Page 60 of Rip Ryder's Second Chance

As she was being dragged backward, she watched the headlights fading through misty eyes.

She’d missed the one opportunity of freedom.

Ollie’s face flashed before her. His smile. His laughter. Would he be okay if she wasn’t there to raise him?

Then came another vision. Rip. She envisioned him wearing a suit, looking handsome and stylish. They were together at Sammie’s wedding, if she called it back on. They were dancing and laughing. She wouldn’t see her sister getting married. She wouldn’t be able to tell Rip how much she still loved him.

Derry’s grip tightened around her arms.

She couldn’t just go quietly.

If he intended to kill her then he’d have to do that but she’d give him hell to think about for the rest of his life.

Sending her head reeling back, she felt his nose give under the head butt. He let out a wail, but his grip stayed tight. She then slipped her hand between them and grasped his crotch and squeezed. This time he cried out in pain and loosened his hold. This was her last chance…

She squirmed away from him and ran, not looking back.

Bursting into the clearing, she yelled, “Help!”

Hearing boots hitting dirt, and muffled voices, she kept running, right into strong, comforting arms. She buried her face into the wide, welcoming chest. The scent of Rip filled her with relief.

“Watch out!” he yelled.

She was thrown onto the ground as loudpopssounded, echoing through the night sky.

By the time she pulled herself together, realizing what had happened, there were two still bodies on the ground. She crawled across the dirt, pebbles and debris cutting into her palms and knees but she didn’t care. Rip was lying on his back. His eyes were open and a red stain was spreading over his shirt.

“What do I do, Rip?” She pressed her palms against his chest, unsure where he was bleeding from, but she had to try and stop the blood quickly soaking the shirt. A strong iron scent floated into her nostrils.

“We have two down,” Bend barked into his radio.

“He’s been shot!” she called out to Bend who was bent over checking Derry for a pulse.

“Shit!” Bend muttered as he raced over and dropped down beside Rip. “Hang on, buddy. Stay with us.” Bend was still talking into his radio, saying things that Noelle couldn’t quite comprehend through her brain fog.

She laid over Rip, warmth oozing over her fingers, while she kissed his cheeks. “You can’t die on me. I need you,” she said to him. Tears flooded her cheeks.

“Now you admit that,” he said in a weakened voice.

She pulled back slightly, looking down at him. She’d never been more grateful to hear him speak. “I have bad timing. It’s a flaw of mine. How could you do that? You saved my life.” Tears ran down her burning cheeks.

“When a man loves a woman, he’s willing to sacrifice himself for her.”

Chapter 21

Rip sat up, wincing at the sharp pain in his chest and shoulder.

Derry’s bullet had missed all Rip’s vital organs. After waking up from surgery he was told that he was a very lucky man. He didn’t quite feel so damn lucky, but when the door to his hospital room opened, he knew life had granted him a second chance. The most beautiful woman he ever did see walked in. He realized he was, without a doubt, the luckiest cowboy to walk the earth. Although she had cuts and scratches on her face, one hand was bandaged, and her clothes were bloody and ripped, she was still an angel to him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out his hand to her.

She laid her hand into his. “Don’t worry, the blood isn’t mine. It’s yours. Thanks to you I’m alive.”

“Is Bend okay?”

“He’s fine. Derry is not. He was killed when Bend shot him. My heart feels terrible for all the pain he’s caused. His poor children. You.” She sniffed back tears.

He lifted his hand and cupped her wet cheek. “Hey, you have nothing to feel sorry for. Derry made his own choices.”

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