Venture Forward (28 page)

Tears streamed from her eyes. “They’ll kill you. Please, we can get out of here together. Don’t make me do it alone!”

“You have to. My life is shit anyway. Let me at least try to do something right for once.”

“Please d-don’t leave. I c-can’t do this.”

“You’ll be fine. Just run. I got your back.”

Teeth chattering, she watched Darryl crawl toward one of the bodies. A quick look around confirmed the firefight was still directed at Miguel’s crew. Panicked thoughts crippled her mind. It was only a matter of time before they found her and Darryl… and those bastards would never leave a single witness alive.

Darryl grabbed a gun and slowly rose to his feet, firing once into the air. She inched closer to the darkened path, limbs still wobbly. Would her legs even carry her? It was only a few yards away. More bullets popped. She flinched at the deafening sound, eyes wide.
Okay, go! Go now!
But her feet wouldn’t comply, and she stumbled forward and crashed to the ground. Her hands and face scraped against the concrete. A sudden surge of adrenaline jolted her. With a final prayer, she scrambled to her feet.

“Avery, no! Watch your—” A series of gunshots silenced Darryl’s terrified voice, and her body lurched forward with a force that drove her face-first back onto the pavement. Searing pain ravaged her insides as the bullet incinerated everything in its path. Each excruciating breath felt like a knife slicing into her lungs.
Can’t breathe… hurts so much… please make it stop. Please make it stop.
Delirium set in, her thoughts growing foggier by the second.
Have to run… need to escape…
She tried in vain to raise her head, but it weighed more than a block of cement. Tiny bits of gravel dug into her skin, the stinging sensation blunted by a welcome numbness quickly snaking through her extremities. Obscure images and flashing lights swam before her eyes, growing blurrier by the second, until everything around her faded to darkness.

HE STAGGERED TOWARD THE
airport exit, hungover from the excess of scotch, not having slept a wink, drowning in the harsh realization that he’d alienated the one person with the power to heal him, to fill the void, to soothe his wounded soul. She was everything he couldn’t live without. But he’d walked away, again. Would she ever—

“Paul!”

The cobwebs in his brain blunted the shrill sound. He slowly raised his head, fighting the queasiness that threatened to send him flying into the nearest restroom. “Kearney? What are you—”

She ran over and hugged him tight, tears streaming down her face. “Thank God you’re back.”

“Why are you crying? Did something happen?”

“I need you to come with me, okay?”

“Tell me what’s wrong. Is somebody hurt?”

“It’s Avery, sweetie. She’s at the hospital. Sh-she was shot tonight, down at Pietro Point.”

“Shot? How did this… Is she—” He fell into Kearney’s outstretched arms, his shoulders shaking. “Please tell me she’s okay.”

“I don’t know anything else. Evan’s on call. He’s waiting for you.”

Waves of nausea assaulted him, making his insides churn. “I’m gonna be sick.” After pushing past her, he crumbled to the curb outside the terminal until his stomach was as empty as his heart. Avery was the one beacon of light that could guide his troubled soul to a place where he could finally experience happiness. But he’d left without a backward glance, and now she was lying in a hospital, hurt. Or worse.

“Sit up,” Kearney advised when he collapsed into the back of the car. “Just in case. We’ll be there soon.”

So much spinning. Lights sped past in a blur, and closing his eyes only fed power to the ache in his stomach. Seconds crept past. Nothing mattered without her.
Please don’t take her away.

Kearney maneuvered her car into a visitor spot at the hospital. “I-I brought you here so you can say goodbye. She’s hurt really badly. They don’t think she’s going to make it.”

“I have to see her,” he whispered, his eyes wet with tears.

The smell of antiseptic cleaners besieged his nostrils as they entered the Emergency Room. Nausea once again crashed over him, heightened by the grave look on Evan’s face. “Avery’s in surgery now, but she’s in bad shape. There’s a lot of damage to her heart.”

“Tell me she’s not going to die. Please tell me she’ll be okay.”

“She suffered penetrating cardiac trauma. The bullet ravaged her chest, and there are injuries to her right ventricle and the surrounding vessels. The surgeons are doing everything they can, but the damage is extensive. Her prognosis isn’t great.”

“What the fuck happened? Do you know
anything?”

“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Miguel’s crew was down at Pietro Point, and some other gang showed up unexpectedly. It was a bloodbath. Darryl’s dead. If the cops hadn’t shown up when they did…”

“Dead? Jesus Christ. I never called him back. I was too wrapped up in my own bullshit to bother. He needed my help and I… I ignored him, ignored everyone.” Paul raked a hand through his hair, stomach rolling. “Why was Avery there?”

“I don’t know anything else. It was a real fucking mess, but there’s more. Rochelle Harrison was there too. I have no idea why. She was conscious when they brought her in, but the cops couldn’t get much out of her. Now she’s in surgery to repair a collapsed lung.”

Rochelle? What the fuck was going on? “Why would Avery be with Rochelle?” The throbbing in his head made it difficult to process everything, but none of the reasons mattered now.

