Page 20 of Saved By the Lieutenant

With a snarl, he rushes towards me again, as he does, my fingers tighten around the cool metal of the poker. I lift it and bring it down hard on his skull, using every ounce of strength that I have left. The impact is bone-jarring, the pain of the blow shoots through my arm, I cry out, unable to hold it any longer and drop it. Thankfully, the hit was enough for Callum to stop in his pursuit of me and crumble to the floor.

I move away from him and get closer to the back door, giving me the advantage of escaping if he even stirs. I glance over at Callum and see that he’s lying motionless on the floor, a deep gash on his forehead. I should feel guilty for hurting him, but I don’t.

The sound of the back door being thrown open startles me, and I let out a high-pitched shriek in fear. But my body immediately relaxes when I see the figure stumbling into the cabin. It's Jake. He's alive. Thank God, he's alive.

“Jake,” I cry as I rush toward him, my words rough and hoarse.

He wraps me in his arms and holds me tight. “Christ baby,” he growls. “I thought I’d lost you.”

I shake my head, my entire body shaking now that the adrenalin is crashing. “Never,” I promise fiercely. “Are you okay?” I ask, running my hands over his body, checking for wounds.

“I’m fine,” he says through gritted teeth. “Fucker came at me from behind, managed to knick my arm, but when I fought back, he pistol whipped me. Knocked me out cold.”

“He has a gun?” I whisper horrified.

“I did,” Callum laughs from behind me. “Not anymore, but that won’t stop me.”

I spin on my heel and see that he’s moving toward me, his knife back in his hands and that sadistic look on his face.

Jake releases me and moves with purpose toward Callum, clenching his fists as he positions himself in front of me. I watch in disbelief as the two men face off, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Callum smirks, confident that he’s going to get the best of Jake, while the man I love has his fist clenched so tight that his knuckles are white.

Without warning, Callum lunges forward, his blade glistening, slick with blood. Jake dodges at the last second,swinging his fist toward Callum’s face. It connects with a satisfying thud against Callum's jaw, causing him to stumble back with a curse.

But Callum is quick to recover, his eyes blazing with fury as he lunges again. Jake barely dodges this time, the knife grazing his cheek as he retaliates with another swing of his fists, once again, aiming for Callum’s face. Callum staggers backward, blood trickling from his lips.

With a roar of anger, Callum lunges once more, Jake dodges to the side, narrowly avoiding the bloodied blade aimed for his chest. He follows it up with another punch, this time to his temple and it sends Callum sprawling to the ground, his knife clattering out of hands.

My heart beats frantically and my mouth goes dry as Jake heads to the kitchen and comes back with a length of rope. In a matter of minutes, he has Callum bound and immobilized. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he won't be able to attack us again.

Jake moves toward me, pulling me into his arms. “It’s over baby,” he tells me, his words heavy and he’s breathing hard.

“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice still trembling.

He nods, his eyes on Callum. “I’m sure, Amy, he won’t be able to hurt you again.”

All the emotions that I have felt over the past week or so come tumbling out of me. My breathing comes in short gasps, and I collapse to the ground, unable to keep the emotion in any longer. Tears stream down my face as gut-wrenching sobs rack my body.

God, it’s truly all over.

Jake’s arms tighten around me and I burrow my face into his chest as my sobs continue to wrack my body.

“It's okay, Amy,” he whispers, stroking my back with a gentle, reassuring hand. “It’s all over, and everything is okay.”

I nod, even though my vision is blurred with tears. “I thought you were dead,” I choke out between sobs.

Jake's arms tighten around me. “I’m right here, baby, I’m good, I’m right here.”

I cling to him, my fingers clutching his shirt, needing to keep him in my grasp.

“Jake? Amanda?” I hear Peter shouting.

“It’s over now, baby,” Jake whispers. “It’s all over. We’re going to finally get to where we were supposed to be.”

I nod against his chest, so much has changed in the past week, but I know that Jake means what he says. He loves me, and I love him.

“Come on baby,” he says softly. “Let’s get out of here.” He carries me to the door and out into the crisp night air.

I'm still shivering from the adrenaline, but also from the sheer magnitude of what just happened. The killer has finally been caught and I’m free to return home with Jake.

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