“Drop your weapon,” the officer yelled.

Aggie didn’t hesitate. She rushed toward the thug and kicked him in the side of the head. The gun went off, bullet flying wildly without aim.

“You son of a bitch,” she growled. She kicked him in the crotch. Once. Twice. Feeling his nuts crunch against bone beneath her foot. He cried out, clutching his balls in agony, the gun forgotten beside him. She didn’t know how to help Jace, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stand there while the dick who’d shot him hurt someone else.

“Are you crazy?” the cop said, toeing the gun out of the man’s reach. “He had a gun, and you jump him? You’re lucky you didn’t get shot.”

“What are you doing?” she yelled at the cop. “Help Jace. I don’t know what to do for him. Help him!”

Two paramedics jogged across the street toward them, wheeling a gurney that carried a large first-aid kit. While the police officer wrestled the injured mugger into a pair of handcuffs, the medics worked with Jace, trying to stem the flow of blood. They removed his jacket and tossed it aside. The entire right side of his white T-shirt was saturated with blood.

Aggie scooped up his coat and cradled it against her chest, watching the EMTs do their thing.

“There’s an exit wound for this one, but the second bullet is still lodged inside his shoulder.”

“Keep pressure on it. We’ve got to get him to the hospital. He’s losing a lot of blood.”

Two officers escorted the gunless thug toward a cruiser. “You’re dead, you fucking bitch. As soon as I make bail, you’re dead!” he shouted at Aggie.

Aggie heard him, but was too worried about Jace to feel any concern for herself. The cops heard him though. “I’ll be sure to file that threat in my report,” one officer said as he shoved the guy into the back of the cruiser. “Bail is not an option. Where’s your accomplice?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the mugger claimed.

His accomplice had Aggie’s suitcase and had sped off as soon as his buddy had shot Jace. Not that it mattered—nothing mattered but seeing Jace smile again.

“Ma’am, we need to ask you a few questions.”

Aggie didn’t look at the speaker. She couldn’t take her eyes off Jace.

When the police officer grabbed her arm, she twisted away. “No. Get your hands off me.”

The paramedics lifted Jace onto a gurney, pushing hard on the wound in his shoulder. His hand was ghostly white as the tourniquet around his upper arm stemmed the blood flow to the gunshot wound in his biceps.

“He needs oxygen.”

“He needs blood is what he needs. Jesus.”

“Get him in the ambulance.”

In a strange state of detachment, Aggie followed the stretcher as they wheeled it toward the waiting ambulance. She stepped off the curb, oblivious to the traffic that an officer was directing around the police cruisers. Someone grabbed her arm again. This time he did not let go when she tried to twist away.

“Ma’am, we need to ask you a few questions.”

She shook her head vigorously, tears blinding her.

The officer tugged her arm, trying to get her to follow him toward the police car. “What happened? Ma’am, tell me what happened.”

“They took my suitcase. Wanted my purse too. I should have just given it to them. Jace!” she yelled. “Jace!”

“We’re taking him to County,” a paramedic said. Aggie didn’t understand what they meant. County? What county? Jace’s gurney was lifted into the back of the ambulance, and the paramedics climbed inside. Someone closed the door and slapped the back of the vehicle. It took off down the street, lights flashing, sirens blaring.

“Was there more than one?” the officer asked.

Aggie nodded and burst into quaking sobs, her face buried in Jace’s ruined leather jacket.

Chapter 20

Jace groaned, trying to force his eyes open. He felt like an elephant was standing on his right shoulder. Someone touched his cheek gently.

“Hey there, open your eyes, cutie,” a soft voice said.

“Aggie?” he whispered.

“My name is Karen. I’m your nurse.”

Nurse? What? Memories flooded his mind, one on top of the other, converging into an indecipherable mess. He could only make sense of two things. He’d been shot, and the guy with the gun had Aggie.

“Aggie!”

He sat bolt upright in the hospital bed. The nurse tried to coax him back down. “We couldn’t find identification on you. Do you know your name?”

“Where’s Aggie? We have to send someone to help her. We have to…”

“I don’t know who Aggie is. She’s not here. You came in by yourself. Does she know where you are? We could call her.”

He pushed the nurse aside and tried to climb from the bed. Pain stabbed through his shoulder and his arm, but he could tolerate that pain. Not knowing where Aggie was, knowing he’d failed to keep her safe—that he could not tolerate.

“You have to stay in bed. You just got out of surgery and are in no condition to go anywhere.” The nurse pushed the call button for help. “I’ll give you another sedative and something for the pain.”

Jace shook his head vigorously. “That guy is going to kill her,” he said, slumping sideways in the bed as a wave of dizziness took him.

He tried to get up again, but his body refused to cooperate. Get up, Jace. You have to get up. The nurse tucked him back in bed. “No. I can’t stay here,” he murmured.

His right arm felt funny and not because he’d been shot in it. The thick leather cuff he usually wore on his wrist was missing. He covered the scars there with his left hand. “Where’s my bracelet?”

Karen opened a drawer and handed it to him. He hurriedly secured it around his wrist, not releasing his breath until his shame was covered again.

The nurse watched him with compassion. “We didn’t know who to notify of your condition. Do you have any family?”

He shook his head. He couldn’t catch his breath. Who cared if he didn’t have any family? Aggie might still be in danger. He’d taken a bullet for her—two—but still had no idea if she was safe, injured, or dead. “No, no family. Please,” he said. “You don’t understand. Send someone to help Aggie. Send. Please. Someone.”

“Jace?” Aggie’s sweet voice came from across the room. He had to be hearing things. Delusional from his meds.

And then she was beside him. He didn’t know by what miracle she was there. Not dead. Apparently unharmed. She fell against him, sobbing against his neck, clinging to him. The pain she caused reminded him he was alive. And more important, that she was alive.

Ah God, hurt me, Aggie.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. Those stupid cops wouldn’t let me leave. Those two guys that mugged me have been in a rash of burglaries, and I’m the only one who’s seen the other guy’s face. They made me go look through mug shots and file a report. I just wanted to be with you.” She looked up at the nurse. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Not if you keep squeezing him like that,” the nurse said disapprovingly.

Jace chuckled. “Squeeze me as hard as you like. How did you get away from that guy? Did the cops rescue you?”

She winced. “Not exactly. After he shot you, I went crazy and kicked his ass.” She flushed. “Mostly his nuts actually.”

Jace chuckled. “He had it coming. Wish I’d have thought of that.”

“He shot you in the back, the coward. I wasn’t going to let him get away with that.” She kissed his lips gently, her eyes watery with tears. “I should have just given him my purse. Then you wouldn’t have been hurt.”

Jace concentrated on lifting his uninjured arm and stroked her hair from her face tenderly. “All I care about is that you’re safe.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay. So glad.” She kissed him again. “I love you so much. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t want to go on living.”

He touched her cheek. “Don’t say things like that,” he murmured. He kissed her gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”