“I know you’ve got questions. We’ll figure everything out, I promise. In the meantime, you should get some rest. Avery won’t be out of surgery for hours, and even then…”

“I won’t leave her. She doesn’t have anyone else.”

“Okay. I need to take care of some paperwork. I’ll come out as soon as I hear anything.”

“I can’t live without her. If she dies… My life is nothing if she’s not in it, and I-I left her before—”

“Sweetie, just try to relax, okay?” Kearney put an arm around his shoulders, but he shook it off.

“No. I know you want to help, but I need to be alone. I’m sorry.”

He staggered down the hall, a dull ache settling over his heart. The heavy wooden door of the chapel beckoned him. For so many years, he’d prayed for someone to pull his family from the pits of hell, and every desperate plea had gone unanswered. After suffering through the terror and misery that had become their daily existence, he’d pretty much written off the idea of an all-loving higher power. But at that moment, he needed God on his side, on Avery’s side. He needed to believe, to cling to any remnants of faith entombed deep within his shattered heart. The chapel was dark, silent, but strangely comforting. The scent of incense filled him with an odd sense of serenity. He fell into one of the pews, tears spilling onto the front of his rumpled shirt.

Every second dragged. Minutes felt like hours.
Please God, don’t take her away. Let her wake up, give her strength to get through this.
He’d left her once and regretted that decision with every cell of his being. He couldn’t lose her forever.

A soft hand covered his. “Mom…”

Pamela slid into the pew next to him. “She’s still in surgery, honey. I just came to check on you.”

“I walked away. I let this happen.”

“This is not your fault, and blaming yourself won’t help her.”

“She wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t… I let her down. Just like… just like I let you down.”

“That’s nonsense. You’ve always been my rock, the one who gave me strength to move forward. You bore the brunt of so much. Things you should never have experienced. Always so brave, protecting us, never thinking of yourself. You deserve to be happy, and I pray you’ll get that chance.”

“I love her so much. I don’t know what I’ll do if—”

“Don’t even think it. We’re going to pray really hard for Avery to pull through this. Now I’m going to be
your
rock.”

THE NURSE CHECKED ROCHELLE’S
vitals. Anger bubbled to the surface as Paul recalled their last encounter. Why was Avery the one clinging to life? He clenched his fists. Stop! For all the bullshit Rochelle had pulled, she didn’t deserve this either.

“I believe you have a visitor, honey.” The nurse smoothed her hair back and motioned for Paul to step inside the room. “I’ll be back to check on you in a little while.”

Tears streamed down her bruised and swollen cheeks.

“How are you feeling?”

She sniffed, gingerly shifting her body. “Horrible. I’m so sorry. I should have done something to stop it, but I was s-so scared. It was like an awful nightmare that just wouldn’t end. I’ve never been so petrified in my life. Those guys… they were drug dealers or something. One of them attacked me, and when I tried to escape, he… he…”

Never had he seen her so broken. It was hard to imagine, after everything.

“That guy Darryl showed up. Avery knew him. He tried to save her, but they shot him. I prayed the police would show up to save us, but it was too late. Is Avery—”

“No, but the doctors don’t think she’s going to make it.”

“Oh God, this is all my fault.”

“I need to know why she was there.”

“She was trying to protect you by offering me money to keep quiet. I leaked the story about Avery’s book to the press and I was the one who blackmailed you about Androtti. I was just so angry and I wanted you to suffer. I never meant for anything like this to happen. We could have been killed because of
me
.”

His chest tightened as the realization clicked in his mind. He’d always been so quick to close the book on people who’d wronged him. No second chances, no opportunities for redemption. Ties were severed, and life went on without a backward glance. But that lack of forgiveness would forever haunt him. If he’d have just listened instead of trying to win a never-ending battle with his own demons, she wouldn’t be lying on that table right now.

“I’m so sorry for everything. I hope she pulls through.”

“Me too.”

HE’D TOLD HER THERE
was nobody to blame but himself when the media shit-storm hit. If he’d done things differently and played by the rules, his career and company wouldn’t be in jeopardy. The constant struggle for power and prestige never filled the gaping holes in his wounded soul. Avery was the only one who could do that, the only one who’d ever broken through, the love of his life, but no amount of money or power could bring her back if it wasn’t God’s will.

Fuck, she was so pale. If not for the bleeping machines flanking her bedside, it would be impossible to believe she had any remaining breath of life still within her. The dull ache in his chest magnified with the realization that she may have already taken her last voluntary breath. Without those tubes… Tears pooled in his eyes. His fingers entwined with her cold, lifeless ones. There was no reassuring squeeze, no warmth flowing between them. The grip was empty and numb, mirroring his existence for the past twenty-four hours. He could grasp as tightly as he wanted… hoping, praying, begging for the chance that she might open those beautiful, soulful eyes. But it was to no avail. Her eyelids never fluttered, her body still as a…
No, please, God, no.