Just a Little Embrace (7 page)

“I don’t want to
talk it out
with you,” she said. “I want to
kill
you
—”

“What good would that do?” I asked. “What problem would that solve? My dad arrested your father, your dad killed both of my parents, and now the playing field is level, okay? Both of our parents
are
at fault
for what we’ve lost
,
so
why carry this any further? You can’t let
your life be ruled by
this
, Hannah.
You have to l
ive your life
in spite
of tragedy.”

A tear slid down her face and as she lowered the gun
, I took a step forward to continue. “Your dad wouldn’t want you to make the same mistakes he made
—”

“Don’t tell me what my dad would want,” she screamed, raising the gun again. “
He’d want me to kill you.”

The room fell silent and I felt Luke’s hand grasp my wrist. He stepped behind me and his body ran along the backside of mine, strong and firm, and completely unwavering. If he was losing his cool, there was no indication.

“Jules,” he whispered, almost so quietly that I didn’t hear him. “When I say go, go. Ge
t out of this house, and don’t look
back.”

“No,” I let out a cry, my voice shaking. “She’ll shoot you
—”

“What are you saying to her?” Hannah asked Luke, now pointing the gun at him.

I felt him tap one finger on my back. Then two. I knew his third tap would be my sign to go, and when his third tap came, he yelled
G
o
, and I ran for the door.

But before
my hand grasped the knob
, an explosion of gunfire
stopped me
dead in my tracks, followed by a loud thud as something shook the floor beneath my feet.
My ears ached
as the sound of a second shot enveloped the room.

I turned to see Derek fighting his sister for the gun, both of them rolling on the floor. He pinned her on the ground, struggling to keep her finger from the trigger, but Hannah wasn’t going down without a fight.

She shot the gun again, this time the bullet zipping past Derek’s head, and embedding itself in the living room ceiling.

I turned to yell for Luke to interfere, but
he
was no longer standing where I’d left him. I surveyed the room
in fear. Where was he?

And when my eyes fell to the floor, I suddenly felt my world come crashing down.

Luke was l
ying on the carpet near the
strugglin
g siblings, unresponsive as blood
spilled
from his chest.

“Luke!
” I
screamed, running to his side, no longer concerned for the fight happening between Derek and Hannah
.
I fell
to
my knees and took his face in m
y hands, tears falling from my eyes
to his,
and
weeping uncontrollably over his motionless body.
“Luke, please.
Oh, God, p
lease
Luke
—”

“Julie,” Derek screamed, still fighting his sister. “Call 9-1-1.”

I ran to the phone and dialed the number, screaming
mostly incomprehensi
ble
sentences
, but stress
ing
that Officer Reibeck had been shot and was unresponsive. I gave the address, threw the phone, and
fell back at his side.

I
held his head in my lap, weeping
over
his motionless body
and pressing down on the wound. Hannah’s first bullet had been aimed to
stop
Luke
from charging her
and it hit him in the chest…
just above his heart.

“Luke,” I cried, watching his blood seep through my fingers
as I
applied more pressure to his chest. “Luke. Please… please don’t leave me.” Through jagged breaths and tears, I tried to find the strength to
continue
. I had to tell him. He had to know before it was too late. “I love you, Luke
.
You can’t leave me
.
I need you.
”

The seconds ticked by, each one slower than the one before, and just when I’d given up hope for any sign of life,
Luke’s eyelids flittere
d open and he looked at me through the half-open slits.

“Jules,” he whispered
, his voice raspy and
his
breath
ing
jagged
. “I’m sorry
—”

“Luke,” I said. “Please stay awake.
There’s an ambulance on the way. They’re going to
be here any second to take
you to the hospital. Just hang in there okay? Please
—”

“Jules,” he said, his voice weak
as his consciousness faded
. “I’m losing a lot of blood
—”

“
Stay
awake,” I said
again
. “Just listen to me. Try to keep your eyes open
—”

“Julie
,” he said, managing to li
ft his right arm. He cupped my face
with his hand and squeezed as tight as he could, but his strength was simply gone. He whispered something again, but I couldn’t
make out his words.
He closed his eyes,
but
his mouth
still moved
. I leaned closer to
him
, hoping to
decipher his barely audible whispers
. His eyes opened again, and
I
leaned
in as close as I could.

“Luke,” I said
, my tears falling onto
his cheeks
. “I love you. And if you die…”

“I’m not going to die,” he whispered. “I promise.”

H
e lift
ed
his head far enough for his lips to
brush mine
. With tears streaming down my cheeks and across
our
lips, I
reluctantly eased into his kiss.
When I felt his strength slipping away, I tried to
pull back, but he held me
as close as he could
and parted his lips, allowing for the kiss to deepen.

And when
he couldn’t find the strength to carry on
,
I pulled away from him and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
He
closed his eyes again and
managed
a faint smile.

The sound of crashing filled the air, and again it was the gun. But it hadn’t been shot. Derek stood over his sister’s unconscious body, wielding the handgun as tears filled his eyes.

“Derek?” I watched Hannah’s body for a few long beats, noticing a slight movement in her chest.

“
I knocked her out
,” he said,
as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done. “She’s just unconscious.” He dropped
the gun to the floor and
rushed
to my side.

Luke turned his head
away as his breathing became more and more shallow. The
warmth of his breath subsided.
The
heavy movement in his chest
desisted
. But the blood kept pouring, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

As I heard the sound of faint sirens in the distance, I ran my fingers through Luke’s hair, crying over his motionless body.

“Luke, please,” I b
egged. “Please don’t leave me.”

Derek kneeled
next to Luke
, grabbing
his
wrist and feeling for a pulse
. He leaned down and
pressed his ear to Luke’s bloody chest
, and after a few faint seconds, looked
back
at me with
teary
eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Julie,” he said. “He’s gone.”

Dear Reader,

If you enjoyed reading
Just a Little
Embrace
and have a moment to spare, I would greatly appreciate a review on the site where you purchased the book.

Thank you!

-Tracie

Please follow me online for updates on what’s next!

http://traciepuckett.com/

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Also available for download:

Just a Little Crush (Part I)

The Webster Grove Series

Sweet Nothings
 

Coming Soon:

Just a Little
Sincerity
(Part III)

Acknowledgments

Cover
photography (courtesy
Dmitri Gromov
|
Dreamstime.com
) has been altered from its
original version and was purchased for royalty-free commercial use.

To mom, because I owe you the world.

And a
BIG thanks to Marlene for the comments, suggestions, and everything all around!