Submerged(Bound Together Book 1)(89)

 

“Don’t worry about Blake,” he says but won’t meet my eyes.

 

“Luke?” I say, desperation seeping from my entire body. That one word hanging between us like an anvil.

 

Blake’s brother takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, he focuses on me before saying the words I’ll never forget. “Blake was shot.” That’s also the first time I notice the blood on his hands.

 

Blake’s blood.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Thirty – It Hurts Like a

 

Mother…

 

Blake

 

Getting shot? Not all it’s cracked up to be.

 

When Luke and I entered the garage, all I saw was Styx holding a gun. I search through the haze of the smoke in the garage for any sign of Carly and Natalia, finally spotting a head of dark hair behind an engine hanging from a cherry picker. I take that as a damn good sign since they aren’t lying on the floor in a pool of their own blood.

 

Gun extended firmly and precisely in front of me, I scan the room until my eyes return to the cold, dark ones of Styx, the man who took my girl and my daughter. There is a standoff. Minutes feel like they pass when in reality, it is probably two seconds. The room is suddenly silent. I don’t hear my fellow agents as they work to clear the room, ordering the suspect to drop his weapon. I don’t hear the desperate cries of my one-year-old daughter, nor do I see the fear in the eyes of the woman I love more than life itself. I only see the man who took them. Styx moves his gun, pointing it square at my chest.

 

The shot rings out, filling the room with chaos and returned fire. I get one shot off before the pressure of the bullet I took takes me down to the ground. Suddenly, there’s quiet again, an eerily silent calm washes over my entire being.

 

Luke’s face hovers over me. I watch his mouth move, but no words appear to be coming out. It takes several seconds before sound returns to the room. “Blake, hang on, man,” he says as he applies pressure to my shoulder.

 

“No. Get Carly and Nat. Get them out of here, Luke. Promise me you’ll get them to safety.” My voice remains surprisingly firm as I ask my little brother to protect those I love the most.

 

“I got it,” he says with a decisive head nod. “Get the medic in here,” Luke yells to the room at large before standing up and moving away from me.

 

I watch until I’m unable to see him any longer. Please God, just let him find them unharmed, and get them out of here safely.

 

Another agent, Brock, hovers over me now, applying a painful amount of pressure to my shoulder. The pain that was absent before finally starts to set in. My entire upper body burns fire with the most intense fucking pain I’ve ever experienced. The image of Carly lying on my arm, sleeping with her beautiful long, midnight hair fanned out around the pillow, her eyes fluttering while she dreams is the last thing I recall before the blackness takes over.

 

* * *

 

Somewhere in the distance I hear a steady beep. It sounds like it is miles away. Hell, a universe away. I do everything I can to open my eyes, but there must be little weights pulling down my lids because I can’t seem to force my damn eyes open for nothing. I lie there quietly and as still as possible, as I try to figure out where in the hell I am. My entire body is stiff and sore and moving is more difficult than I thought it could be.

 

“Blake?” Her voice is like an angel speaking straight from the heavens. “Blake, can you hear me? Wiggle your fingers again,” she orders, her emotions clear in her sweet voice.

 

“Luke, I think he’s waking up,” Carly says in the darkness. My eyes flutter a little as bright light begins to seep in around my closed eyelids. “Keep moving your fingers,” she says.

 

I don’t know how, but I slowly lift my hand, seeking out her touch. When I feel her warm hand wrap around mine, contentment washes over me, and I feel at peace finally. Her hand strokes my fingers as she links them together in a way that symbolizes more to me than she’ll ever know. There’s no way in hell I’ll ever be able to let her go after this. If I have to spend the rest of my life on my knees begging for her forgiveness, then that’s what the fuck I’ll do. There will never be another Carly. No one will ever replace her in my life or my heart. She’s it. The one.

 

“Open your eyes, Blake.” This from Luke. I instantly want to punch him in the face for interrupting my private, mental moment with Carly.

 

“Leave us alone,” I mumble through the driest throat I’ve ever had. His smug laugh fills the room as I blink repeatedly, trying to open my eyes.