I gasped at the sight of William, and Wes startled. He hadn’t realized Noah’s grandfather was behind him, and he spun to face the old man, taking a step back as he did.
At first glance, William looked calm, but he couldn’t hide the fevered look that flashed through his eyes as his gaze landed on me. With just one look, I could see his blind hatred roiling beneath his cold exterior. I’d never had anyone look at me with such loathing before, but the thing that scared me the most was how someone so unbalanced could seem so focused and in control. It was terrifying.
Wes must have sensed something was wrong too because he was looking at William like he needed to tread very carefully. “Mr. Hastings?” he asked, his voice filled with both surprise and caution. “What are you doing here?”
I tried to catch Wes’s attention. He didn’t know William had set the fire. That he had lost his mind to vengeance and was potentially very dangerous. But Wes resolutely held his ground.
“Miss LaFleur and I have some unfinished business.” William sounded polished, friendly even, which only made me more concerned, knowing what was bubbling beneath the surface. “Don’t we, Isobel?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how. This wasn’t a man caught up in the furious haze of his emotions. No, William was as cold and calculating as he’d ever been, and I dreaded to imagine what he had intended for me. But more than anything, I didn’t want Wes to get involved. I didn’t want him to be hurt.
“We do,” I finally answered before glancing at Wes. “You should go back to dinner, Wes,” I said. “I’ll just be a moment with Mr. Hastings.”
Wes didn’t move even though my eyes pleaded with him to leave. He folded his arms across his chest. “I’m happy to hang here,” he said. “You’ll only be a moment, after all.”
“Your choice,” William said, as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.
I wanted to curse Wes for not taking his chance to escape. I faced William but froze as he aimed the barrel in my direction. There was a menacing curve to William’s lips, and his face had transformed as his mask of composure fell, and he embraced the depth of his hatred for me.
I began to tremble as icy fear seized me. I knew I should have been trying to talk him down, but what did you say to someone who despised you so thoroughly? Who’d left their sense and compassion behind them a long time ago?
“Mr. Hastings…” I gently begged. My voice was quiet, and I slowly lifted my hands in front of me. I desperately hoped he’d realize this wasn’t the way to solve his problems, but I honestly didn’t know if this was a man that could be reasoned with anymore.
“Please, sir.” Wes sounded more confident than me, but there was no mistaking the fearful tremor in his tone. “Think about what you’re doing…”
William only continued to watch me with his menacing smile. “Oh, I’ve been thinking about this a while.”
“Lower the gun, Grandfather. Now.”
My heart stopped as Noah stepped from behind the hedges, his hands outstretched as he faced his grandfather.
“Noah.” William sounded pleased his grandson had arrived. “I’m so glad that you could be here for this.”
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you need to put the gun away,” Noah insisted. He was ever so slowly edging toward me, but I wasn’t sure what he had planned when he reached me. I couldn’t see a way out of this while William still pointed a gun at me.
“I would have thought it quite obvious what I’m doing.” William released a chilling laugh, and he tilted his head to the side like an animal observing its prey. “I’m doing what I should have done to begin with. I’m disposing of this infatuation of yours. This LaFleur tramp. If you hadn’t been so desperately obsessed with her, I would still have my company.”
“That’s not true,” Noah said, keeping his voice as calm as he could. “Isobel had nothing to do with this.”
‘Nothing to do with it?” William’s voice was becoming more and more frantic. “This girl has corrupted you and ruined everything. The same thing happened to your father. I dealt with that, and now I’m going to deal with her.”
“If you want to punish someone for losing your company, it should be me. Point the gun at me.”
“That’s what you want, is it?” William spat, turning on Noah and waving the gun in his direction. “No, you can’t escape from this that easily. You took everything from me, and I want you to know what that feels like. I’m taking the one thing you care about most, and this time, I’m going to make sure it’s truly gone before I walk away.”
“You’re not taking anything,” Noah said. “Put down the gun.”
“Why would I do that?” William snarled. “The police are already after me for burning down that pathetic café. Then it’s only a matter of time until they find out about the other fires. If I’m going away for the rest of my life anyway, why shouldn’t I extract this last piece of revenge?”
