Page 91 of Aussie
“No!” Ava screamed. Without a second thought, she threw herself in front of Christian just as Clint pulled the trigger.
The crack of the gunshot echoed in her ears, and a searing pain tore through her chest, stealing the breath from her lungs. She collapsed to the ground, the cold pavement biting into her skin. Somewhere in the distance, more gunfire erupted, but allshe could focus on was the unbearable agony radiating from her upper chest.
Blood pooled beneath her, sticky and warm.
“Ava!” Christian’s voice broke through the haze, panicked and choked with tears. He knelt beside her, his hands pressing against the wound, though they couldn’t stop the flow of blood.
Suddenly, two large figures appeared next to her. One seemed very familiar, though her vision was blurry.
“Ava, love. Stay with me,” one of the individuals said.
“Aussie…” she whispered. Her eyes felt heavy.
“Yes, it’s me. No, don’t close your eyes. Keep looking at me,” he told her.
Suddenly, another face popped into her line of vision.
“Christian,” she said. Her voice sounded weak.
“Why, Ava?” he cried, his face streaked with tears. “Why did you do that?”
Ava forced herself to meet his eyes, her lips trembling as she managed a weak smile. “Because,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos around them, “I’ll always protect my son.”
Her vision dimmed as the world around her began to fade into darkness. She couldn’t hold on anymore. The last thing she saw and heard was Christian’s tear-streaked face and Aussie yelling at her not to close her eyes before everything went black.
???
“No!” Aussie yelled as he gently shook Ava. “Ava, don’t you dare! Stay with me!”
The paramedics arrived, pushing him aside as they worked to stabilize her. Aussie stumbled backward, his legs barely holding him up. Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Then suddenly, the entire scene replayed in his mind but in slow motion.
Tears streamed down his face as he watched Ava throw herself in front of Christian, shielding him from the bullet meant to end his life. Her body jerked backward from the force of the bullet before slamming into the ground.
Christian broke free from Snow’s grasp and ran into Aussie’s arms. Aussie held him tightly, shielding him from the sight of the medics working on Ava.
“Is she going to die?” Christian sobbed, his hands clutching Aussie’s shirt.
Aussie’s voice cracked as he answered, “No. She’s not going anywhere. She’s a fighter, Christian. She’s going to make it.”
The team closed in around them, forming a protective barrier as the paramedics worked on Ava before loading her into the ambulance.
“I can’t lose her,” Christian whispered, his voice trembling.
Aussie tightened his hold on the boy, his throat constricting as tears blurred his vision. “Neither can I,” he said softly.
As the ambulance doors closed and the siren wailed, Aussie stood there, clutching Christian tightly, praying with everything he had that he wouldn’t have to face a world without Ava.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
The roar of the C-130 engines faded into the distance as Aussie and his team stepped onto the tarmac. It had been a grueling two weeks of training, but they were finally home. Despite the ache in his muscles and the exhaustion tugging at his every step, Aussie’s thoughts were on his next mission. But this wasn’t just any mission. Ava’s court hearing was scheduled for the following day, a day that could change her life, Christian’s life, and his own.
One month. That’s how long it had been since the chaos unfolded, since the day that Ava had thrown herself in front of Christian to shield him from a bullet that was meant to end his life. The memory still haunted Aussie. The sight of her crumpled on the ground, pale face, and the blood staining his hands as he tried to keep her conscious. She had nearly died, and that moment had shattered him in a way no battlefield ever could.
It had been a stark reminder of how much she meant to him. He couldn’t lose her. She wasn’t just the woman he loved. She was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And Christian? That boy wasn’t just Ava’s world. He was Aussie’s world as well. He couldn’t stop imagining what life could be like with her and Christian as a family.
Tomorrow, the court would decide. He had been counting down to it for weeks, planning every detail of his support for her and Christian.
As the team approached the hangar, Aussie immediately noticed something was off. Derek stood just outside the building, his arms crossed, his expression tense. He wasn’t thetype to linger without good reason, and the way his eyes locked onto them sent a jolt of unease through Aussie.
