Page 50 of Worthy Now
“We can talk about this. You don’t have to hold us at gunpoint. I’m willing to listen. But this is between you and me. Let Tessa go, and I’ll happily sit down with you and have a conversation.”
Jessica looks at me with a longing expression, and for a split-second, I think she’ll listen to reason. Then she gives her head a subtle shake and lifts her chin with a newfound determination.
“Do you think I’m stupid? She’d call the police and have me arrested the second she clears the front door. No one leaves this house until you promise not to marry her. I need you to choose me.”
I regard her with a pitying look—letting her know I sympathize, but also needing her to understand this isn’t ever going to happen.
“I can’t do that, Jessica. I don’t have feelings for you. Never did. Never will. You can’t force someone to love you, sweetheart. It doesn’t work that way. The heart wants what the heart wants, and mine belongs to Tessa. That doesn’t mean I don’t care,” I tell her as I watch her every hope crumple right before my eyes. “I want what’s best for you, Jess. Please,” I beg, holding out a hand and slowly inching closer. “Hand me the gun and let’s talk about this. I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want, but it’s not too late to do the right thing.”
Jessica’s features contort, a tortured expression settling on her face as she briefly stares at the ceiling. Then she looks me straight in the eye and gives me a regretful smile.
“I’m sorry too, Jake,” she says on a broken sob. “But if I can’t have you, no one can. Maybe we’ll be together in the next life.”
I watch in utter horror as her index finger twitches and a deafening sound resonates through the room. I hear Tessa’s blood-curdling scream only seconds before fire explodes in my chest. I stumble back, colliding with Tessa’s front as I stare at the weeping woman opposite me with shocked disbelief.
Then Jessica turns the gun on herself and pulls the trigger once more.
Thirty-Three
Tessa
The gut-wrenching scream tearing itself from my throat can only be described as inhuman. Jake’s upper body jerks, and he stumbles back, knocking into me and blocking my view.
I yelp when a second gunshot rings through the room, thinking she’s shot him again. But when I step around Jake, ready to take that murderous psycho down, I realize she no longer poses a threat to anyone.
Jessica is sprawled out on the floor, eyes wide and unfocused as a puddle of blood seeps out from beneath her head. I whip around to check on Jake, who’s clutching at his chest with a stunned expression. Panic chokes me when the red stain around his hand begins to spread.
“Jake,” I cry and reach for him with shaking hands. His eyes whip up to mine before he takes a shuddering breath and falls to his knees.
“Call an ambulance, Tessa. Now,” he barks, spurring me into action. I sprint for my phone, almost dropping it in my haste to dial 911, and hurry back to Jake, who’s white as a sheet by now. His skin is clammy to the touch, and there’s a wheezing sound in his chest that throws my panic into overdrive.
“I need an ambulance at 225 Cedar Ridge Road. My fiancé has been shot and needs immediate medical attention. Please, hurry,” I beg as Jake slowly lowers himself onto his back, losing the strength to stay upright. I fetch a clean towel and press it to his wound while the operator instructs me to apply firm pressure.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Help is coming. Just hang on.”
“Baby,” Jake croaks out, wincing at the pain but forcing himself to stay alert as he wraps a hand around my forearm. “I love you so much. I need you to know that.”
“Stop. Don’t talk to me like you’re already dead. You promised to marry me, and I’ll damn well hold you to it. Don’t you dare give up on me now! You hear me?”
“Please, Tessa,” he urges, squeezing my arm while he stares up at me like I’m the only thing anchoring him to this earth. “Let me get this off my chest. Just in case.” A choked sob spills from mylips, but I give him an encouraging nod. “I need you to know that my biggest regret is not fighting to get you back,” he tells me as he struggles to breathe. “I should’ve swallowed my pride and gone after you. I shouldn’t have let anything stand in my way. I’m so damn sorry I wasted so much time and now it’s too late. You’re the love of my life.”
I emit an animalistic sound as I fold myself over him, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck.
“I love you. Please, don’t leave me. Just stay with me. Stay with me,” I whisper over and over again, bargaining with God and every entity I know to save him. When the paramedics finally arrive and gently peel me off his body, Jake is unresponsive. I almost faint when one of them produces the biggest needle I’ve ever seen and inserts it between his ribs. As the two men work to get him ready for transport, my fiancé remains unconscious. And no matter how much I beg and plead with him to open his eyes while the ambulance races us toward the nearest hospital, he doesn’t grant me my wish.
“How is he?” Carter barks, storming into the waiting area with Megan. Jude and Anna are hot on his heels while my parents bring up the rear. As soon as he reaches me, he wraps me up in his arms and holds on for dear life. “Are you okay? Did that unhinged bitch hurt you?”
“I’m okay, thanks to Jake. He placed himself between me and Jessica and wouldn’t budge. She shot him point blank, Carter,” I sob, fingers digging into his upper arms to anchor myself. If I cause him any pain, he doesn’t show it, understanding my need to hold on to something. “She came into our home and shot him. And now he’s in there, fighting for his life, and I don’t know if he’s going to make it, and I’m so damn scared.”
Jude, who’s flown in to be part of the celebrations, catches my eyes over the top of Anna’s head, who’s silently crying into his chest. He does his best to put on a good front for his sister’s sake, but I saw the flash of fear he failed to conceal. Megan steps up to us and tugs me out of her husband’s embrace to engulf me in a tight hug of her own, needing the physical comfort as much as I do.
“Jake’s a tough son of a bitch,” Carter states, emotion thick in his voice. “He’s been through a lot and always came out the other side. I know how excited he is to make you his wife. He won’t let you go without a fight this time. You’ll see.”
Releasing my best friend, I exhale a ragged breath and pour myself into the empty seat between my parents. Squeezing my mother’s offered hand, I tip my head back and close my eyes, drawing strength from the love and support filling the air around me.
“He has to be alright,” Anna’s small voice echoes off the walls. Jude pulls her tighter into his side and kisses the top of her head, whispering something close to her ear that has her nodding in agreement. Then he lifts his head with a stubborn tilt of his chin and addresses the room.
“My brother is as strong as an ox and just as resilient. He’ll pull through the surgery, and a few weeks from now, it’ll be like none of this ever happened,” he reassures us before a flicker of raw anger blazes through his eyes. “That bitch is lucky she had the good sense to take herself out. I swear to God, if he ends up with any lasting damage, I’ll dig her up just to kill her again.”
