Page 78 of Blackwood

“Garret!” The sheriff yelled. “It’s me. Come on. The mayor’s hurt bad. You got him in the head. I need to call it in. You’re looking at murder one. Let me help you.”

“Go fuck yourself!” The driver’s side door opened.

I turned my head and saw Garrett. He crouched down and reached out for me as the glass in the passenger window shattered.

“I’m sorry.” I said it, but he didn’t seem to hear me. Did I say it? I meant it. More than I’d ever meant anything in my life.

“Shhh.” He yanked out the floor mat, then reached up and pulled the visor down. A set of keys tumbled onto the driver’s seat. “Stay down.” He raised a pistol and fired three shots through the window over my head.

“Fuck!” The sheriff screamed. I hoped Garrett landed a kill shot.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, he shoved the key into the ignition and started the truck. Another, even louder shot rang out followed by the hardthunkof punctured metal. We surged forward, Garrett leaning down as he floored it on the rough road.

“I’ve got you. Red, you’ll be fine.” He reached out and took my bloody hand.

I couldn’t feel him. I felt nothing at all.

Chapter Thirty

Déjà vu. The termwasn’t strong enough for when I woke up in a hospital room with Garrett sitting next to me, my hand in his. I tried to speak to him, but something blocked my voice. His head was bowed, and he pulled my hand to his lips.

I squeezed his fingers.

His head bobbed up, his eyes wide. “You’re awake.” He turned his head to the side and yelled, “She’s awake!”

He pressed his palm to the side of my face. “Red.”

I leaned against his steady pressure. Tears gleamed in his eyes as the nurse—the same one from our last visit—hustled into the room.

“Ms. Vale?” She leaned over the other side of my bed and spoke clearly and almost too loudly. “You lost a lot of blood. Dr. Turner repaired the damage to your liver caused by the bullet, but you’ll need to stay here for several days to recover. You’re still intubated to make sure you keep breathing well. We’ll take the tube out once you’re awake for a bit. You can’t talk, though. Blink one for yes, two for no. And press the call button if you need anything. Understand?”

I blinked once.

“Good. I’m going to let the doctor know you’re awake.” She tinkered with one of my monitors and took my blood pressure, then left, her shoes squeaking with each step.

Garrett sat on the edge of my bed and kissed my hand again. “You’re safe. I swear.”

I blinked once, though the shadow of Sheriff Crow passed across my mind.

Garrett seemed to hear my thoughts. “Sheriff Crow got away, but not for long. There’s a state trooper outside your door, and the governor has ordered a perimeter around the county. He won’t escape.”

I glanced to the door, the windows. I felt like the bed beneath me disappeared and I was sinking through to the floor below and lower. The sheriff was coming for me, chasing me. His footsteps sped up along with the beep of some machine. I clenched my eyes shut.

“Nurse!” Garrett yelled.

I couldn’t breathe. Sheriff Crow was going to kill me just like my dad and Lillian. The cold grave would open, and I would tumble in, landing amidst the rest of the victims and barely disturbing the sparse snow along the edges.

“Red, please.”

Squeaking met my ears again, then hands landed on me. I struggled, pushing and fighting.

Black. I tried to call black, but the word wouldn’t come out.

“Red, you’re safe. I’m here.” Garrett’s voice broke. “Listen to me. Listen. I’m here. No one will hurt you. I swear I’ll die before any of them touch you again. I swear it. Hold onto me.”

He cupped my face with his hands. “I’ve got you.”

I opened my eyes and stared into his sparkling blues.

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