should run.” She looks down the long driveway. There are some trees, but not enough to hide our escape. “That house in the distance, there.” She points to another log cabin-looking home. From here it looks tiny, and I eye it dubiously. “It’s our only chance, Felicity.”
I nod, knowing she is right, but wishing she wasn’t.
“Okay, on the count of three.”
On three, we take off. Our feet crunch over dead branches and dried leaves as we race out from behind the tree. The homewe are running to is far enough away that they wouldn’t have heard me scream even if I had tried.
I shudder at the thought of it coming to that. What if it had? What if Didi never showed?
Just ahead, maybe four hundred feet, I see a truck I recognize, its wheels spinning as it barrels down the long driveway.
Jax.
I see him in the passenger seat, or the outline of him, and he jumps out, running toward us. A hoard of motorcycles files in behind Jax’s truck on the road coming around the truck as the Cash brothers jump out, running for me and their mother.
I hear someone shout from behind us and the cabin door slamming open. I turn to see Didi about ten feet behind me, running as fast as she can.
Keith runs at us, raising a gun in his hand, and panic makes me act. I turn back, rushing to Didi and pushing her to run faster, and as I turn to run behind her, a gun sounds off. I see Jax scream, his face red as he runs toward me, and then I feel something hot and sharp hit my shoulder with unimaginable pain.
The force throws me to the ground, and I lay there frozen in shock, hearing more and more gunshots ring out around me. Tears pool in my eyes before falling. The pain and shock of the bullet freezes my body, and I’m unable to move at all.
“Felicity!” I hear Jax’s agonizing voice break on my name, and I try to move, try to lift my head to tell him I’m okay.
Hurt. But okay.
Gravel moves around my head, and Jax comes to a stop beside me. Sliding onto the ground, he flips me over, shielding my body with his own. I want to tell him to get off, to keep himself safe, but the only word that slips out of my mouth is the quietest sound of his name. “Jax.”
Somehow, he hears me, and lays his head beside mine, his lips brushing against my cheeks. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you, City Girl.”
“I’m okay.” My voice comes out hoarse. The chaos around us continues to erupt as people shout and more guns are being fired.
Then I hear a siren, and I think Ezra’s voice, as Jax slowly flips me over. The pain in my shoulder and back makes me hiss out a breath. Slowly, the gunshots cease one by one until I hear shouting coming from every direction.
Jax is yanked roughly off my body, and I reach for him in slow motion, unable to get ahold of him when the pain from my shoulder hits me again. “Jax!”
“I’m not the bad guy here,” he states calmly. He’s talking to the officer, but his eyes are on mine, and there’s something there, something that tells me he’s trying to say that to me, to tell me he’s not the bad guy.
“No, you’re not,” I say, then clear my voice, speaking to the officer. “He’s the one who rescued me. He’s not who you need.”
The officer hesitates for a moment, then slowly releases Jax. He comes right back down to me, holding his arms around me and helping me stand.
I glance around frantically, lightheaded but worried for Didi. “Your mom?”
“She’s okay. Logan has her.” I finally spot the tall cowboy and see him holding his shaking mother to him, his face full of anguish, and I wish I could take this away from this family. Not one of them deserves the man they were given as a husband and father.
I glance back, seeing police take Keith and his men down. Even the nice guy is on the ground, though he is the only one not fighting it or cursing out the officers.
Mistakes are some of the hardest lessons we learn.
“Felicity!” I turn my head, my body being lifted from the ground as Jax carries me. I would argue if the energy wasn’t escaping me.
