Dismissive (Invasive #2) Read online

  After a moment, much too long of one, I’m pulling back and plastering a huge smile on my face. To any outsider I suspect we look like a loving couple. That thought does make me smile.

  It all happens in an instant. The second I step out of reach, dozens of ‘customers’ have their weapons drawn and are shouting at Tessa to put her hands behind her back. They don’t see the pistol in her lap quick enough though. Tessa pulls it out faster than I can see and I know it’s there. Whoever she gets doesn’t stand a chance.

  More shouting.

  The door swinging open and slamming shut.

  Silence.

  For a second it’s like being in a dream. Watching everything happen around you, not being able to stop it.

  In an instant everything changes.

  BANG!

  One shot rings out before a melody of so many other shots I lose count.

  Silence.

  I watch as they all rush her, kicking the gun away from her limp body now lying on the ground. I watch as two of them rush toward me, arms stretched out like they’re going to tackle me. Don’t they know I’m not with her? I didn’t do anything wrong. I wait for the hard fall onto the floor, I wait for the bone-crunching force of two men throwing all their weight into taking me down. Instead, they approach me more slowly now, arms still out, and I see their lips moving but hear no sound. Only ringing.

  I look around confused and then it hits me. Tessa wasn’t aiming for them; she was aiming for me. She didn’t miss.

  Her one last chance to have me and if she couldn’t, no one could. Tessa hit her target seconds before taking her last breath.

  Pain shoots down my chest with an intensity I never would have thought possible. Only then do I realize I can’t breathe. The room starts spinning and at the last second, the officers reach me as I fall to the floor and my world goes black.

  Chapter Seven

  Remmy

  “When Lincoln came in he had a bullet injury to the lung. Luckily for him, it didn’t injure the heart or any major blood vessels, but his lung did collapse,” the doctor started explaining to me while Lincoln was being moved from surgery into the ICU. “When he tried to breathe, the outside air pushed into his trachea—the windpipe—and into his lungs.”

  I’ve been sitting in this godawful waiting room for the last five hours waiting for them to come out and tell me he’s going to be fine. When they finally come out it hits me hard, I have no idea what is going to happen to him. How could I have been so stupid to think she wouldn’t bring that damn gun?

  “When there is a hole in the chest wall, the outside air can come in through that hole,” he continues after letting it all sink in for a moment. “Then the air gathers around the lung and collapses it. With a large amount of air around the outside of the lung, it can't expand. This is called a pneumothorax. This is what happened to Lincoln.”

  “Is he going to be okay?” Preparing myself for the worst, hoping for the best.

  “He did well in surgery. A chest tube will be used to remove the extra air. The chest tube will be attached to a suction device that continuously removes air from the chest cavity.”

  “But he’s going to be okay?” I repeat. Quickly getting angry at him for avoiding the question.

  “At this point, only time can tell. He’s been fighting, and I believe he will continue to fight.”

  Eventually, they let me see him after Rylan and I convinced them we were engaged and they couldn’t keep me away from him. I sat there quietly for the first ten minutes just staring at all of the tubes coming out of him. Right now all that was keeping him alive was machines. Loud, big, scary machines.

  “I don’t know if it’s true, but they say you can hear me. That talking to you could help bring you back,” I stop talking and grab the chair near the wall and bring it closer to his bed to sit.

  “We had to tell them I’m your fiancé to get them to let me visit you. I know that sounds crazy and the last thing you want or need right now is another crazy woman in your life, but you should know that it was all Rylan’s idea, not mine.”

  I lean in and grab his hand, rubbing my thumb on his palm. How could such a strong person be reduced to this in seconds? I can’t even imagine what would be happening right now if the police hadn’t thought about having an ambulance on standby and having EMT personnel in the bar in case anything went wrong. They were barely able to keep him alive long enough to get him to the hospital. Those precious moments would have been wasted if we had to wait for them to call it in.

  Rylan’s father, Detective Jeremy Scott, pulled up seconds after I saw Tessa walk in.

  “You did a good job here tonight, Remmy. Lincoln is lucky to have you in his life. We’ve been after Tessa for a long time now, and I couldn’t be happier that the day has finally come.”

  “I didn’t really do much, Mr. Scott. I just thought it would be worth a shot, appealing to her woman-to-woman even if she’s crazy, she’s still just a woman.”

  “While that may be true, she is mentally unstable. We finally got to dig into her medical history, and her past is very alarming. Lincoln isn’t her first. She was committed once before and also served almost two years in prison another time. Neither men before Lincoln had been physically assaulted, so there wasn’t anything big enough to put her away for longer.”

  “That’s horrible! I can’t believe she has done this before and got away with it. That’s why she knew how to hide for so long. She makes me sick. I’ll be glad when it’s all finally over.”

  “I agree wholeheartedly. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get inside and make sure everything goes smoothly. Just sit tight, Lincoln will be free any time now.” And just like that, he’s walking away.

  I watch, patiently as he gets to the door and reaches for the handle.

  Then everything changes.

  I can hear the shouting all the way on the other side of the parking lot, so I do what any logical person would do, I run toward the chaos.

  As I run up behind Jeremy as he swings open the door, it slams shut behind me as we both run in.

  Silence. The shouting stops and all I can hear is my own heart beating out of my chest.

  For a second it’s like being in a dream. Watching everything happening around you, not being able to stop it. Wanting to yell out for Lincoln to move out of the way, watching Tessa’s eyes flicker to me as she pulls the trigger with a smile on her face.

  BANG!

  One shot rings out before a melody of so many others I lose count.

