Chapter 35

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

Liv

Jaxon grunts and collapses to his knees, then falls to the ground, his hand pressed against his ribs. I scream and drop to my knees beside him, pushing him to lie on his back and placing my hands on top of his to apply more pressure to the wound.

“Jaxon!” I sob.

“Sunshine,” he whispers, voice full of pain. “I’m so sorry.”

I turn to Liam, who’s still standing before us with his gun raised.

“Liam, please stop. Let me get him help. I’ll do anything, but please don’t let him die,” I plead.

“You think I still want you, after everything you’ve done? After how you treated my love and threw it away? I would’ve done anything for you, and you got me locked up while you slept around with anyone who wanted a piece of you. The disrespect!” Liam spits his words out with venom, his eyes filled with rage.

I feel Jaxon’s blood on my hands, warm and thick. He’s getting paler by the second, and I know I can’t save him. Liam points his gun at me, tears forming in his eyes.

“We could have been so happy. I would have given you the world, angel,” he says, but then his expression turns cold and his finger moves to the trigger. “Tell Theodore hello from me.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, thinking of Ryder, River, and Chase. I hope they can move on without Jaxon and me.

“I love you. I’m sorry,” I whisper, letting go of my life for a second time within a year, hoping I will see my family soon.

I wait for the inevitable, but all I hear is Gunner screaming “NO!” and bodies falling to the ground.

My breath leaves my lungs on a whimper, and I open my eyes to see Gunner still restrained but on top of Liam. It looks like he body-checked him. I hear a gunshot, and there’s more shuffling while Liam tries to get Gunner off him. In the struggle, the gun falls to the ground beside them, and I quickly pick it up and point it at Liam.

“Gunner, I’ve got it. Get off him,” I say, my hand with the gun shaking but my finger on the trigger.

When he rolls off of Liam and gets onto his knees, I can see blood spilling out of his shoulder.

“Fuck,” I murmur, quickly assessing the situation as my eyes flick back to Liam on the ground. He sneers at me but lifts his hands in surrender when I point the gun at his head.

“Can you walk?” I ask Gunner, trying to keep my voice steady, eyes not leaving Liam.

“I’ll manage,” he says with a grunt, clearly in pain.

“Okay, get out of here and get help. Tell the paramedics to hurry for Jaxon,” I instruct him firmly.

“I’m not leaving you here alone with him,” he protests.

“Gunner! Get the fuck going. You’re no help with your wrists in cuffs, and Jaxon needs a paramedic. You do too. If our friendship still means anything to you, you’ll do this for me. You leave and save yourself and my man,” I plead with him, feeling tears stream down my face, but my voice is calm. He hesitates for a second, but then stand up and slams a kiss to my temple.

“I’m going to kill you if you die,” he whispers, then I hear him run out of the room.

I feel a sense of relief that he’s safe and going to get help, but now I’m alone with Liam. I look at him, my heart racing with fear and anger.

“If you hate me this much, you could have just let me disappear and forgotten about me,” I say.

“And let you whore yourself out?” he responds with a laugh, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You’re mine, Olivia. If I can’t have you, no one can.”

I feel a shiver run down my spine and take a quick look over my shoulder to check on Jaxon. He’s unconscious but still breathing, thank god, but before I can do anything else, Liam kicks my feet out from under me and I fall on the ground, hitting the back of my head.

He’s on me in an instant, trying to grab the gun, but I’m kicking and screaming. We struggle, and he hits me in the face twice, hard. The pain is excruciating, but I can’t let him get the gun.

Without thinking, I pull the trigger, the recoil hitting me in the chest and my ears ringing from the loud bang. Liam slumps down on top of me, the impact stealing the breath out of my lungs, his warm blood flowing over my body. He’s so much bigger and heavier than me, and I can’t move my arms to push him off. I feel like I’m suffocating under his weight, and bile rises in my throat. I can’t feel him breathing, and I start to sob uncontrollably.

* * *

The minutes tick by, and everything feels fuzzy and muted, like I’m trapped in a bubble with just enough air to survive but not enough to actually take a deep breath, until I hear footsteps running towards me.

“Liv, Fuck! Are you alive, baby?” Ryder exclaims frantically. He pushes Liam’s body off of me, and I gasp for air, tears streaming down my face.

“Jaxon… He was shot,” I manage to get out, pointing towards him.

The cops that came in with Ryder lower their guns since the imminent danger is over. Ryder takes a quick look at Jaxon and curses under his breath. I can hear the panic in his voice as he yells for everyone to hurry the fuck up.

I try to get up, but my body feels weak and my head is spinning. Ryder puts his arm around me, supporting me as we crawl over and kneel beside the still passed out Jaxon. Again, I put pressure on his wound, which isn’t bleeding as much anymore, and wait for the paramedics to arrive. I can’t believe what just happened. I killed him. Liam is dead because of me.

Ryder looks me over with wide eyes.

“None of it is my blood,” I whisper, tears still streaming down my face.

