on sanction paths that had been cleaned of debris and clearly marked.
This was just woods, a collection of unmanaged trees, with roots and sticks and puddles that all slowed me down.
In the distance, a car door slammed.
Fuck. he must have gotten out of the car. I did my best to pick up speed. “I’m sorry baby. thank you for not making me throw up.”
The nausea had passed, but now my lungs were burning, and I was panting hard, taking big gulps of air with my mouth open. My throat was on fire. I had never been a good runner. So I didn't have much stamina on a good day, much less now that I was exhausted all the time. Yoga was my preferred form of exercise.
Finally my burning lungs gave out. I couldn't take another step. I crawled behind a tree. The ground here was rocky and I gathered several large stones and put them in front of me.
I could hear Carl getting closer. I probably wasn't hard to track. The ground was soft and wet and my shoes left the prints everywhere I stepped.
Carl got closer. One of his eyes looked swollen shut and he was cradling one of his arms against his chest. Good. So he wasn't a hundred percent either. That would make my life easier. Before he could get to close, I picked up one of the rocks and chucked it as hard as I could at him. It hit him in the shoulder. He stopped wincing and grabbed his shoulder. That seemed to make his bad arm even worse. He let out a low growl.
“You fucking bitch. I'm going to kill you when I find you.”
“Tyler, wherever you are, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you I loved you when I had the chance. You said it to me, and I discounted it because you were on pain medicine. But maybe you really meant it.”
I wished I could call him and leave him a voicemail, or even send him a text message but I didn't want to take my focus off of Carl in case there was any chance that I could survive. I just hoped that somewhere Tyler would know that I was thinking of him.
“I found you, you little piece of shit. I should have killed you back in Chicago when I had the chance.”
Carl had spotted me. He pulled the small handgun from his waistband and pointed it at me. “I've been waiting on this day,” he said.
But I wasn't going to give up so easily. I jumped to my feet. I started backing away but Carl charged at me screaming, “You ruined my life. You won't get away from me.”
I managed not to scream. I grabbed onto a tree and held on, trying to decide if I should turn my back on him. I took one hesitant step backward when a crashing sound came from my left. I whipped my head around only to see Tyler bursting through the trees.
He was here.
He had found me.
Once again, he had saved me.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tyler
Absolute panic. That's all I could feel when I saw Carl with a gun trained on Ava. I lifted my gun and aimed it. I pulled the trigger. I used every bit of my training, intending to shoot to kill. I was ready to defend Ava, the woman I was in love with.
Carl pulled the trigger on his own gun but it was too late. My bullet hit him right in the center of his chest, right in the heart. And I ducked easily dodging his bullet.
With my gun still aimed at him I checked his pulse. He was gone. Still keeping my eyes on him I stepped toward Ava. I pulled her into my arms. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I'm fine. What about you? We were just in the hospital a few hours ago because you were stabbed?” She ran her hands up and down my arms.
“I'm fine too.” I looked down at my ribs where blood was seeping through my shirt.
“No, you are not fine! You're bleeding,” she cried out.
“Ah. I probably popped a few stitches, but it's nothing that can't be easily fixed.” I pulled her closer and she laid her head on my shoulder. I inhaled the scent of her hair. “Are you sure you're okay? I saw your car on the side of the road next to Carl's.”
“Yes he was chasing me, so I decided to wreck his car. I knocked him off the