Breathe (42 page)

before someone sees us.” He backed up, giving them a semblance of privacy. Oddly

polite for a guy about to blow someone"s brains out.

Fucker
. As soon as he got out of the restraints, he"d show Todd that when you

wanted to take someone down, you didn"t hesitate.

Jay bent and pushed at Lincoln with his shoulder and arm. Lincoln took the

cue and tried to help get off the ground so he could kneel with Jay.

It wasn"t working. Todd sighed. He gripped Lincoln by the upper arm and

hefted him until Lincoln knelt facing Jay, then Todd moved away again. Could this

guy really go through with killing him? Most people didn"t have it in them to take

another life. But Lincoln couldn"t take a chance. He had to get to Nancy and the

kids—had to protect them this time.

He saw the fear in Jay"s eyes. No matter what had happened, no matter what

Lincoln had done to hurt Jay, he could count on him. “You have to help my sister.

You have to stop Mel from hurting her or the kids. Not for me. For them. Please,

Jay.”

“Shut the hell up.” Jay kissed him, the touch of lips soft, as sweet as Lincoln

had ever known. “You talk too much. I"m not letting him kill you.”

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“Get up.” Todd tugged on Jay"s arm.

It went down fast. Jay lunged at his brother, and both men toppled over.

Lincoln twisted his wrists in the restraints again, trying to slip out of the cuffs. No

way would Jay win with his hands tied behind his back. Stupid man would be

joining his wife if he wasn"t careful.

A shot rang out.

Lincoln stilled, and so did the wrestling men ten feet away. Todd wriggled out

from under Jay and got to his feet, but Jay remained on the ground, his back to

Lincoln.

“Jay?” Lincoln tried to stand and fell forward to his knees. “Jay!”

Time seemed to slow. Finally, Jay rolled and pulled his legs up underneath

him. He sat up. “I"m okay.”

Air rushed into Lincoln"s lungs. He could breathe again.

Todd had the gun aimed at Jay. “You"re choosing him over your family?”

“Todd!” A deep voice rang out from somewhere near veteran Victor Donnelly"s

grave. Howard Miller was running in their direction. “Point that gun somewhere

else.” Howard rushed toward his sons, followed by his wife. Both parents were

dressed in pajamas, overcoats, and dress shoes. Susan Miller was having difficulty

running in her heels. Or perhaps it was the sight of her sons—one tied up on the

ground, the other aiming a gun at the first—that had her every step faltering.

Todd stared at the gun then followed its path to Jay like he"d just realized

where he had it aimed. He lowered the barrel until it pointed at the ground.

“What the hell is going on here?” Howard stepped between his sons and stole

the gun from Todd"s hand.

Susan approached Jay and dropped to the ground. She hugged her son, the

grip so tight Jay grunted. She let go of him and untied his arms, tears streaming

down her face. Jay"s eyes were wide as he watched her, like she was a crazy person

in the middle of a fit, and he wasn"t ready to trust her.

“Someone explain!” Howard shouted. “First we get a call at four thirty in the

morning from Emily asking us where Jay is, then some guy knocks on our door and

makes all kinds of horrible accusations. When we finally convinced him it wasn"t us,

he tells us to come here and talk to Jay before someone gets hurt.”

Lincoln sank back to his heels and sighed. He owed Paul a thank-you.

“Todd tried to kill Lincoln.” Jay staggered to his feet, his gaze on his brother.

“Dad, do you have your cell?”

Howard pulled out his phone and handed it to Jay.

Susan gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Calling the cops.”

“No. You can"t do this to your brother.”

“Me? He did this to himself.”

Breathe

221

“No! Let"s talk about this first.” She grabbed the phone and yanked it away

from Jay. It slipped out of her grip and smashed against the tombstone beside her.

The phone broke into pieces that rained onto the grass-covered grave. She stared at

the busted phone and said, “That man did this to all of us.”

They could discuss Lincoln all they wanted. He had other priorities. “Jay, I

have to get to Nancy.”