William trained the gun in my direction once more, and from the determined look in his eyes, it seemed he was done toying with me. He was done talking. Noah had seemed so calm and in control until that moment, but suddenly his eyes became panicked.
“Grandfather, no!”
My heart was racing as terror flooded my veins. That gun wasn’t an idle threat. William had already proven he wasn’t afraid of pulling the trigger. Tears gathered in my eyes, and I wondered if these were my last breaths. If I would ever see my mom again. If I would ever get to tell my dad I loved him. If I would ever get to tell Noah my heart belonged to him. That it always had.
“Take your company back,” Noah pleaded. “Whatever you want, it’s yours. Just don’t take Isobel from me.” I’d never heard him sound so desperate before. “Please, you already took my father from me. Don’t take the girl I love too.”
William merely smirked though, and the air was heavy with dread as we held our breaths.
I prayed he’d listen to Noah.
That he would see sense.
That I’d live to see another day.
Then, without warning, everything happened at once.
The sound of a gunshot ricocheted through the air. Someone screamed. It might have been me. One moment I was standing, and the next, I was being tackled to the ground as Noah threw his body on top of mine. All the air left my lungs as I hit the grass, and Noah’s weight was so heavy on me I couldn’t move.
The sound of the gunshot still echoed in my ears. It was all I could hear. I was in a total state of shock, and my body felt numb. Had I been shot? I couldn’t feel any pain.
“Isobel. Isobel, are you okay?” Noah asked. He pulled back to look at me. His eyes were already shining with tears as he held my face in his hands. “Please tell me you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
As the ringing in my ears faded, the sound of yelling made me look past Noah. I saw Wes wrestle William to the ground and pin him down. There were screams in the background and the sound of many footsteps pounding on the path and the grass around us. Some men appeared from all around and hurried to help Wes keep William Hastings secured.
“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Noah asked.
“I’m not hurt.”
Noah’s forehead relaxed into mine as he released a breath. “Thank God.”
He went to lift himself off me, but as he drew back, my heart caught in my throat. There was blood staining his shirt.
I placed a hand against his chest, stopping him from moving. “Noah, you’re bleeding.”
Noah frowned as he looked down to where blood was pooling at his side. He winced as he pulled up his shirt to reveal a deep gash along his ribs. My stomach lurched with dread. Noah’s face grew pale, and he sank down on his knees.
“Someone call an ambulance,” I yelled at the gathering crowd. Tears welled in my eyes as I eased Noah onto his back and quickly put pressure on the wound to try to stop the blood from flowing.
“Ouch, that hurts,” Noah groaned.
“Of course, it hurts,” I gasped. “You’ve been shot.”
“It’s not that bad,” he said. His skin was getting whiter by the second, and his voice caught on the words.
“Are you crazy?” I asked. “Why would you jump in front of a bullet for me?”
He was lying on the ground with a gunshot wound at his side, yet somehow, he was able to smile. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
He winced suddenly though. I didn’t have any idea how to tend to his wound, and I hoped I was doing the right thing. Thankfully, one of the men who’d been helping restrain William ran over. He pulled off his jacket and used it to help stem the flow of blood.
I moved out of the way as he took over, but I grasped Noah’s hand tightly as we waited for the ambulance to arrive. Noah kept trying to say he was fine, but I think it had to be shock. At least he was still talking, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to breathe properly again until I was sure he was going to be okay.
I was so focused on Noah I barely noticed as my father’s security detail began to lead William away. They had to walk right past us though, and the cruel smile William gave his grandson when he saw him lying on the grass was haunting. His eyes had been filled with such cold loathing as he looked at the two of us, and I knew I’d never feel safe until he was behind bars.
The paramedics arrived moments later, and William was put to the back of my mind. I tried to keep out of the way as they assessed Noah, but it was hard when I knew he was in pain. I wanted to be at his side, holding his hand, and when they lifted him onto a stretcher, I rushed back over to him.
“Are they taking you to the hospital?” I asked.
“Yeah, apparently these gunshot wounds are serious business.”
I shook my head at him. It was still too early to joke.
“I’ll be fine,” he said.
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
He gave me a weak smile, trying to reassure me he would be okay, but it was hard to watch him go. I’d almost lost my mom a week ago, and now Noah. I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off him for one second after what we’d been through.
