Scorched

Chapter Fifty

Just as the sun began rising in the sky, casting eerie shadows across the ground, Shane and Rachel rode over a hill on the snow-covered mountain and saw a vehicle waiting ahead on a paved highway road — no more bumpy remnants of mountain trails.

And did that vehicle beckon! Rachel, still freezing, had been fighting against the wind, and now, before her, sat a car that she knew would be blasting heat from its vents.

“Your rescue vehicle, madam,” Shane said as he slowed and clicked the doors open.

A shot rang out.

Shane suddenly jerked against her and then slumped forward, leaving Rachel baffled. What had just happened?

“Go!” Shane said, gurgling on his own blood, as he threw himself sideways off the snowmobile.

“Go!” he said again, but Rachel could do nothing but sit there as she watched his blood start to seep out against the fabric of his coat.

“You didn’t think you would get away so easily, did you?”

Rachel looked up as Gianni approached. She struggled to get her brain to function, to make her arms move, but fear paralyzed her.

She couldn’t leave Shane there, even if that’s what he wanted her to do. It was too late, anyway. Gianni was almost beside her, with a gun aimed directly at her head.

“Why?” she said, her voice trembling. She was trying to be brave, but Shane was lying there dying before her eyes and there was no way out.

“Because my brother needs to be taught a lesson. He may think he won something today, but all he did was kill off the men I would have had to destroy anyway. There can’t be any witnesses left when this is over. If I’m to take my rightful place on the throne, I have to look like the grieving brother, the savior coming home after the tragic deaths of my brother, his fiancée and his bastard children.”

Keep him talking. Rachel knew that’s what they did in every crime show she’d ever watched. She didn’t know why, didn’t know how it worked, but that’s what they did, and so would she.

“Adriane said that the crown was supposed to be yours but you didn’t want it.” Rachel spoke through chattering teeth.

“I didn’t know what I wanted when I left Corythia. I wasn’t much more than a child. My father is the one who sealed my fate. By the time I decided I wanted the throne that was due to me, he told me it was too late, that my ideas were wrong for Corythia. He’s the one who didn’t want to modernize. I will make a fine king, a king who will go down in history. This world may look at royal titles as nothing more than a show these days, but a little fear from my people is just what Corythia needs. I have a vision for my country — a vision both my father and brother were too weak to adopt. The people should respect their king — bow down to him — and pay, always pay, for the privilege of his rule,” he told her.

“If we promise to leave you alone, will you let us go?”

“You naïve, stupid woman. We both know that’s not how this works. You could make all the promises you liked while I had a gun pointed at your head, but the minute you were safe, you would be running to anyone who would listen to your story. I’m not a senseless man. So don’t insult my intelligence with your lies.”

“Then why not just kill me?” she shouted, growing fed up with this game. She’d rather he fired, took her life, gave Adriane some kind of warning, than force her to keep dancing around him, giving him this time to gloat.

“Good idea.” He raised the gun and aimed it right between her eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, a goodbye to her family — to Adriane. Closing her eyes, she waited. She wished she were brave enough to look Gianni in the face.

The gun fired and an unnerving silence filled the air.

Rachel waited for the pain to start, waited for her knees to give out and for her body to slump to the ground next to Shane.

“Shane!”

Lia’s scream startled Rachel into opening her eyes. Where Gianni had been standing in front of her, there was now only empty space. Her body racked with trembling, she looked down and saw the man who’d been torturing her, now lying on the ground, blood trickling down his chin from his mouth as he tried to catch his breath.

Then she saw the blood spurting from his neck. He was clasping the spot with one hand, but the light was already leaving his eyes. His hatred undying, he attempted to lift the hand still clutching the gun, but his fingers failed him and the weapon fell beside him as he stilled.

Kicking the gun away and then turning, Rachel saw Lia rush up from behind, drop to her knees and grab hold of Shane.

“Shane, don’t you dare die! Do you hear me! I won’t let that happen,” Lia yelled as she pulled open his coat and looked at the blood coating his shirt. So much blood — too much. It had seeped through his shirt and coat. How could he survive?

“Rachel!”