“I know.” Jay limped to him and untied his legs. He reached for Lincoln"s

hands but stopped when he found the locked cuffs. “Dad, find the key on Todd.” Jay

got off the ground and faced his mom. “Lincoln made a mistake. We have all made

mistakes. We"ll all make more. You want to know why she was out driving that

night? Because of me. Because I wanted fucking ice cream to go with the cake she"d

baked. It was a stupid joke I made every year. That night she really did forget, and

I couldn"t keep my goddamn mouth shut. I told her we were really ready for kids if

the honeymoon was over. You should have seen the crushed look on her face. She

grabbed her purse and keys and said she was going to the store for the ice cream.

She was gone before I could tell her to forget it, that it was too late at night, to tell

her to stay home. Before I could apologize for being a selfish prick.”

Lincoln stood, his arms still bound. “None of this was your fault.”

“She would"ve been home singing „Happy Birthday" and eating cake if it

weren"t for me.”

How could Jay blame himself? Lincoln stepped in front of him. “What would

Katie say about that?”

Jay glanced away.

“You have to know she"d never blame you for any of this.”

“He"s right.” Susan moved closer to her son. “Jacob Miller, no matter what

anyone has said or done, you are not to blame.” She looked to Todd. “We"ve all been

angry, bitter.”

Jay said, “Todd"s crossed too many lines. He was going to kill someone!”

Her eyes widened as if what she"d witnessed her son about to do had just sunk

in.

“Mom,” Todd pleaded. “I can"t leave Marge and the baby.”

She walked toward him, her shoes giving her no problems as if she fluttered

above the ground between her sons. “Jay"s right. You went too far.”

“I did what you said you wanted. I was making him pay.”

“I did want him to pay, but…I never wanted this.” She stopped before Todd,

and her shoes sank into the earth. She lost several inches and looked small. Frail.

“Did I?” Her tears came quickly and everyone stared at her, eyes wide, Lincoln

included.

Howard went to her and held her in his arms. She sobbed and clung to her

husband.

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“You"ll see, Mom.” Todd snatched the gun from the hand Howard had pressed

against his wife"s back.

Lincoln barely had time to take a breath. Jay shoved him aside as Todd fired.

They fell, Jay"s weight thrusting Lincoln backward. His injured arm and the side of

his head smacked the ground as Jay landed on top of him.

Lincoln heard the shouts. Howard"s. Susan"s. Todd"s. But all he saw was Jay.

All he felt was the blood seeping from Jay"s chest onto his own. Using his body and

legs, he carefully rolled Jay to the ground.

“Jay?” Howard had the gun in one hand, Todd by the arm in his other. “Is he

shot?”

Susan ran to her youngest son and knelt beside him. “Jacob?”

“Get these cuffs off me.” Lincoln was on his knees on Jay"s other side. “Now!”

Howard tossed Susan a key, and she unlocked the cuffs, silent tears streaming

down her face.

His hands free, Lincoln lunged for Jay. He flattened his palms to the blood-

soaked shirt. A chest wound, low, over the rib cage.

“Hang on, honey.” Susan stroked Jay"s brow with a shaking hand. She looked

at Lincoln. “Do you have a phone?”

“No.”

Jay"s breath hissed as he said, “It"s bad.”

“No.” Lincoln shook his head. “Stay still.” He pressed harder against the

wound and to Susan said, “Get in your car and find the nearest phone. Call for

help.”

She stared at Lincoln for a shocked moment.

“Go!”

She kissed her son"s temple, stood, and took off, the heels of her shoes not even

connecting with the grass.

Jay spoke again. “Maybe this was…always supposed to end…like this.”

“Don"t talk.”

“And that"s why she"s not here…so she didn"t have to…lose me…like this.”

“Stop. You talk too much. Besides”—Lincoln brushed his lips along Jay"s

cheek—“she doesn"t get you. Not yet.”

