Nick glanced up at the ceiling, eyes blazing. The footsteps were light, but audible as an intruder moved around. “Get out of here, now,” he hissed low. His fingers dug into my arm and he pushed me out the door.

I kept hold of his arms. “I’m not leaving you.”

He jerked out of my grasp and clutched my face, his grip firm. “Stop being so fucking stubborn. Go get Scott and call the police, now!”

Turning his back on me, I got one last look at him before he disappeared into the darkness. I ran out of the house, hands shaking as I tried to dig for my phone. It felt like I was running through quicksand, similar to that feeling you get when running away from someone in your dreams. You can never move fast enough.

“Hadley!” Scott shouted, rushing out of the garage. I ran to him and he pulled me to the side, shielding me.

“Someone’s in the house. Nick’s still in there,” I cried, my hands shaking out of control.

“Go next door and call the police. Don’t step out until I come for you.” Once I nodded, he took off inside the house.

Determined, I ran as fast as I could to my neighbor’s house. By the time I reached their door, I’d found my phone and called for help.

“911. What’s your emergency?”

“I’m Hadley Rivers and someone’s in my house. Please send help.” I gave the operator my address and hung up just as my neighbor, Gabriella Emerson, opened the door. She was dressed in her workout clothes with her midnight colored hair pulled high into a ponytail.

Her smile disappeared the second she looked at me. “Oh my God, Hadley, what’s going on?” she demanded. She quickly dragged me inside, and her husband, Paxton, hurried over. They were both MMA fighters and had seen their fair share of violence over the years. If anyone could help, it’d be them.

“Someone broke into my house. They’re still in there,” I shouted.

Gabriella grabbed my hands and squeezed. “Calm down, honey.”

“I can’t! Nick and Scott might be in trouble.”

Paxton started for the door. “I’m going over there.”

“Pax, wait!” Gabriella called. He took off and she huffed. “Dammit, why doesn’t he ever listen?” She rushed out after him and so did I.

Scott had told me not to leave their house, but I couldn’t listen. Again, it felt like everything moved in slow motion. I couldn’t get to them fast enough. Before we could reach the edge of my yard, a gunshot fired from within my house and I screamed, ducking down to the ground. Paxton and Gabriella did the same and crouched low. Dread settled into the pit of my stomach as another shot fired, and another.

I had to make sure they were okay. Charging toward my house, I didn’t get very far until Gabriella tackled me to the ground.

“Dammit Hadley, you’re not going in there.”

“Nick! Scott!” I shouted.

I tried to fight her off, but there was nothing I could do against an MMA fighter. Paxton glanced back at Gabriella, a silent plea on his face; Gabriella nodded. “Go.”

“Nick doesn’t have a gun. What if he’s hurt?” I cried. Gabriella loosened her grip, but kept a vigilant watch of the house. I wished I was strong like her. I’d be able to take care of myself instead of having others do it.

“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine,” she said, but even I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“Gabby!” Paxton yelled from inside the house. “I need help in here.”

She jerked me to my feet and we both took off for the house. When I got inside, the smell of blood was overwhelming. Everything came crashing down the second I saw Scott and Nick on the floor, covered in blood. But it was Scott who was unmoving, lifeless, his unseeing eyes staring up at the ceiling.

“Scott!” I cried. Paxton rushed over and took his pulse. The pained look on his face was answer enough. I stumbled over and fell to my knees beside him. “He has to be alive.” But he wasn’t; he was gone.

“Hadley,” Nick croaked. Gasping, I crawled over to him and placed a hand over his. Blood oozed out of the wound in his gut. He glanced over at Scott’s still form and closed his eyes. “He . . . saved me.”

“Where did the shooter go?” Paxton demanded.

Nick swallowed hard. “Back door.” His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body shook.

“Nick! Hang on, please,” I cried. Putting my hands over his wound, I attempted to stem the blood flow.

Sirens blared down the street, but they were going to be too late.

Growling, Paxton dashed toward the back door. “I’m going after the fucker.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I watched Nick’s life slowly slip away. Gabriella rummaged through my house and came back with a towel. I took it from her and placed it over the wound.

“Nick, stay with us,” Gabriella commanded, as I applied pressure to the wound. It seemed to help, but what did I know.

He turned to me, his sea green eyes glassy and full of tears. His body stopped convulsing, and was replaced with a sense of calm. “I wanted . . . to protect you.”

“Did you see who it was?” Gabriella asked softly.

He closed his eyes, his grip on my arm loosening.

“Nick? Nick. Don’t you dare die on me,” I shouted.

The police and paramedics burst into the room and rushed over. Gabriella put her arm around me and everything moved in slow motion. I subconsciously noted how Nick and Scott’s blood had soaked through my jeans, but I didn’t care. All I could do was sit there, realization staring me in the face. Scott was dead and Nick laid in a pool of his own blood . . . because of me. It was all my fault.

Hadley

“You gonna be okay by yourself?” Gabriella asked.

Nodding, I hugged her and Paxton both. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for trying to catch the guy who did this. You risked your life,” I said to Paxton.

He shrugged. “I just wish I’d caught the fucker. Let us know if there’s anything we can do.”

I nodded. “I will. But I think you’ve done more than enough for me at this point. I really can’t thank you enough.”

They made their way to the door just as my phone started to ring. It was Felicity. Everything had moved so fast, all I could tell her after the accident was that Nick was in the hospital and that she had to get there. I dreaded having to explain the details.

“Felicity.”

“What the hell is going on? What happened to Nick?” she demanded, her voice rough. I could hear squealing tires in the background.

I had cried so much, I didn’t think it was possible to shed another tear. My mind was numb and my whole body hurt. “Someone broke into my house and shot Nick and Scott. Scott didn’t make it. They told me to run, and . . .” I stopped and threw a hand over my mouth. The guilt came rushing back. I hated myself for putting them in that situation. “They told me to run and I did. Scott would be alive if it wasn’t for me. And who knows about Nick,” I sobbed.

“It’s not your fault. Nick will be okay. We have to believe he’ll be okay.” We cried together until the police chief, Robert Wilson, cleared his throat.

“Felicity, call me as soon as you find anything out about Nick. I have to go.”

We said our goodbyes and I turned to face the chief.

“I know this is a difficult time for you, but I need to ask you some questions,” he said. Robert was a middle-aged man with salt and peppered hair and almost a head taller than me, which was pretty tall considering I was five foot ten. I looked up at him and nodded.

“Okay. But I should probably call my dad before this gets onto the news.”

He shook his head. “No need. I called him already.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Does he know about Scott?”

He sighed and when I opened my eyes, he nodded. “He was a good friend of your father’s, just like I am. George and I go way back, Miss Rivers. And with everything that’s happened, I have a solution to keep you safe. Now follow me. We have a long night ahead of us.”