Page 38 of The Wrangler

Keely wasn’t listening. Jesse’s body wasn’t moving right. His muscles were stiff, his breath coming in short, ragged bursts. Blood was still seeping between her fingers.

That bastard had shot him.

If Jesse died, no. She would not think like that.

“We’re almost there,” she breathed against his ear. “You’re going to be fine, Jesse.”

Jesse made a rough sound, something like a chuckle, but she could feel the strain in it. “Didn’t know you were an optimist.”

“Not usually,” she admitted, gripping his hand. “But I’ll be damned if I let you bleed out in this shithole.”

The SUV screeched to a stop outside the warehouse. The doors flew open. Dawson and Hawke hauled Jesse inside, laying him out across the backseat. Keely climbed in from the other side, placing his head in her lap. She was not about to let him out of her sight.

Reed was in the driver’s seat before the doors even closed.

“We’ve got a hospital two miles out,” he said, throwing the SUV into gear. “I’ll get us there. Hold him together.”

Keely was trying. Her hands pressed firmly against his side, her forehead nearly touching his as she whispered to him, every second counting.

“Jesse, I swear to God, if you die, I will...”

“Kill me?” His lips twitched again, his voice rough, barely there.

She almost laughed. Almost.

Instead, she leaned in closer, her mouth brushing his temple as she whispered, “No. I’ll never forgive you.”

Jesse’s fingers twitched against hers, squeezing, just barely. He was still there. But for how much longer?

The hospital was coming into view, the red glow of the emergency sign cutting through the darkness.

Reed slammed his palm against the horn, announcing their arrival as he pulled up hard against the curb. The moment the SUV rocked to a stop, the ER doors burst open, doctors and nurses spilling out.

“Gunshot wound—male, mid-thirties, massive blood loss!”

The second the medical team swarmed, someone dragged Keely back.

“No...”

“You have to let them work!” Reed’s arms locked around her, holding her tight, stopping her from climbing onto the gurney.

Her entire body screamed at the separation. Jesse’s eyes flickered open one last time, searching for her. She caught his hand before they pulled him through the doors.

“I’ll be right here,” she whispered, her voice fierce, desperate. “I’m not leaving you.”

Jesse’s fingers squeezed around hers. Then he was gone, vanishing through the hospital doors, doctors and nurses surrounding him, voices sharp, movements urgent.

And Keely? She stood there, her hands covered in his blood, her heart threatening to crack in her chest. Reed’s grip on her arm was firm, steady.

“He’s one of the toughest sonofabitches I’ve ever known, Keely.”

She inhaled hard, swallowing against the rawness in her throat. “He’d better be,” she whispered.

Because she hadn’t just fallen in love with the sonofabitch, she’d let herself need him. And if she lost him now, she didn’t know if she’d ever recover.

Keely paced the length of the waiting room, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Hours had passed. Maybe minutes. Maybe a lifetime.

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