Ragged breaths hissed in Lincoln"s ear.

Howard knelt on Jay"s other side. “Too much blood.”

Lincoln straightened. Todd sat on the ground where he"d last been standing,

his arms folded around his knees. He was rocking, staring at his brother. Lincoln

ignored him. If the asshole ran off, he"d find him. No matter where. No matter how

long it took. “I have to get him to the hospital. Now.”

“Is that your truck?” Howard asked.

With the sun over the horizon, it was hard to miss.

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223

Lincoln"s truck sat along the cemetery road two hundred feet away. He

grabbed the gun from Howard and threw it on the ground. He pressed Howard"s

hands to Jay"s chest. “Keep pressure here.”

He dug in Jay"s pocket for the keys and sprinted for the truck, pushing aside

any thoughts on what he was doing, pure instinct driving him on. He climbed

behind the wheel, started the engine, and slammed on the gas pedal, then raced

through the sea of headstones toward where his lover lay bleeding. Nothing would

stop him from saving Jay.

From saving Nancy and the kids.

From making it up to all of them.

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Sloan Parker

Chapter Thirty-three

Lincoln maneuvered his truck around the next corner, a mile from the

hospital, and kept his gaze fixed on the road before him. Driving through the early

morning traffic with his hand on Jay"s bleeding chest wasn"t how he wanted to start

back on the road, but he could do this.

He had to do this.

He gave the truck more gas and pressed harder against Jay. “Hang on. Please.

Just hang on. We"re almost there.”

Jay"s next breath came out as a gurgle.

One more intersection, and Lincoln swung into the Grant County Medical

Center"s parking lot. He slammed on the brakes in front the emergency room

entrance, shoved the gearshift in park, and raced around to the other side. Two

women in scrubs stood near the entranceway.

He threw the passenger door open and shouted, “I need help!”

One of the women ran inside the hospital, and the other rushed toward

Lincoln.

Jay was still conscious. He stared at Lincoln and reached out with his right

hand. Lincoln gripped it in his and pressed his forehead to Jay"s. “Don"t you dare

fucking die on me.”

“Sir, step aside.” The woman tugged on Lincoln"s arm.

“He"s been shot.” He let go of Jay"s hand and moved so she could get closer

through the open door.

The other woman returned with a gurney and two more hospital personnel.

They lifted Jay from the truck to the gurney and headed in through the ER"s sliding

doors.

Lincoln ran after them, but one of the women stopped him outside a room

marked TRAUMA as they wheeled Jay in. “You need to wait out here while we take

a look. Go ahead and wash all that blood off.” She pointed toward a nearby sink,

then turned and pushed through the double doors.

Lincoln stared down at the blood on his hands. His chest felt heavy. Was he

still breathing?

Was Jay?

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225

He wanted to stand there until he knew for sure. But he needed to find Nancy

and the kids. Hopefully Jessica had been released a few hours earlier, and they had

waited at the hospital with Paul like Lincoln had asked them to do.

He slowly moved to the sink, washed his hands, and watched as the blood ran

down the drain, but it would never be gone for him. He"d seen too much of it in his

life.

“Lincoln!”

At first it sounded like someone calling him from inside the room with Jay. He

took a step toward the closed doors of the trauma room, and then the voice

registered.

He spun around. Nancy and the kids were at the far end of the hall, all

running toward him, Jessica"s hand tucked inside her mom"s. He met them halfway.

Without a thought on what he was doing, he scooped Jessica into his arms and

held her tight. “Are you okay?” he asked Nancy.

“Yes. Are
you
okay?” She stared at the blood on his sleeve and gripped his arm.

“Is this your blood?”

He looked toward the trauma room behind him. He wanted to rush inside and

find out what the hell was going on.

“Lincoln!” Nancy shouted. “What happened?”

“I"m fine,” he said. “Are you guys alone?”

“Paul"s here. He just went to the bathroom. He left to find Jay"s parents

earlier, but then he came back to stay with us like you wanted.”