Turning again, she watched as Rafe and Adriane pulled through the trees and skidded to a stop in front of her.

Suddenly there was movement all around her, everything happening so quickly. Lia was shouting as Rafe and Adriane picked up Shane and rushed him to the rescue vehicle that Shane had brought to that place.

Rachel couldn’t move — she was frozen to the spot.

Adriane rushed back over to her. “Were you hit?” he asked, opening her coat and running his hands all over her body to look for any wounds. Rachel shook her head, but she couldn’t get her voice to work.

Shock had taken over.

Adriane lifted her carefully into his arms and carried her to the car. He got in with her on the passenger side and cradled her in his lap, close to his chest, as he whispered soothing words into her ear and rubbed her back.

Shane was lying on the backseat with his head in Lia’s lap as she held a wad of material over the bullet wound.

“Where was he hit?” Rafe asked as he threw the SUV into drive and began moving.

“Between his chest and stomach. I couldn’t tell if it hit any vital organs. There’s just so much blood,” she cried.

“Keep pressure on the wound,” he called back.

“I am,” said Lia, her voice choked but strong. Then she yelled again. “Stop!”

Rafe lifted his foot from the gas, carefully tapped the brakes and came to a stop. “Why? What’s happened?” he shouted as he twisted in the seat, thinking it was too late for Shane.

“This is where our car went off the road. We have to get Ari,” she said.

“What?” Rafe asked as his head whipped around as he noticed the skid marks going off the road. Without waiting for Lia’s explanation, he jumped from the vehicle and rushed down the short drop, wrenching open the door.

“Are you all right?” he asked, nearly sobbing when he found Ari in the driver’s seat.

“I’m fine, Rafe, just a swollen knee. I couldn’t climb the hill. Lia heard a gunshot and then shouting, and she knew she needed to go help,” Ari replied.

“What in the hell were the two of you doing up here? You were supposed to wait at the hotel,” he said, but he was careful as he lifted her in his arms and then quickly began climbing back up the ditch wall.

“We couldn’t not help,” she said as they reached the vehicle and Rafe set her inside on the third-row seat.

“We will discuss this at the hospital,” he warned her.

Jumping back in the SUV, he went flying down the mountain, taking the slick roads far too fast, but somehow Rafe managed to keep them from sliding over the steep edge.

Rachel had no idea how long it took them, but she realized everything was measured in sound. The sound of Shane’s harsh breathing, the sound of Lia’s words of encouragement to Shane, of Rafe calling out orders, of Ari telling Lia that Shane would be fine, and of Adriane telling her that everything would be all right.

They skidded into the emergency room bay at the closest hospital and doors flew open as Rafe rushed from the vehicle.

“He was shot. He needs medical attention right now!”

“Do you have the weapon?”

“No!”

“Sir, please calm down.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. Get him help now!” He looked like a madman.

“Officers!”

“Damn it, I’m not the one who shot him. The guy who shot him is dead!” Those words made the officers approaching look a little uneasy.

All of the words flew over Rachel’s head. More people were speaking. Officers were there with their hands on their guns. Nurses were getting Shane on a gurney and placing Ari in a wheelchair. The officers were talking to Rafe. Adriane continued holding her until someone pulled her from his arms. No! She didn’t want to be taken from him. Still, she couldn’t speak.

“Rachel, you have to snap out of this!” She turned her head to find Lia in front of her, kneeling on the ground with worry on her face. “We need you back. Please!”

Blood.

So much blood covered Lia.

The sight finally seemed to make something inside of her snap. Rachel bent forward as a sob was ripped from her throat and she grasped her sister tight.

“Why? Why?” she wailed, leaning against Lia.

“I don’t know, sweetie, but the doctors are going to fix Shane, and we’re going to make sure you’re OK, too. The police are questioning Rafe and Adriane right now, and the two of them looked beyond pissed off about being detained, but I’m here with you. Let’s go have the doctors make sure my nieces or nephews are all safe and sound, and then let’s find Ari as we sit and wait.”

“What about Shane?” Shouldn’t Lia be with him?

“I can’t think about that right now, so I’m going to focus on you. I have to focus on something or I will fall apart. Please, just stay with me,” Lia begged.

