Page 223 of At the Edge of Surrender

To just fully give in.

I didn’t have time to contemplate it further before River came jogging around the side of the house.

Hard breaths panted from his lungs and the air churned around his being.

The dread I’d felt all night swelled and expanded.

A thousand-pound weight that pressed on my chest.

Charleigh shot to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

River scrubbed a tattooed hand over his face, looking at her for one second before his focus drifted to me. “There was…an incident.”

Ice slicked down my spine.

“What happened?” It left me on a scrape of horror.

Grim sympathy coated his features. “Kane was shot.”

I staggered to standing, and my hand shot to the railing as I swayed to the side. Raven jumped up and wrapped an arm around my waist to support me.

“Is...” I croaked it, unable to get a coherent question out.

“Where is he?” Charleigh demanded at the same time.

His voice was hushed as he began to explain. “We chartered aflight to get him back here to Dr. Reynolds. Someone Cash knows who is a vault. You know we couldn’t take him to the ER. He should arrive in twenty. You need to get down there.”

“He’ll be fine,” Raven whispered, her voice quiet but frantic at my ear. “He’ll be fine. I know it. Dr. Reynolds is the absolute best. Charleigh is the absolute best. He’ll be in the best hands.”

I couldn’t even process what she was saying.

All I could hear was he was shot.

He was shot.

“I’ll stay with the kids. Take Emery with you,” Raven asserted, squeezing Charleigh’s hand in encouragement. “Take care of him. Make sure he’s okay.”

Charleigh nodded. “I will.”

“We need to go,” River urged.

My nod was lumbering, and I stumbled out into the yard. One second later, I was on my knees in front of Maci. With a trembling hand, I brushed back her hair. “Auntie has to run an errand really quick, but Auntie Raven and Nolan are going to stay with you.”

Maci beamed her sweet smile. “Okay, Auntie! Hurry it back fast because you know I’m gonna miss you.”

“I will, sweetheart.”

And I just prayed when I did, I wouldn’t have to break her heart all over again.

FORTY-NINE

EMERY

We burstin through the back door of the clinic. The same door that I came through when I’d been brought in by the ambulance. I should have known then that something was amiss. That there was truly something treacherous in the underlining of Kane’s life.

And the only thing I could think was,Please, be okay, please, be okay.

As if Charleigh could hear the prayers dropping from my spirit, she squeezed my hand as we ran inside.

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