Page 62 of Forever Found
“I h-have a gun. I have to find them.”
“Addy, listen to me!” Kane hissed angrily. “You’re going to….”
“I’ll call you when I find them,” I cut in, then I ended the call, dropping the phone into my hand and shutting it off. I knew they wanted me to be safe, but how could I hide away when Jordan and Eli were nowhere to be seen?
I slid the cell phone into the back pocket of my jeans and then took a firm hold of the gun again, before moving very slowly and cautiously into the hallway.
I realized the fighting I had heard must have happened primarily out there, because every picture was knocked from the wall and lay in pieces on the floor. There were marks on the cream wallsand the window at the end of the long hall was smashed through, the snow and wind whistling in through it.
I moved towards the window and looked out, gasping when I saw a body laid on the snow below, blood staining the white below his splayed body. I just stared, frozen for a moment as I tried to make my brain work enough to realize it wasn’t Jordan or Eli laid there, likely dead.
I took a deep breath, not allowing myself to freak out, or the memories that were pushing to play in my mind, to run free. The fear and the blood below were bringing things up I didn’t have time to deal with right then. That meltdown would need to wait.
I was less than halfway down the stairs, dodging more smashed glass from broken pictures and the huge mirror that had been on the wall at the halfway landing, when I saw Jordan’s arm from around the corner. He was on the floor and he wasn’t moving.
“Jordan!” I whispered way too loud as I ran down the rest of the stairs, not even thinking of the glass covering them, just needing to get to Jordan. I lost my footing on the third, my unlaced boots making me clumsy and I landed hard on my ass, slamming my arm into the step behind me and almost dropping the rifle, but in my panic to get to Jord I just clung to the gun and slid down the last few steps to get to him. I didn’t even stand at the bottom, dropping the gun on the floor and crawling as fast as I could over to where Jordan lay on his back, his eyes closed.
“Jordan!” I gasped as I knelt beside him and pressed my hands around his face. He had a swollen cheek and there was blood on his arms from several deep cuts. “Wake up! Jordan wake up!” I frantically hissed as I moved my hand to his neck and felt for his pulse. I lay my other hand on his chest and sobbed with reliefwhen I felt it moving up and down. He was alive, just knocked out.
I didn’t know what I should do first to help him, but I froze when I heard a loud roar come from outside. I turned to the windows and squinted to see in the darkness. When my eyes adjusted, I could just make out Eli, right out front on the drive, fighting with someone. The stranger was broader than Eli and slightly taller, but he seemed to be the one backing off from Eli’s attack, rather than attacking back.
Without thought I got to my feet and grabbed the rifle from where I had dropped it at the foot of the stairs. I moved to the back of the house, opened the door, and fired a shot at the tree directly opposite me. I tried to fire another, but the gun just clicked and nothing happened.
“Useless!” I hissed as I dropped the gun to the floor and ran back to the front. The shot had done what I hoped it would anyway, and startled the stranger. The fight had stopped and the larger guy was running to his car. I stared as he turned the thing fast and sped off, then I looked for Eli in the dark, but I couldn’t see him.
Panicked, I ran to the front door and threw it open, ready to run out and find him, but I didn’t need to.
“Eli!” I cried when I found him at the foot of the steps, clutching the rail and hunched over. He lifted his head and blood was pouring from his nose.
“I’m okay,” he gasped. “Jord?”
“He’s out, but he’s breathing,” I assured him as I ran down the steps, trying hard not to trip on my boots, and wrapped his free arm around my shoulders.
“Where the fuck are the police?” Eli hissed as we started up the steps. He was clearly in pain, but he got up the steps and into the house without leaning on me as much as I wished he would.
“Ash said they should be here by now,” I told him as I led him into the kitchen. He leant on the counter and seemed steady so I dropped down to my knees to check on Jordan again.
“Where’s the phone. He’ll be worried sick.”
“Here. I turned it off.” I pulled the cell from my pocket and held it out to me.
“Why’d you do that?”
“They were yelling at me to hide,” I shrugged.
“You should have listened.”
“Don’t you start too, Eli. There was no way I was staying hidden when I had no idea if the two of you were even still alive!” I snapped. I leaned over Jordan and tapped his face softly, needing him to wake up. “Jordan? Wake up for me, please.”
A cry of relief burst from me when his eyes started to flutter, then he groaned loudly, obviously in pain.
“Jordan?” At the sound of my voice his eyes opened and looked right at me. Next thing I knew he’d clumsily wrapped his arm around the back of my neck and was pulling me closer to kiss me. He kissed my lips twice, then pressed kisses to anywhere on my face he could reach, making me cry and laugh all at once.
“I’m fine,” I told him as I tried to pull back so I could check on him.
“Don’t go,” he rumbled as he tried to keep a hold on me.
“I’m not, but you’re bleeding. I need to get you cleaned up at least,” I told him.