Page 8 of No First Kisses

“You already make me happy, Logan.” I watched him take in my words, the shadows on his face clashing with the lights shining on his back. “And you and your parents made tonight happen. All those people were there to show how many lives Lettie touched. How many people miss her. How many people support you and your family and are here if you ever need them. I love you, too. And I’ll always be here for you.”

“Well, well, well. What in the hell do we have here?”

Slowly, so slowly that I wasn’t sure I was actually moving, I turned to see a man standing in the shadows and a flash of metal pointing directly at Logan.

“Poppy.” Logan’s voice was hard. “Get behind me.”

“I don’t think so,” the man in the shadows spat out. “Nobody move.”

“Take my wallet.” Logan reached into his back pocket. “Take the money. Take the cards. I don’t care. Just let her go.”

Barking laughter came from the shadows. “That’s funny.” He laughed some more, sarcastic and biting.

My hands were trembling while my knees locked up, and I didn’t think I could move in that moment if I wanted to. Terror, the likes of which I’d never even imagined in my wildest dreams, slid down my spine and into my stomach, turning everything sour.

“You think I’m here for your money?”

“What do you want, if you don’t want our money?”

Stupid. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. The gun, because there wasn’t any mistaking the shining metal muzzle that was staring me in the face, flashed and proved the point.

“I want to make you hurt.”

I wasn’t a stranger to guns. We used rifles to hunt, and my father made sure that I knew how to use a handgun. As an expert marksman and range instructor in the Marine Corps back in the day, he made damn sure that his daughter knew the workings of every single weapon there was.

But I’d never been shot before.

As my body fell backward, I couldn’t do anything to brace for the impact. My arms weren’t working. My hands wouldn’t move. My fingers didn’t even twitch when I tried to reach for Logan.

At least it didn’t hurt.

Wait.

That was wrong.

I should have been in pain.

By the time I hit the ground, I knew I was dying. I couldn’t feel anything.

My body was in shock, which meant that I was going to die.

And then Logan was there, pulling me into his arms as the man with the gun fled without saying another word.

“POPPY.”

Logan had my head in his lap, and there’s ringing from somewhere as he called for help, but I couldn’t hear any of the words being said.

Was the ringing in my head? Or was it a phone?

I couldn’t even concentrate to keep my eyes open.

“Am I dying?” The question came out broken, and I tasted blood. “Logan.” I said his name, hoping he’d break away from the call. “Logan?”

The truth was buried in his eyes. In the devastation written across his face as he finally looked at me.

My heart raced in my chest, and even while my fingers and toes were going numb, I knew I had to make it alright. I had to make sure he knew I was going to love him forever.

Even when he lost me.

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