Page 37 of The Wrangler

Jesse’s eyes darkened. “That’s right, darlin’.And when we get back? You and I are going to have a very long, very thorough conversation about following orders.”

Keely swallowed hard, her pupils dilating as her breath hitched. He could tell she liked the idea.

Jesse grinned. This was far from over. He was about to make damn sure she knew exactly who she belonged to.

13

KEELY

Suddenly, Jesse went down, and Keely’s world stopped. One second, he was standing, solid, unshakable, the man who had just ended Nico Alvarez with a single, ruthless shot. The next, his body jerked as a gunshot rang out from somewhere behind them, and a dark bloom of red spread across his side.

“No!” The word tore from her throat as Jesse staggered, his knees buckling.

Keely lunged, catching him before he hit the filthy warehouse floor. His body was too heavy, too limp, but she would not let him fall. She hit her knees, her arms wrapping around his torso, feeling the hot slickness of his blood between her fingers.

“Jesse,” she gasped, her hands pressing against the wound. Crimson soaked his shirt, and he breathed raggedly. “Stay with me, cowboy. You hear me?”

His eyes found hers, burning with a mix of pain and something else. Something softer. He opened his mouth to speak, but the surrounding chaos prevented him from being heard.

Gunfire erupted again—one last, desperate attempt from the remaining men in Alvarez’s crew.

“Cover us!” Reed’s voice was a roar, cutting through the noise. “Take them down!”

Dawson and Hawke moved in, firing shots as they systematically eliminated the rest of Nico’s crew. Gavin kicked a rifle out of a dying man’s grasp, putting a bullet between his eyes for good measure.

Keely barely registered any of it. Her hands were soaked, and her heart was pounding like a metronome on crack.

“Jesse,” she whispered again, panic clawing at her throat. “You stay with me.”

His fingers twitched where they rested over hers, his jaw clenching like he was trying to reassure her. He lifted one bloodied hand, cupping the side of her face. “You’re okay,” he rasped.

Keely let out a choked, humorless laugh. “I’m okay? You just got shot, Jesse! You’re not okay!”

His lips barely curved, something infuriatingly Jesse in the expression, even as blood seeped from between her fingers.

“We need to move, now!” Reed’s voice cracked through her panic, his boots hitting the floor beside them.

Keely turned on him, fury and desperation mixing in a volatile storm. “Then fucking move him!”

Reed didn’t argue. Hawke knelt on Jesse’s other side, yanking off his belt and wrapping it around Jesse’s torso, just above the wound. Jesse hissed, his whole body tensing, but he didn’t fight it.

“You keep that pressure there, Keely,” Hawke ordered. “Do not let go.”

Like she would. Like she could.

Her hands were shaking, her breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts. Jesse’s skin was paler than she’d ever seen it, a fine sheen of sweat forming on his forehead.

No. No, no, no.

“You hang on, Jesse,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “You stay with me. You don’t get to do this. You promised.”

His gaze, still steady despite everything, locked onto hers. “Not to worry, darlin’, I keep my promises.”

Hawke and Dawson lifted Jesse between them, moving fast toward the warehouse doors. Jesse let out a low groan, his jaw tightening as his boots dragged against the floor.

Keely was beside them the whole time, refusing to let go of him.

“We’re five minutes out from exfil,” Gavin reported, one hand pressing to his earpiece as he moved in step with them. “SUVs are rolling in now.”

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