Logan.
Tears blinded me. I couldn’t do anything but sit and watch helplessly as a serial killer got closer to the man I loved and someone I considered a friend.
“Look at the hall!” I whispered harshly, but they were only focused on the back door and front. They weren’t thinking about the windows.
Something bad…
At that thought, something blurred through the air from the hallway and slammed Officer Cortez in the neck.
A small knife.
He staggered and raised his firearm toward the hallway, and Steven threw another knife, hitting him in the leg.
“No!” I sobbed, watching Officer Cortez fall to the ground. He shot his gun, and Steven stumbled back. He had two shots in the shoulder, and it wasn’t enough to take him down.
Logan fired his gun next, shooting Steven multiple times in the chest. Steven tossed another knife, but Logan dodged it, firing another shot that hit Steven right between the eyes, taking the man that ruined my life down. Logan scurried to Officer Cortez and spoke into his radio. I read the words from his lips, not needing to hear what he said.
Officer down. I repeat. Officer down.
Logan held the wound against Officer Cortez’s neck, but from here, I couldn’t see if he was still breathing.
My nightmare ended, but someone else’s was just beginning.
Epilogue
Logan
One month later
It had been a hard month for all of us, especially Maria. Cortez was in a coma, and they didn’t know if he would wake up or not. We were hopeful that he would because he is a strong mother fucker, and he would never leave Maria. They hadn’t mended things before the accident, so Maria visited him every day at the hospital and read to him, held his hand, and whispered in his ear how much she loved him.
But nothing ever changed.
Haden had visited the hospital too. Apparently, he and Cortez had become quick friends, and he wanted to be there when his friend woke up. While things could be better, we were just glad Officer Cortez was hanging on. He lost a lot of blood from the knife in his neck that the crazy serial killer threw at him from the hallway.
When they took his body, they counted fifty knives on him that didn’t include the ones in the chest or heads of other officers.
He was a crazy son of a bitch, but I kept Abigail away, she was safe, my baby was safe, and I knew for a fact it threw her serial killer off his tracks. I was just happy that I was able to roll over in the morning and hold my girl.
I felt guilty because Cortez couldn’t do that, not yet, but whenever he made it out of it, he’d be able to hold her whenever he wanted, and Maria would never second guess shit again. She apologized to me and admitted that she never loved me like that, but it was easier to focus on me than the extent of what she felt for Cortez. I didn’t know Maria’s story; I just wanted her story to end with Cortez.
“How are my loves?” I said, pulling Abigail against me.
Her stomach was still flat, and that worried me, considering my sister popped like a week into her pregnancy. After the incident, I took Abigail to the doctor to make sure everything was on track and it was. Our baby was a tiny little bean, growing happy and healthy. Abigail was just tiny.
“Wanting a chocolate milkshake and bacon,” she grumbled, stretching her arms over her head as she yawned.
“Always with the salty and sweet,” I said, rubbing her belly. I’d never be able to repay Cortez for what he did, for helping me keep her safe. I knew when he woke up, he’d say he was just doing his job, but it took someone special to put on a uniform every day and sacrifice their lives. “You stay here. I’ll be right back,” I told her, placing a kiss on her belly and lips. It was a new thing I did every single day, and I was starting to think it would be our little tradition, even when she wasn’t pregnant.
I rolled out of bed and slid a pair of grey sweatpants on. I had to stay naked at night because Abigail woke up four times a night wanting to fuck. Those pregnancy hormones were insane. I loved them.
She hummed when she saw me and cupped my bulge through the pants. Abigail loved my bulge. “Mmm, when you come back, maybe I’ll be hungry for something else.”
“You better be,” I growled, wrapping my fingers around her wrist and pulling her toward me. I kissed her, thinking about all the times I came last night, and I was ready to come again. If she hadn’t been pregnant, last night would have changed that. “Fuck, you’re so hot. Okay, you’re distracting me. I need to go get your milkshake and fry up some bacon.” If she didn’t eat, she got cranky. I only had a small window of time before her mood shifted.
Keep her fed. Keep her fucked.
It was my new motto since that was all she ever wanted to do.