“Joe, I need to talk to her. I know that your job is to keep people out but I need to see her, please just—“

“Go.” I look at him in confusion. “Go in there. She hasn’t been the same since you two parted and I hate that father of hers. Try to bring back whatever part of her you can.”

Joe’s words have me even more worried for Sam than I was before. “Thanks.” I give him a nod before he slides the key card in and opens the door.

“Sam?” The suite is silent and I don’t want to piss her off by walking in on her getting dressed or something. As much as seeing her like that again would make me so fucking happy, I want this to go well. I call her name a few more times before hearing a loud crash and a scream. Everything that is going on right now is giving me a bad feeling.

I text Ryan, letting him know our location and that if he doesn’t hear from me in five, that I might need back-up. I race into the room the noise came from to find Sam on the floor. I run to her, dropping to my knees and checking for a pulse. Thank God she has one.

“Sam? What happened?” I stroke her face, trying to wake her up.

I hear a gun being cocked behind my head. “Don’t move, motherfucker.” I put my hands up as Sam starts to wake up. Her eyes go wide as she looks up at me. “Stand up and move over to the bed. Take that little bitch with you.”

I help Sam up and the way that she winces as she stands makes me want to kill whoever hurt her. I turn around and see none other than her father holding the gun. “I knew you were a lying piece of shit.”

“Yeah, you did. Too bad dumb ass here wouldn’t listen to you. All I had to do was say a few nice words to her and poof, she chose me over you. That and setting you up helped some too.” He smiles at me.

“What the fuck do you mean?” My anger is building.

“He means that we made it so my dimwit daughter would catch you in the act and leave you. Our plan never would have worked if you were still in the picture.” I look to the entrance of the bathroom and see Sam’s mother. Holy fuck.

“You coming here tonight is actually pretty perfect. We weren’t planning on killing her for a few more weeks but everyone loves a Romeo and Juliet story.” Her mother walks over to where her father stands. The smile on her face shows that she is proud of herself, sick fuck. A chill of fear runs through my body, not for myself but for her. What if I fail? What if I can’t protect her like I promised her I would?

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Sam clings to me from behind and I can feel her body shaking. “This is your daughter. You should love her and treat her like she is the most important thing in the world to you. Instead, you make her life hell and then scheme to, what? Kill her for money?”

“Don’t make it sound so easy, dear. Convincing that waitress to spike your drink and finding a girl who would willingly sleep with you, was no easy task. Unfortunately, since you ruined the stalker plan, we had to take drastic measures.” I hear Sam take a quick breath, in what I can only assume is shock. I fucking knew it. I knew there was no way I would have ever done that to her. These assholes think that they can just fuck with everyone’s life and it makes me sick. “It’s actually good that you came here. I had a feeling if we got rid of her you would have been a problem. I can’t tell you how entertaining it was to listen to your messages too. Sam, I love you. Sam, please talk to me. Sam, I’m not me without you. You are absolutely pathetic.” Sam’s hands grip my sides harder; I thought she had gotten the messages and never responded. Little did I know the she-devil was back and worse than ever. I have never wanted to punch a bitch in the face so much. This woman is the damn devil incarnate.

I’m praying that Ryan got my text and is already on his way. Judging by their faces, it won’t be long until these two lose the tiny grip they have on reality. I wish Sam would have found some way to reach out to me. I would have found a way to get her out of their clutches. I would have saved her. Fuck it.

I turn my back on them and hold her face between my hands. For their plan to work, a bullet in the back would be hard to stage. I hear them telling me to turn around but my eyes are connected with Sam’s

“I love you so much. Whatever happens here, know that you are worthy of being loved. That these two sickos aren’t something to measure your worth by. You are the most incredible person I have ever met.” I kiss her but then I hear footsteps coming up from behind me.

I turn quickly to see her father approaching and swing my right fist into his cheek. It feels so good to drive my fist into him that I don’t stop I follow his body to the floor, laying into him again and again.

I hear a loud bang.

Ryan and everyone are here.

Sam’s mother turns and points the gun at her.

I run not thinking of anything else but keeping her safe.

A pain spreads through my chest.

The blackness envelops me as I sink to the floor.

Chapter Twenty Eight

Samantha

I hold the single white rose in my hand as I stare at the coffin. A tear runs down my cheek as I mourn the man who gave his life for mine. A man who was one of the few people that showed me loyalty. I have never been to a military funeral but I’ll never forget it. The flag is draped over the coffin, thanking the man inside for his service. The shots ring out to honor their veteran one last time. I had never even known that he served in the military. I line up to toss my rose and say one final goodbye, wishing I could thank him for what he did.

As I walk away from the grave site, I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hold in the tears. The paparazzi show no limits and have even followed me here. I saw a few behind the trees as I was listening to the pastor says the final blessing. I sit in the car and let the tears flow down my face. These past four days have been absolute hell. I have spent most of them mourning and crying.

I pull up to the hospital, clinging to the box I picked up before the funeral. When I walk into the room, a wave of disappointment hits me. He still isn’t awake.

I sit down and stroke Hunter’s face with my hand. The monitors beep steadily, indicating that he is okay, but I can’t accept that until he wakes up. The fact that it could have been Hunter’s funeral I was attending instead of Joe’s, is not lost on me. I thought he was gone for a while. He was in surgery for hours and even after that, it was touch and go in the ICU. The bullet just missed his heart, thank God, or I would have lost him. Everything happened so fast that night.

The door flew open and Joe was there with Ryan and the police. My mother panicked and fired a shot at Joe, causing him to fall into the sea of people behind him. Before anyone could get to her she fired a shot at me. Hunter had caught her movement, though and jumped in front of me. He sacrificed himself for me. I held him until the EMT’s could make their way into the room telling him how much I loved him. My mother was shot by the police, and my father and Detective Marks are awaiting trial on numerous charges.

The image of him and that girl still haunts me. I know now that it wasn’t his fault and he wasn’t himself during it. That doesn’t mean that the image is erased from my mind. I’m working past it. Working to forget.

I have sat by his bed every minute that they would let me. Jules, Lacey and all of the boys have been by but he hasn’t woken up yet. The longer he stays asleep, the more I worry that he won’t wake up. That’s when I feel it. A slight pressure on my hand. I stare at his hand on top of mine to make sure that I hadn’t imagined it and I see his fingers flex. I stand up, the chair behind me crashing to the floor.

“Hunter? Hunter, open your eyes. It’s Sam. I’m here.” My voice is full of hope and wishing.