Page 74 of The Lies We Believe

Forty minutes, a heated argument with Bower, and a bellowed “Fuck off! River’s more important than any case!” while I liberated his truck later, I was tearing down the road, sirens wailing and lights flashing, as if clearing the way could silence the panic pounding in my chest. Ignoring speed limits, I pushed Bower’s truck to devour the miles of blacktop separating me from the one person who made my heart beat. Taking the corner onto my street, I drifted into a wide arc at double the safe speed, the urgency in my veins growing stronger with every eerie, passing second.

The violent tremors rolling down my arms and legs weren’t fear—they were pure chemical overload. My body didn’t know how to process the chaos, but it harnessed the energy, fueling me for however long it took to reach River and make sure he was okay.

The tires hit the curb with a bone-jarring jolt, launching the truck into the air before it slammed back down onto my driveway, skidding to a halt. I flung the door open and vaulted out so quickly my legs buckled beneath me. My hand shot out, grabbing the doorframe just in time to stop myself from hitting the pavement. My stomach churned violently, like I was a ship caught in a relentless storm, the taste of vomit an ever-present reminder of my dire situation.

“Fuck,” I gritted out when I realized I’d dropped my phone. It should have been easy to find under the security light that should have come on when I pulled into the driveway, but it was pitch black, almost like someone had cut the wiring to the house. I glanced around, noticing the blanket of darkness covering the entire street. Things were going from bad to worse. I couldn’t see a damn thing.

“There you are.” I breathed a sigh of relief when a notification of some kind lit up my screen so I could find it. Flicking the ad away, I tracked River’s location. It had moved, but not far. Not enough. Alarm bells rang in my head.

Trusting my instincts, I called the local ambulance station and got Sharon’s husband, John, on the line. I gave him the lowdown on the situation as I raced across the backyard, out through the gate that should have been impossible to open, and broke through the tree line into the woods beyond. Branches smacked me in the face, but I didn’t feel them. I felt like I could walk through fire, and it wouldn’t touch me. With only the app and the torch on my phone to guide me, I ran like the wild hunt was chasing me.

“Drop Sharon your location, Jacob. She’s visiting a friend just around the corner. She’ll come help you until we get there. Stay calm and look at everything?—”

“Fucking stay calm?!” I bellowed and cut him off. How the fuck could I? Distracted by sending Sharon my location, I lost sight of where I was going for a split second. Ow! I tripped over something that took my legs out from underneath me. My momentum propelled me into the air before I could react.

Luckily, I managed to tuck and roll without injuring myself because if I had, I would have torn the heavens from the sky in my anger if anything had dared to stop me from finding River. The existential dread suffocating me grew stronger every second he wasn’t in my sight. I turned my phone in the direction I’d come and found a poorly obscured body. This wasn’t a good sign. What the hell had happened here tonight? I dusted myself off and quickly checked them over, horrified by what I saw until it registered who it was. Two bullet wounds, one to the head, the other to the chest. There was no way Davis could have survived that.

“Karma is having a hell of a day,” I growled. “Because if she hadn’t killed you, I would have. If you’re the reason River is hurt, I will find you and make you pay, Davis.” I shook my head and pumped my clenched fist. “Death is too fucking easy for you, you fucking piece of shit. You got what you deserved. Enjoy hell.”

With one last dismissive look at Davis’s body, I started running. I knew I should have called it in, but I had somewhere far more important to be, with someone who held my life in their hands. It was almost impossible to navigate my way through the wild and untamed woods, but they blurred as my vision tunneled, like I was looking through the sight of a gun, focused on the red dot on my screen.

My heart felt like it had detached itself and was furiously fighting its way up my throat, choking me every time I tried tobreathe. Air in my lungs didn’t matter, neither did the shallow cuts that littered my face and arms from thorny brambles that hung like coiled snakes. My legs burned as lactic acid built in the straining muscles. Blood coated my tongue where my teeth sunk into as I pushed myself beyond my capabilities.

