Page 94 of The Do-Over

Mallory twisted her pretty face into a nasty scowl.

Granger glanced at the phone Jenna still held in her hand. “Were you recording? We’ll need that for evidence.”

“Nooo!” cried Mallory. She lunged toward Jenna, but Granger held her back.

“I guess you’ll find out how it feels to have your photo used without your consent.” Jenna almost felt bad for her. Almost. “Good thing it’s only going to the police, not social media. What they do with it is up to them.”

Mallory blanched, her entire body slumping in Granger’s grip. It was probably sinking in that no member of the Twins or any other team would go near her again. Her obsession made her…predictable, in a way.

And then unpredictable. The sight of that knife winging toward her had been almost as terrifying as seeing Billy fling himself in its path.

For her. Not for the boys. She would have expected him to take a knife blow for the boys. But this was for her. He’d put his body on the line for her. In other words…he’d been willing to sacrifice everything, including his baseball career. Without working body parts, he’d be no use to anyone on a baseball diamond.

She tenderly stroked his cheek while Thomas, who had medical training as a former firefighter, tested his pulse and checked his pupils. Another fireman examined the knife embedded in his arm.

“Is he…going to be okay?” She barely managed to choke out the words and make them understandable.

“He’ll need surgery. But he’ll be okay.” She heard the burr of emotion in Thomas’ voice too.

Billy’s eyes opened just a crack. She gave him the most loving, mistiest smile of her life. “You’re going to be fine. Just fine.”

Thomas nodded. “You are, despite trying the play the hero.”

“No hero,” Billy managed. “Jenna got the boys out. She’s the hero.”

Thomas gave Jenna an approving smile, then got up, along with the other paramedic, to confer with the firefighters who had just arrived with a gurney.

For the moment, it was just her and Billy. She imagined there was a force-field of love around them, and inside there was nothing but safety and peace.

“Billy.” Jenna took his other hand and nestled it against her cheek. “You absolutely are a hero and I love you so much. I almost died when I saw you fly through the air like that. If something happened to you…I just…I couldn’t bear it.” The sobs took over then and she couldn’t get the rest of her words out.

“Best play I ever made.” He spread his hand wide to encompass her cheek. “That knife was headed right for your heart. Your beautiful heart.”

“No, I’ve been a…a fraidy-heart. I’ve been protecting myself, and I don’t need to anymore. I need you. Just you. I love you.”

“Oh God, Jenna, I love you too. All I want is to be with you. I want to do this again, you and me. The wedding, the marriage, all of it. I want a do-over. I don’t care where I play, or when, or fuck, maybe I won’t even be able to play…” He glanced at the knife in his arm and winced. “Damn. That’s a big knife.”

“She had a knife,” Jenna whispered. “All that time, with Bean, she had a knife.” Her body shook as the realization sank in. Mallory could have pulled that knife out at any moment and threatened them, scared the boys, or God forbid, hurt someone.

Billy cupped his hand around her neck. “It’s okay, Jenna. It’s over. The boys are all right. She didn’t hurt them.” The reassuring sound of his voice sank into her bones. His voice always had such an effect on her.

Billy was her safe haven, her adventure, her soul mate, her everything.

He kept talking, as if he knew she needed to hear his voice. “I couldn’t move for a while because she drugged me. I was trying to get my control back when you showed up. You knew how to handle her. You were incredible. You got the boys out of there.”

“Wait. The boys. Where are they?” They both looked around, saw the gurney and the firefighter prepping it for transport, spotted Thomas overseeing the process, Soraya still unconscious in the corner, but no sign of Zack and Bean.

“Thomas!” Jenna called, a frantic edge in her voice. “Where are the boys?”

“It’s all right.” He came to their side with a blanket to put under Billy. “They’re with Annika. The chopper just landed out front. We’re going to use it to take Billy to the hospital. I’m sure the boys are filling Annika in on everything.”

His dry tone helped drain the fear away. The boys were fine. Annika was back. Billy loved her. She loved him. Not only that, she knew him better than ever, respected him more deeply than ever. And…she knew herself better. She believed in herself. This time, they’d make it work.

But right now, the firefighters had to get him to the hospital. She reluctantly stepped aside so they could roll him onto a blanket and lift him onto the gurney. It was tricky because of the knife in his arm, but they told her they wanted the surgeon to deal with the knife.

“Can I ride with him in the helicopter?”

“No.” Billy’s voice was tight with pain. “Stay with the boys. They need you after what they just went through. It’s going to be fine.”

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