They’d even contacted Border Control.

I was not real y processing this information. I was concentrating on my teeth not chattering.

This was what I was concentrating on when I caught movement out of the side of my eye. My head turned and my mind was not switched on enough to react to seeing Preston Mason suddenly, for some reason, sprinting my way.

The only thing I thought was, he wasn’t exactly young but the guy could stil move.

Then I heard him shout, “Sniper! ” At his shout, the air went thick and electric. My body twitched first then instantly jerked to the side in preparation to run (again) and the second it did I heard the whiz and thud as a bul et slammed into the dirt just beyond me.

Then I was tackled from behind as I heard a second hiss split the air. I hit the soft, thick grass in Swen and Ulrika’s side yard with a painful thud that was made more painful by the weight that landed on me and Juno barked.

I lay there, facedown and whoever was on me didn’t move.

There was rushing al around me, I twisted my neck and saw men running and one of those men was Mace.

But he was running somewhere else.

I had no chance to react to this as I felt Juno’s nose snuffling around my neck and hair and felt my body being crushed by the one on me. I tried but failed to heave the weight off and saw the hems of uniform pants and shiny policemen shoes and the weight on me was rol ed off. I rol ed with it, to the other side, and instantly saw Preston lying on his back beside me, a cop on his knees by him, careful y rol ing him back to his bel y and shouting, “Medic! ” Medic.

Oh God.

Medic.

He’d been hit!

Someone tried to pul me up but I yanked my arm away and got back on my bel y, flat, pressed to the ground, even my cheek was in the grass, my face super close to Preston’s, my eyes locked to his pained ones.

“You with me?” I whispered.

Hands were at my back but I ignored them. Preston stared at me as I heard more running feet and bodies landing on their knees around Preston.

My hand darted out and caught his, my fingers curling around.

“Preston, stick with me,” I urged, my fingers squeezing.

“Gurney! ” I heard shouted.

Preston blinked.

I scooted closer and held his hand tighter.

“Hang on,” I whispered.

I watched his eyelids lower a mil imeter and his mouth went slack.

And I knew.

I knew.

I knew. I knew. I knew.

“Hang on! ” I shrieked then I was up, arms tight around me, one at my chest, one at my bel y and I struggled against the hold as they lifted Preston lifeless body onto a gurney.

“Hang on! ” I screeched.

They strapped him in.

“Hang on! ” I screamed.

They pul ed the gurney up to its ful height and wasted not a second in rushing it in a rol across the lawn, the drive and into the ambulance.

“Please hang on,” I whispered, the fight left me, oozing out and my body went slack in the arms surrounding me.

When it did, those arms turned me. I looked up at Wil ie Moses just as his hand curled around the back of my head and he shoved my face in his throat.

I again burst into tears, my legs col apsing from under me as the weight of knowing a man might have lost his life to save mine settled on me, the weight heavy, crushing and Wil ie’s arms got tighter.

“Find Mace,” I felt as wel as heard Wil ie order. “Now.” Then, into the top of my hair, he whispered, “Hang on, honey.”

I felt Juno’s body press against the side of my legs and somehow found the strength to lift up my hands, curl them in Wil ie’s shirt and hang on.

* * * * *

Mace

Mace slid the dark, heavy hair off Stel a’s neck, eyes locked to her sleeping profile.

Then he pul ed in breath.

Then his hand moved from his woman to her dog, he slid his fingers through the fur on Juno’s head and he whispered, “Stay with her.”

Juno blinked up at him then shuffled on her bel y closer to Stel a.

Mace straightened from sitting on the side of the bed in one of Daisy’s guest rooms; he switched out the light and walked out the door.

He was nearly to the stairs when Daisy made it up them.

She stopped as did he.

Her blue eyes captured his, her head tipped to the side then her hand came up. She rested it gently on his jaw and pressed lightly as her eyes held his and she let them and her hand communicate for her.

Her hand and her eyes had a lot to say, they didn’t waste time and al of it was beautiful.

She dropped her hand and whispered, “Your Momma and Chloe are in the great room.”

Then without waiting for a response, she skirted him and walked down the hal without looking back.

Mace watched her while he thought, not for the first time, that Daisy Sloan was a good woman.

Then he walked down to Daisy and Marcus’s great room where Chloe was sitting on a sofa staring vacantly into the dark, unlit fireplace and his Mom was standing at a window staring vacantly into the dark night. They were in their own thoughts, not pleasant ones, as they wouldn’t be. An attraction, a bad decision, giving their heart to the wrong man and then no end to heartache.

And now closure but not the right kind.

The instant he entered, Chloe’s neck twisted, her eyes shot to him and she asked, “How is she?”

His Mom turned from the window as Mace answered,

“Out.”

“She take the pil s?” Lana asked.

Mace nodded, stopped and sat on the armrest of the couch.

He was wiped, f**king shattered. He felt like he could sleep for a goddamned week. He not only felt like it, he wanted to do it.

But he wanted to do it somewhere where there was a beach right outside his room, Stel a in his bed and no one around for miles.

Lana moved toward him saying, “She’l be okay, sweetie.”

He knew that. He knew it.

He knew it because, if Stel a didn’t wake up that way, he’d make her that way even if it took a lifetime.

Lana stopped two feet in front of him and looked down at him.

Then, softly, she asked, “Okay, now, are you okay?”

“He died for her,” Mace replied bluntly and Lana drew in breath through her nose as he felt Chloe tense down the couch from him.

“Why the f**k would he throw himself in front of a bul et to save Stel a and he wouldn’t –

?” Mace started and Lana moved.