Page 152 of One Last Stand

The man clung to the rock, his gaze on Shep, then Axel and Moose. And then Shep could almost see it in his eyes. The grief, swelling up to crash over him, overtake him.

“I . . . I’m not going to let you save me.”

“Benton!” Moose shouted even as the man let go.

Shep lunged for him, but Axel grabbed him back. The man went spinning out into the current, going down, splashing up, and then disappearing.

Shep let out a word, hitting the water.

Axel yanked him toward shore. “You can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved.”

He stared at the darkness. Maybe. But it was his job to try.

Always, to try. So maybe he was walking, a little, in his old man’s shoes.

He struggled out of the current, Moose reeling them in, and then landed on shore, shivering, frozen. “We should look for him.”

“I’m not endangering my team,” Moose said. “Besides . . .”

Caspian’s barks lifted into the air.

London.

Shep pushed past Moose, already heading toward the chaos, running hard through the slick, sharp snow.

London lay in the snow, Boo beside her and shoving snow into the wound in London’s leg. It saturated the white, red and shiny. Tillie had run out, breathing hard, her own head wound bandaged with a towel. She held another towel and gave it to Boo.

Shep dropped to his knees beside London, reaching for her. “What—what are you?—”

“I’m sorry,” she said, grabbing his hand. Her eyes had turned glossy. “I should have followed you. Chased after you. Because you’re right—you know me. You know all of me?—”

“Okay—yes, I do, but let’s get you sorted?—”

“I choose you, Shep.”

Oh.“Listen, London—Lacey—whoever you want to be—I’m in. I’ve always been in.” His grip tightened on hers.

“We need another towel, and where is that ambulance?” Boo said from somewhere behind him.

“I shouldn’t have made you choose. You be who you want. I’ll be?—”

“My hero.”

He made a face. “Seriously?”

“It felt right.” She grinned, tears cresting down along with a groan as Boo tightened the towel around her leg.

“I was going to say, I’ll be here. Still holding on.”

“I love you, Shep. I always have—and I always will?—”

Aw,and he didn’t have a hope of stopping himself from leaning in and unleashing a little of the emotion inside.

“Hey—let’s not get the heart pumping any more than necessary here,” Boo said.

Shep pulled away, met Boo’s eyes. “How bad is it?”

“I don’t think it nicked the artery, but she’s bleeding pretty good,” Boo said.

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