Chapter 9
Vanessa drew a small handgun from her coat. She aimed at Adrian.
Grace saw her finger tighten. She ran.
The gunshot cracked through the mill. Grace threw herself between them. The bullet struck her high in the shoulder. She collapsed.
“Mama!”
Mason’s grip loosened as Lily screamed. Noah fired once, striking Mason’s weapon hand. The gun fell.
Adrian crossed the floor before anyone else could move. He pulled Lily away and dropped beside Grace. Blood spread across her blouse. Her face had turned gray.
“Stay with me,” he ordered.
Grace tried to smile. “Is Lily safe?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.”
Lily crawled against her mother’s side. “Please don’t sleep, Mama.”
Adrian pressed his jacket against Grace’s wound. He looked up at Noah. “Get the ambulance inside now!”
Vanessa was forced to the floor in handcuffs. Mason knelt nearby, clutching his injured hand. Adrian did not look at either of them. For the first time in his life, revenge could wait. The woman bleeding in his arms could not.
Grace’s surgery lasted three hours. The bullet had missed a major artery by less than an inch.
Adrian sat in the family waiting room with Lily asleep against his chest. Mud stained the stuffed rabbit in her arms. Grace’s blood stained the cuff of Adrian’s shirt. No one suggested changing his clothes.
At dawn, Dr. Brooks entered. “She survived.”
Adrian released a breath that seemed to have been trapped inside him since the mill. “Will she recover?”
“The damage to her shoulder is serious, but she should regain most of her movement with physical therapy.”
Lily awakened. “Can I see my mama?”
May you like
“Soon,” Dr. Brooks promised.
Adrian carried Lily into Grace’s room later that morning. Grace was pale, her left arm secured in a sling.
