Page 111 of Hero's Prize

His lips tilted up in the tiniest of half smiles. “Anything?”

“Anything, as long as you keep walking.”

He did. He was slow, he was unsteady, but he kept moving. One foot in front of the other, even as the storm crashed around them.

They were about a hundred yards from the car when she spotted it. The length of almost a football field. But it might as well have been a hundred miles. There was no way for her to bring the car any closer with all the trees around them.

They weren’t going to make it. This close, and they weren’t going to make it.

She wasn’t going to leave him. Not even to save herself. She had no idea how he was still on his feet. Only out of sheer willpower. But obviously, even his impressive willpower wasn’t going to get him the rest of the way. He was drooping over more every second.

“I think it’s time for that nap, Colton.”

He immediately collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious. She curled up next to him.

She didn’t know if they would survive this storm or not. But if this was the way she had to go, then she was glad it would be next to Colton.

She closed her eyes.

“Miss? Hello?” She felt a hand at her throat and batted it away. Then she realized it had been someone trying to take her pulse.

Ella had no idea how long she’d been lying there. She blinked her eyes open and saw five men standing around them.

“My name is Beau Prince. These are some of my brothers. We live in the nearby town of Fairytale. We’re going to get you out of here.”

She wanted to make a joke about being rescued by a prince, but everything faded to black before she could do it.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN

When Colton woke up in the hospital this time, Ella was next to him.

Getting shot was no joke. He’d lost count of the number of times the medical staff had used the wordfortunate.

Fortunate the bullet hadn’t hit any vital organs.

Fortunate Ella had the presence of mind to dress the wound as best she could then get him nearly out to the car.

Fortunate the Prince brothers had found them when they had.

One inch. If the bullet had hit anywhere else in his midsection by one inch, he probably wouldn’t be here right now. Colton did stunts all the time where an inch made the difference between success and failure. But this was the first time it had made the difference between life and death.

They’d removed the piece of metal from his body in surgery not long after he’d arrived two days ago, and he’d been getting stronger minute by minute since.

Yes, he would have to take it easy for a while. Easy was fine with him as long as Ella would be by his side.

“Hey, you.” His voice was still a little hoarse, but stronger than yesterday. The doctors planned to release him tomorrow.

Ella sat up in the recliner that was positioned by his bed. “Hi.Your parents were just here but didn’t want to wake you. Let me go get them.”

“No, that’s okay.” He’d already seen and talked to his parents multiple times since they’d arrived yesterday.

Half of his friends from Oak Creek had come by too. Bear couldn’t because he’d been in the middle of the farewell lunch for the campers. Rick had been the one to volunteer to drive to the hospital so Colton and Ella could be part of the event via video.

So, between the visitors, the videos, and the fact that Colton’s body needed as much sleep as it could get, he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Ella alone yet.

He still owed her an apology.

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