The paramedics arrive with River in tow and usher us away from Jaxon before putting him on a stretcher and hurrying out with him. River looks devastated when he sees me and pulls me gently into his arms, not caring about the blood that’s covering me.

“I’m so sorry we only just got here, but we have you now, beautiful.”

One of the paramedics stays to examine me, but I tell him I’m all right and just want to follow Jaxon to the hospital.

My feet aren’t ready to move yet, so I stumble a bit before River bends down and hoists me up by my butt. I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me out of the room.

We make our way out of the warehouse and find Chase standing with Gunner at one of the ambulances, getting questioned by the police. As soon as he sees us, he leaves the cop mid-conversation and runs to me. He takes my head between his hands and looks me over critically. I hiss at the contact, and he gentles his grip.

“Liam?” he asks River.

He shakes his head, and Chase looks back in my eyes.

“I’m glad he’s dead, or I would’ve killed him myself for that alone,” he says, brushing his fingers over a bruise on my forehead.

I sob again at the reminder that I killed my first love. Chase kisses my temple before he guides all of us back to the ambulance.

“Can you stand?” River asks, and I nod, so he lets me down.

“I need to talk to Gunner, alone,” I whisper, and all three of them nod, faces ranging from understanding to frowning.

The paramedic finishes treating Gunner’s shoulder and steps back, giving us some privacy too. Gunner stands, his hand gripping mine tightly as he pulls me into a hug. I feel his body shake with sobs, and I hold him closer.

“You made it count,” I whisper, trying to comfort him.

He pulls back slightly, tears streaming down his face.

“I’m so sorry, Livy,” he says, his voice cracking. “I never thought he would hurt you. I never would have let him get near you if I knew what he planned. I only wanted to get you back together. I thought he loved you like I loved him. I’m so sorry. As soon as I am patched up, I’m going to turn myself in to the police.”

I can feel the weight of his words sinking in. He was caught in the middle of all of this, trying to do what he thought was best for me, and now he’s going to make himself pay for Liam’s actions. I can’t let that happen.

“No,” I say firmly, looking up at him. “You can’t do that. You didn’t do anything wrong. It was Liam’s choice to take things this far. You were just trying to help me.”

He looks at me, his eyes full of sadness and regret.

“I put you in danger,” he sobs.

“It’s not your fault. I know Liam, and I know how manipulative he is, how he can gaslight you into anything,” I insist, holding his gaze. “We’ll figure this out together. I’m not going to let you pay for loving a deranged man. I was there too. Right now, we need to focus on you and Jaxon, and make sure everyone’s okay.” He nods, taking a deep breath.

“Okay,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Let’s get you checked out too.”

He nods to the paramedic, who then comes over again and ushers us into the ambulance, both of us still in shock from what just happened. We’re together, though, and that’s all that matters right now. I only hope Jaxon is going to be ok.

* * *

Gunner and I sit in the hospital waiting room, his grip on my hand tight and comforting. Despite the pain in my bruised ribs, a laceration on my temple, and my swollen eye, I’m grateful to be alive. My clothes are ruined, so I’m sitting here in scrubs and Chase’s hoodie that he lent me. Thankfully, Gunner’s wound didn’t require surgery, just a cleaning and some stitches, which is a relief.

We’re both exhausted, physically and emotionally, from everything that’s happened. We’ve been here for hours, waiting for news about Jaxon. Every time the door opens, we both tense up, hoping it’s a doctor with good news, but so far, we’ve heard nothing. The waiting is unbearable. I can feel Gunner’s hand shaking in mine, and I know he’s just as scared as I am. I lean my head on his shoulder, trying to find some comfort in his presence.

River, Chase, and Ryder are at the cafeteria, getting us all a coffee and some food after hours of waiting by my side. Gunner has been quiet since we left the warehouse, lost in his own thoughts. I know he’s blaming himself for what happened, but I can’t let him do that.

“Hey,” I say, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “We’re going to get through this. Jaxon’s going to be okay. We just have to believe that.” He looks at me, his eyes full of pain.

“I hope you’re right,” he says softly.

“I am,” I insist, trying to sound more confident than I feel. “We’re going to make it through this, all of us.”

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the doctor comes in. We both stand up, holding our breath.

“Jaxon Tanner,” he calls loudly.

“We’re with Jaxon,” I say, clutching Gunner’s hand even tighter.

“Mr. Tanner is out of surgery,” the doctor says, looking at us both. “He’s stable, but he has lost a lot of blood. I suspected a punctured lung, but luckily, the bullet only grazed it. He’ll need to stay a while in the hospital and physical therapy afterwards, but we’re hopeful that he will make a full recovery.”

I feel a wave of relief wash over me and nearly fall to my knees. Gunner puts an arm around my waist, supporting me. Jaxon’s going to make it. We’re all going to make it.

Tears of relief are running down my face. I look over at Gunner, and he’s smiling for the first time since this nightmare started, his eyes watering too.

“Thank you,” he says to the doctor. “Thank you so much.”

We make our way out of the waiting room to find the guys, and I can’t help but think about how close we all came to losing each other. We’re still here, though, and we’re going to be okay and, most importantly, together.