  Silence.

  Chaos.

  “I was there Lincoln; I ran in when I heard everyone start yelling. I saw the hurt and confusion on your face. I don’t know if you blame yourself for what happened to her, but you shouldn’t. She was sick, she was in and out of hospitals all her life. She didn’t make it, Lincoln. Once you were hit, I think every gun pointed in her direction went off. They tried saving her after you were put into the ambulance and brought here, but she didn’t make it. She’s gone, and you’re finally free.”

  What does freedom even mean to him anymore? Will he be leaving now that it’s all over? He finally has a chance to live his life without looking over his shoulder. Is there room for me still?

  Epilogue

  Remmy

  Six months later

  “You can’t be serious, Lincoln!” I squeal, there’s no way in hell I’m giving in that easily, even if it does sound tempting.

  “Don’t even act like you didn’t see this coming. I know Rylan told Samantha and she told you.”

  “So the jig is up then?” Sam yells as she and Rylan walk into my apartment.

  It’s not like Sam hasn’t caught me with my pants down so to speak, but Rylan hasn’t. And the look he has on his face right now makes up for them barging in on us.

  “Jesus Christ, dude. You didn’t ask her while she was sucking your cock, did you?” Rylan asks while turning his back to us.

  “Well, this is new. Hello, Lincoln.” Sam flips
her hair as Rylan shoves his hand over her eyes. “Lighten up Ry, I was only teasing.”

  “You can turn around now,” I say, getting off the floor and sitting down next to Lincoln on the bed. “What? He’s still having a hard time with too much activity. Just being a considerate,” even though we’ve made it official it’s still not something I’m used to saying, “girlfriend.”

  Lincoln was released from the hospital a week after he woke up from his medically induced coma and we sat down and talked about his options. He could afford a live-in nurse but the place he was staying at wasn’t wheelchair accessible, and he was on strict bed rest with a catheter for almost three weeks, so I convinced him it wouldn’t be an issue for me to help him out.

  I was worried he would be afraid of having someone be clingy, like offering to help take care of him, but he just didn’t want me to lose any money for time off. Steve gave me as long as I needed to go back to work and Lincoln paid for my time helping him. It wasn’t much after those first three weeks home. Now all I have to deal with is his constant complaining about not getting to fuck me every day while sleeping in my bed and getting him to his doctor appointments on time.

  “So, what did you say?” Sam leans her elbows on my kitchen counter.

  “Well, I haven’t gotten the chance to answer him yet since we were so rudely interrupted.”

  “Don’t let us stop you, put the poor guy out of misery and tell him already,” Rylan says, wrapping his arms around Sam and laying his chin against her head.

  “Yeah, listen to the man, will ya?” Lincoln nudges me laughing.

  “Okay, give me a second.” I get up from the couch and walk into the bathroom.

  Deep breaths, Remmy. It’s all going to be okay. No one is going to freak out. It’s not the end of the world.

  “I can’t go with you on this wild adventure backpacking through Europe.” Everyone looks disappointed and Lincoln looks heartbroken. “I’m not going to stop you either. But I think you should have all the facts before you make your final decision.”

  It’s now or never.

  I take my hand from behind my back, Ziploc bag and all. Inside not one, not three, but five positive pregnancy tests are held and hand it to Lincoln.

  Silence.

  I take a step back and wait anxiously.

  Sam looks between me and the tests, tears filling her eyes, shaking her head with a smile on her face.

  “You didn’t tell me?” she whispers, walking over to me.

  “I just found out this morning. I wanted to, but I thought Lincoln should know first. Don’t be mad.”

  “Remmy Elizabeth Walters, you stupid woman. My sister is having a baby?” She places a hand gently on my stomach.

  “You’re going to be an auntie.” I look from her to Lincoln who’s now standing up and coming my way. “And you’re going to be a daddy. Unless this isn’t something you want. I’d never ask you to give up your life for me. For us. You’re still so young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Adventures to take.”

  “Just shut up for one second, Remmy.” Lincoln pulls me into him, staring down at me and I swear I see a tear fall. “We’re having a baby?”

  “Well, I am for sure. Your life is your own, Lincoln. Finally, after so long, your life is in your hands again.”

  “You got something right in that little rant of yours, Remmy. I do have an adventure to start. And that’s a life with you and this little peanut. I’m going to love you both until I take my last breath, Remmy. My choice is you. It’s always been you.”

  “Peanut?” I ask staring up at him with tears in my eyes.

  “Yep. This little one is going to be a smaller version of you, nuts.”

  He’s got jokes now?

  I pull back far enough to punch him in the gut.

  Nuts just like mommy?

  Asshole.

  Wow! I can’t believe we made it!

  First, I want to thank my husband. Without his love and support I wouldn't have had the time or guts to finish this! Thank you for being the amazing and loving husband that you are!!

  Second, I’d like to thank my editor, Silvia. Dismissive wouldn't be what it is today without you. Thank you for putting up with me and helping my dream become a reality.

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  I’d like to thank my Beta Readers! Ha’ani, Shelby, Eva, April, and Tiffany. You guys seriously put in SO MUCH WORK! Thank you for all the late night conversations and brainstorming sessions. You were more help than you realize and I can’t thank you enough!!

  Last (but NOT least) I’d like to thank every reader out there that took the time to give me and my story a chance. I sincerely appreciate being welcomed into your life like this. I hope you loved Remmy and Lincoln as much as I do. Without you, I wouldn't have a story to tell. YOU are the reason I have a voice. THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES!