Page 67 of Sail Away
“I don’t think so, you motherfucker.” Darcie stood over him with a fire extinguisher. She raised it over her head and swung, bringing it down and across the back of Preston’s head. He grunted and fell flat to his stomach. “And you.” Darcie picked up the gun and pointed it at Jim. “How fucking dare you? If I thought I could live with myself, I’d pull the trigger.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Reid said between ragged breaths. He clutched his chest and blinked. Everything blurred. He sat down on the back bench. Bile trickled to the back of his throat. “Jim, sit down and put your hands behind your back.”
“What?” Jim asked.
“Just fucking do it. Darcie, tie him up. Good.”
“Sure thing.”
“Seriously? You’re going to tie me up after I helped save you? Come on. Can’t we just call it even?”
“No. We can’t.” Reid leaned back on the cold cushion. He kept his focus on Darcie and her movements. He smiled proudly as she handled the rope with ease, securing Jim’s hands to the metal posts on the side of the center bench. “And when you’re done with him, tie up Preston.”
“We don’t have cell service right here,” Darcie said. “But about two miles closer to the shore, I’ll be able to reach the Coast Guard and my brother.” She stood at the helm, her hair whipping in the wind. She was the most beautiful thing Reid had ever seen. If he died in this moment, it would be okay because he’d get to die looking at the woman who mattered the most to him.
“Good. Good,” he said. He held his chest, putting as much pressure on the wound as he could. The pain wasn’t as horrible as he thought it would be. Not that he thought about what getting shot would be like all that often. Only it burned to breathe, and he couldn’t fill his lungs.
“Why don’t you call Jag while I call the Coast Guard?”
He closed his eyes. He told himself it would only be for a minute. He just needed a moment to refresh. Only, he found himself drifting off to dreamland.
“Reid,” Darcie said. “Reid?” she repeated.
He opened his mouth, but only gurgling noises came out.
“Oh, my God. You’re bleeding. Like really badly.”
“Just drive,” he said. “Get us to safety. I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t look so well.” She pulled her shirt over her head and wadded it up, pressing it over his chest. “You need to come sit next to me. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
She lifted his arm and looped it over her neck and shoulders.
Leaning the majority of his weight on her, he hobbled toward the center console.
“I’ll drive,” Jim said.
“You just sit there and be quiet.” Darcie eased Reid onto the bench seat. She gripped the steering wheel with one hand and put pressure on his wound with the other. “You should have told me he shot you.”
“I should have told you the other day that I love you.”
“That, too.”
“Do you love me, Darcie?”
“I love you, Reid. With all my heart and soul.”
“Good. Good,” he whispered. “I want to go to sleep now.” He could hear her protesting, but he couldn’t fight the darkness anymore. He let it engulf him and accepted it. He’d soon be one with the nothingness, and he’d feel nothing, see nothing, and be nothing.
She loved him, and he felt at peace.
* * *
Darcie paced in the emergency department waiting room. She’d chewed off three of her nails and had started on a fourth.
“You need to stop. You’re making me crazy,” Justin said.