“I’m sorry, Miss, but we have to take him now,” a paramedic said.
I slowly nodded and stepped back from the stretcher, but I felt so shaky, and my chest constricted as I watched them carry him away. Each step they took from me, each little foot of distance that was put between Noah and me, felt like agony.
Wes came to stand at my side and rubbed my arm as we watched Noah leave. I wondered if he could sense the pain I was in. The shock I felt. If he knew just how much I was struggling.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m shaken but I’m fine.” Somehow, I was able to turn from Noah to focus on Wes. “Are you okay? I can’t believe you tackled him. Thank you. We might not be standing here if it wasn’t for you.”
“Yes, well, I wasn’t fast enough,” he said. “If I’d just done something before he fired…”
“You were fast enough that no one else was hurt. I hate to think what William would have done next if you hadn’t intervened.”
We both fell silent, and I pushed down a shudder
“You should be with him,” Wes said.
“What?”
“You should be with Noah.” He blew out a breath. “Didn’t you hear what he said to his grandfather before he was shot? He loves you. He jumped in front of a bullet for you. He ran into a burning building for you. Being with you might just kill him, but he loves you, and I think you love him too.”
“Wes…”
His lips curved slightly in a wistful smile. “I know you care about me, and this isn’t easy for me to say, but you belong with Noah. Don’t let me stand in the way of the two of you. You’re only punishing yourselves.”
I turned toward Noah, who was about to disappear from view as the paramedics wheeled him off. I felt the pull toward him. An undeniable string that connected us, tugging me closer. It beaconed me to go after him.
It felt like we were two parts of the same soul, and I wasn’t sure I could fight the need to be with him anymore. Loving him, being with him was a risk. But it felt like a far greater risk to my heart if I kept denying the way I felt.
Tears leaped to my eyes. It was so hard to accept my feelings for Noah and act on them, but I think Wes could see the realization dawning in me that he was right because he nodded toward the ambulance.
“Go,” he insisted.
I reached out and gently rested my fingers on his arm, a sad smile touching my lips, and then I was off. Racing after Noah like my life depended on it. Like I couldn’t spend another moment with these feelings bottled up inside of me.
The paramedics had reached the ambulance, and by the time I caught up with them, Noah was in the back of it. They were beginning to close the doors.
“Wait!” I yelled.
One of the paramedics turned at the sound of my voice, but I didn’t give her a chance to try to stop me as I barreled into the back of the vehicle with them.
“You can’t be in here, Miss,” she said.
But my eyes were only on Noah.
“I love you,” I blurted out. “Noah, I love you so much. You nearly died tonight, and I just can’t handle the thought of a world without you in it. A world where you don’t know just how much you mean to me. I’ve loved you even when I’ve hated you, and I just needed you to know.”
Noah’s face was so pale, but a beaming smile widened his lips. “I already knew all of that, Crash. I was just waiting for you to realize it too.”
I let a laugh break through my tears and lowered my head to his. Our lips met in a soft kiss that somehow soldered together the many cracks that had splintered my heart and forged it into something new. Something unbreakable.
When I pulled away, he stared up at me. His eyes were filled with awe, like perhaps my heart hadn’t been the only one the kiss had mended. His lips slowly tugged upward into the kind of devastatingly beautiful smile that made me want to kiss him again and again. I reached over and placed a hand on his chest, and he lifted his own to keep it there.
The paramedic cleared her throat. “Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to get out of the vehicle.”
I’d forgotten she was even there. But her voice shook me back to reality. The thought of leaving Noah’s side was impossible.
“No,” Noah demanded. “She’s coming with us.”
“Please let me stay with him,” I begged.
“I’m practically dying here,” Noah added. “You’re really not going to let my girlfriend come to the hospital with us?”
The woman looked ready to argue, but she probably realized it was only wasting time. She huffed and closed the back door of the ambulance, shutting us in.
Noah winked at me, but then his expression fell, and he grimaced in pain as he glanced down at the wound on his side.
“I still can’t believe you took a bullet for me,” I whispered.
“When are you going to get it, Crash? I’d do anything for you.”