“You are so strong, Lia. I wish I had even a fraction of your strength,” Rachel said.

“Are you kidding me, Rachel! You nearly gave me a heart attack when you told that man to shoot you. What in the hell were you thinking? If I hadn’t gotten into position right then, you would have been dead. I heard him shoot Shane, heard the shouts as he threatened your life. I was helpless to stop Gianni. But I wasn’t going to just stand by. I was too far away to shoot him and guarantee a hit from where I was. I had to sneak closer. You did really well at distracting him. I’m so proud of you,” Lia said.

“We’re going to take you to the exam room now, Ms. Palazzo,” the nurse said, making both Lia and Rachel turn.

“Have you been hit?” another woman asked Lia, eyeing the blood all over her.

“No. This isn’t my blood,” she told the woman. “I’m staying with my sister here.”

No one argued with Lia. She looked like GI Jane right then with her blood-covered clothes and black hat, and more importantly, the glint of raw courage shining from her eyes. Rachel couldn’t be more proud of her.

It seemed like hours before the doctor finished examining Rachel and ran some tests, but by then, Ari’s knee had been wrapped and she was in the room, too. They had given Lia fresh clothes to change into, and now it was a waiting game.

When the doctor came back, he told Rachel that, although she had slightly elevated blood pressure, she was suffering from dehydration, and she was underweight, the babies were progressing nicely.

He wanted to keep her at the hospital overnight and hook up an IV to get her body proper nourishment, but he was sure he could allow her release the next day.

When they were finally left all alone, a frightened silence fell as they waited to hear news about Shane. After several minutes, Rachel couldn’t stand it anymore.

“He will make it, Lia. You two have just gotten married,” Rachel said.

“I was so afraid of this. It was the reason I didn’t want to have a relationship with him. I was so terrified that I’d be sitting at home one day while he was out on a mission, and then two uniformed men would show up at my door. But with all that, I never, ever imagined that I would be just around the corner when he got shot — and that I would be the one to kill his shooter.”

“I’m so sorry you had to do that, Lia. I don’t know how you did it, but I am so very thankful you did. How in the world did the two of you end up there? How did you even have a gun?” she asked as she looked between Lia and Ari, who looked at each other as if they had a secret they’d vowed never to tell anyone.

“Well, what to answer first?” Lia said with a slight smile toward Ari.

“Rafe and I both have family tracking on our cell phones, so once they left, Lia and I got in the car and followed them. We were coming up the road when I lost control of the vehicle and slid into the ditch. My knee slammed into the middle console and there was no way for me to walk, so Lia took off on foot in their direction. I told her I was fine.”

“Yeah, I protested at first, but my stomach was churning. I knew I was needed. I didn’t realize how needed I was. I hated leaving Ari there, but the car was concealed and I wanted to help. We both wanted to, but Ari’s knee was swelling.”

“And the gun?”

“Rafe and Adriane left us with one just in case any of the bad guys managed to track us down in our nice and safe hotel room.”

“You are both so brave. I couldn’t have done that,” Rachel said, feeling small and useless as she lay in the hospital bed.

“Don’t you dare say that!” Lia said. “I heard you tell that miserable man to take your life. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Adriane. That’s about as heroic as it gets. Stupid! But heroic.”

Rachel squirmed, uncomfortable with her sister’s praise. “Was it hard to shoot him?” Rachel honestly didn’t know whether she would have been able to pull the trigger.

“I didn’t think — I just shot. I never thought I could kill a person, never imagined pointing a gun and pulling the trigger. They say that if faced with a life-and-death situation, you can do anything. I guess they, whoever they are, are right. That man shot Shane and he was planning on shooting you next. There was no hesitation on my part.”

“Do you regret it? Will it haunt you?” Rachel asked.

“I would do it all over again,” Lia said, lifting her head and looking at her sister with pure love.

“I adore you, Lia,” Rachel told her.

“That goes the same for me, little sister.”

Lia and Ari scooted closer on either side of Rachel’s bed and grasped her hands. Then there was no more talking. They were all thinking of Shane.