I grin at her. "Might be…a minute…before I can manage…a good fucking…love."
She laughs through her tears. "God, you're incorrigible."
"That's my daughter, asshole," A growly voice snarls in my ear—the owner of the voice is the one patching me up. Harris. "Don't piss me off while I'm saving your life, son."
I find Harris's eyes. "Am I gonna make it, doc?"
He rolls his eyes at me. "Probably. We've got a helo en route."
"The boy?"
"He's good. Thresh is with him."
"Bryn?"
She appears in my line of sight again. "I'm here, baby."
I wiggle my fingers at her—I can't quite make my arm lift more than an inch or two. I guess that's understandable under the circumstances, but I don't like it when my limbs don't obey, the silly buggers.
I might be a bit loopy.
Her fingers fit with mine. "Hey. I'm here."
"Alright, love?"
She nods. "I'm fine. Not a scratch. You took them all, you hog."
I lock gazes with her, determined to say what's been percolating away in the dusty corners of my black, ugly, sinful heart for days now. "Bit of a…" I wince, struggling to breathe; I said I can breathe better, not normally. "Bit of a shit moment for this, but…" it takes the last of my courage and all of my fortitude. "I love you."
She laughs through tears, cupping my face with tender hands. "God, Rush. You're impossible. Only you would tell me you love me at a time like this."
"Just…in case."
"Hey, no. No. Don't even talk like that. You're gonna be fine."
"Not…feeling my best…at the moment." I grimace as a wave of pain rolls over me. "Want you to know. Calling you 'love'…it's not—it's not a Cockney thing…anymore."
“I know."
"Might be it…it never was." The sound of an approaching helo starts to drown out my words. "Never…been in love. So I'm only guessing, mind. But I'm…I'm fairly…certain."
She laughs, sniffling. "Shut up, Rush. Just…shut up. I love you, too."
Fuck me, that hurts to hear. A good hurt, but it fucking hurts.
I'm getting tired. Also, feeling a bit sloshy on the inside. Probably not a good thing.
"Rush?" Her voice is concerned.
"Say it again."
"I love you, Rush."
The helo is here, landing in the field. Helmeted air medics appear over me, a stretcher between them. I'm rolled so the stretcher can be wedged under me, which fucking hurts, but all I care about is Bryn.
Brown eyes search me. "Rush? You’re okay."
"Eliza."