I burst through a dense patch of shrubs, their tangled branches clawing at my legs and sweeping them out from under me. I hit the ground hard, knees slamming into the damp earth, as my phone skidded away, coming to rest against a large stone. Its faint glow illuminated the decaying trunk of a fallen tree ahead. My fractured mind struggled to process what I was seeing.

“RIVER!” I screamed, my voice raw as I clawed at the slick ground, scrambling to my feet. Dirt and debris clung to me as I launched myself toward him, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

“River? Can you hear me?” I collapsed beside him, trembling hands reaching to cradle his bloodied cheek. My emotions surged uncontrollably, a tidal wave I couldn’t hold back. Hot tears spilled freely from my aching eyes, blurring the awful reality before me. My mind rebelled, screaming that this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. This had to be a nightmare, a cruel fantasy. Not him. Not like this.

“I’m here, angel,” I sobbed, the words catching painfully in my throat. “I’m here now.” A hundred apologies crowded my mind, but they stuck to my tongue, choking me.I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, baby.The words tasted like failure and grief.Forgive me. I love you. I can’t live without you.

His eyelid fluttered weakly, revealing a single bloodshot forest-green eye that blinked up at me. But it wasn’t looking at me—it was as though he was staring through me, the vibrant light that once filled it dimming by the second. His bloodied fingers twitched feebly at his side. Instinctively, my hand found his, drawn to him like a magnet. I wrapped my fingers aroundhis and brought his hand to my lips, brushing desperate, trembling kisses over the broken skin of his.

“Y... y-you are my s-seven minutes,” he whispered, blood painting his lips. His hand slipped from mine, fingers falling lifeless and limp against his side. One eye rolled back in his head while the other, swollen and black, remained shut.

“Riv?” The word tore from me, raw and broken. “RIVER?” My voice cracked into a garbled scream, shredding the remnants of my heart. “Come back to me! Please. Please, baby, don’t leave me. I n-need you.” I pressed my trembling lips to his, the taste of him—metallic and familiar—searing into my soul.

The world dimmed, collapsing inward until there was only him. Tears burned hot as they carved rivers down my cheeks, every drop a fragment of hell. With a ragged breath, I raised my shaking fingers to his throat, desperately seeking the faint echo of a pulse.Don’t leave me. Please, not now.

We’d just begun, just started becomingmore.I knew it was selfish, but I couldn’t live without him. He was the air in my lungs, the beat of my heart. He’d fought so hard, so long, when anyone else would have let go. He’d clawed his way through every storm and now, when he was finally mine, the world wanted to take him away.

How I hated the world and every goddamn soul in it.

“Where are you?” I screamed into the night, my voice hoarse and desperate. For the first time, I understood why people cursed the emergency services. They were always too slow. Every second dragged like an eternity. Every moment they weren’t here brought him closer to slipping away. His blood clung to my hands, sticky and cooling, leaking endlessly from wounds I couldn’t close.

I didn’t know how much time had passed; minutes, hours, a lifetime. Color drained from everything. I couldn’t even fathom if the sun would rise tomorrow. If he didn’t make it, there wouldbe no dawn, only an endless night until I followed him into the void.

“Benson? Jacob!”

A hand landed on my shoulder, jolting me. I flinched violently, a low growl rumbling in my chest as I shielded River’s limp body. My head snapped up, wild and unseeing, until Sharon’s face came into focus. She knelt beside me, her eyes soft with empathy and laced with the same pain I felt.

“Let them help him,” she murmured, her voice steady but urgent.

Sharon liked River. She’d said once that he was good for me, that I was better with him in my life. But now, her expression gave everything away—the tightness in her jaw, the pinched lines around her eyes. She didn’t think he had much time left.

Time. The one thing we all believed was endless—until it wasn’t. It slipped past us, unnoticed, until the clock stopped ticking and we realized how much we’d wasted. How much we’d missed. I would never waste another second with him again. Not if I could help it. If only I had the chance.

“Let them do their jobs, Jacob,” Sharon said gently, her voice cracking just enough to betray her own fear.

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