Page 53 of Gatling
I never took my eyes off the bunker door. My finger curled around the trigger of my rifle. I blinked in the sun’s glare, and the crosshairs lost definition in a watery blur.
At last, the bunker door slammed open. Kelsie emerged first, with Olson huddled behind her, a knife pressed to her throat. They coughed and sputtered, covered in a thin layer of dirt.
She’s alive. Thank fuck, she’s alive.
“If you shoot,” Olson screamed, furious. “I’m taking her down with me.”
For the first time in my life, the gun trembled in my hands.
Kelsie and Olson were too fuzzy. I couldn’t tell them apart. And he was too close, using her as a shield to protect him, the coward.
I didn’t have a clear shot.
I couldn’tfucking see.
Adjusting my grip on my rifle, I aligned my aim again.
Breathe.
Focus.
Olson was still screaming, threatening, making demands and ultimatums.
I tuned it out, burying that noise in the back of my mind.
And I set my attention on Kelsie.
Her hands were bound in front of her. She didn’t appear to be injured, but her lips were a shade of purplish-blue that I didn’t like.
I hated this.
She’s my sunshine. Carrying our baby.
I never wanted to see her this way, trapped in my crosshairs. My stomach clenched. Nausea boiled at the base of my throat.
If I missed, if I was even a hair off, I could kill her.
“I love you,” I whispered.
Then I pulled the trigger.
Olson’s body jerked in a flare of red. He hit the ground, unmoving. A neat, round hole between his eyes.
In an instant, I dropped my gun and started running. I couldn’t breathe—my lungs were bursting, too hot, too tight, no air—but it didn’t matter.
I only cared about her.
Kelsie’s legs gave out and she folded into a trembling heap. She clawed at the earth to get away from Olson’s body. I skidded to a stop beside her and gathered her into my arms.
“Ryker,” she sobbed. “You’re here.”
“Of course I am, sunshine. I always come when you call. Don’t you know that by now?”
She managed a wet laugh, torn between joy and relief. Taking my hand, she pressed my palm to her stomach. Neither of us said anything. But her eyes filled with worry and I found myself completely at a loss for words to comfort her.
Instead, I held Kelsie tighter, crushing her into my chest as if I could fuse our bodies together by sheer willpower alone.
Chapter sixteen
