Page 17 of Fighting for Lucy

It washerfault that Zander had fallen.

Because of her trying to get away from him, he’d gone over the side of the cliff and possibly even gotten shot first.

She had to see if he was alive. If he was, then maybe she could run, lead the men away from there, and then circle back and help Zander.

Maybe that was stupid of her to even want to help him when her entire goal had been to get him out of the way, but he’d tried to save her life.

Twice.

That bullet would have hit her if he hadn't knocked her down, and when they'd both been going to fall, he’d pushed her away, knowing it would speed up his own momentum and take him over.

He had been prepared to sacrifice his life for her.

That had to mean something.

Didn't it?

Creeping on her stomach to the edge of the cliff, Lucy looked down. Dressed all in black as he was, it took her a moment to spot him through the trees, but there he was, lying on a small outcrop.

But was he alive?

“Zander?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice quiet so it didn't carry. Since she wasn’t a field operative and didn't have the training everyone else at Prey did, she couldn’t make her voice that same wisp of sound all the guys and the Artemis Team girls could. It was way too loud, and she flinched at the sound, sure anyone in the area would have heard it and know that she was alive.

The man she was calling out to didn't flinch though.

Didn't so much as move a single muscle.

From her vantage point, there was no way to tell if he was breathing or not, and she couldn’t check his pulse, so she had no choice but to assume the worst.

Zander was dead.

Because of her.

She’d as good as killed him.

Tears blurred her vision as she shakily managed to get to her feet. The pain in her body was forgotten as an ache spread out from her heart. She’d killed a man. A man who, while she knew was untrustworthy, had demons he was fighting. That was something Lucy knew for certain. She felt his pain somehow and spotted the shadows lurking deep in his eyes that he tried sohard to hide. Whatever he’d gotten mixed up in wasn’t because he wanted to, it wasn’t for greed or selfish purposes, she believed that.

Deep down, she believed Zander Madden was still a good man.

A good man who had made some bad choices, and if he’d just told her what was going on she would have found a way to help him.

Only now it was too late.

He was dead, and there was still a gunman out there somewhere.

Choking on a sob, Lucy turned away from the cliff’s edge and started running.

All those hours she’d spent plotting how she was going to get away from Zander and go this alone, now that she was alone, and she’d gotten Zander out of the way, it didn't feel so great after all.

Fear was chasing her every bit as much as whoever had shot at them.

Self-doubt, too.

Had she made a mistake in trying to get away from Zander? What if he hadn't told her what was going on because he couldn’t and not because he didn't want to? What if he and his team were working some deep-cover mission and that was why his death had been faked? What if she’d been safe with him all along and thrown away his protection because she believed she couldn’t trust him?

There was no point in playing the what-if game. What was done was done. She’d gotten what she wanted, she was on her own now and had to figure out a way to survive and get back home.

It felt like she’d been running for hours when she first heard it.