Page 168 of See You Maybe
“On your knees,” Chris growled. “Beg for her life.”
“Do you think I would hesitate?” Declan’s voice was raspy, his eyes on her, speaking to her. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, one knee at a time. His arm hung useless, blood dripping from his fingertips at an alarming rate.
Sobs tore through her chest as Declan stared into her eyes. “I would offer my life for hers ten thousand times without a second thought. She is my life.”
“Declan,” Olivia’s voice broke. Blood pooled next to him, soaking the carpet, and his tan face was paling rapidly.
“Don’t cry, Petal. It’s going to be all right.” Declan’s violet eyes clouded, but he gave her a sweet smile. “Don’t be afraid. I love you.”
Olivia saw his gaze go to the window behind her again and knew what he wanted her to do. Her heart tore in two. She couldn’t save them both.
Chris’s fingers flexed on her shoulder, no longer gripping her, his attention fully on Declan. “You know, I intended for your last moments to be listening to her die, but now I think you might suffer more, listening to her watch you die.”
“No!” Olivia screamed as the gun flashed again. This time the blood bloomed over the crisp white of Declan’s dress shirt, and he slumped to the ground.
Dragging her forward by the shoulder, Chris pushed at Declan’s shoulder with the toe of his shoe, rolling him onto his back.
Declan grunted, his eyes cracked open.
“Oh good, still alive. Don’t worry, Olivia, it shouldn’t take long, and then it will be your turn.”
Olivia didn’t want to cry, didn’t want to give Chris what he wanted, but the sobs that racked her body were impossible to hold in.
Declan was dying. Right in front of her.
His lips moved. “Love you.”
Olivia heard the whisper and suddenly knew exactly what she needed to do.
“What?” Chris leaned closer to hear, and Olivia seized her chance.
Pivoting around the hand on her shoulder, she threw herself into Chris’s arms and clutched at his shirt front, sobbing. Chris shoved at her shoulders, but his gun arm was useless with her pressed against him.
Using her sobs as cover, she swiftly pulled the letter opener from his waistband and immediately reversed it. There was a split second of shock and recognition in Chris’s eyes before she plunged the letter opener deep into his stomach. He threw himself backward, staring in horror at the blade still protruding from him.
“You bitch!” The gun lifted, but his hesitation gave her time to grab the heavy bronze bust of David Bloom from the desk. Olivia slammed it down onto Chris’s hand, forcing the gun down, and then swung upward with all of her strength connecting with a loud crack to his skull. Chris collapsed in a heap at her feet, but Olivia’s only concern was Declan.
He was so still and pale, lying against the blue carpet. Pulling her blouse over her head, Olivia wadded it into a ball and leaned all of her weight on the wound on his chest. Tears slipped down her cheeks as the blood soaked through the silk.
“Don’t leave me,” she begged. “You promised. Stay with me.”
Declan’s lips moved, and though it was scarcely more than a puff of air, until the day she died, Olivia swore she heard him.
“Always.”
CHAPTER FIFTY
Rhode Island—Present Day
A peaceful, rhythmic sound surrounded Declan. His body was comfortably warm and buoyant. It reminded him of a vacation he took in the Caribbean. He’d floated in the ocean, drifting lazily over the waves.
“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” The sound floated in the air around him, the words dragging at him, reminding him of something he needed to do. “Come back to me, Declan.”
Declan wanted to relax into the soft feeling. It was so tempting… “Stay with me.” The voice pulled at him.
“Stay with me,” the voice whispered in his ear again.
“I think he’s waking up,” someone said.