Summer Time Sweets by Alexa Riley
Chapter 10
Nicole
It’s late by the time we leave the lagoon. It feels incredible to be back in his arms and know that everything is going to be okay. We still have a lot to discuss, but I’ve been miserable the last week without him and right now I just want to live in the love.
The sun is setting and Liam has an arm around me as we walk back to the Mermaid. I can’t wait to tell Peter that he doesn’t have to move and that he can stay as long as he wants to. I also can’t wait to talk to Sammy and give her shit about going behind my back to Liam. But I have to admit it would only be to tease her. She was so worried about me and I know seeing me go through that heartbreak was probably really hard on her. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing for her if the roles were reversed.
“What are you thinking about?” Liam says as he pulls me closer.
“Just how happy I am that Sammy helped you.”
“I owe that woman everything. She’s not one I’d ever want to cross,” he admits, and I shake my head.
Sammy is feisty, but it’s because she loves so damn hard.
We’re almost to the Mermaid when I see a car speeding around the curve and into the parking lot. The person behind the wheel slams it in park and the driver’s side door is flung open. The headlights are on us, so it’s hard to tell whose car it is, but I think I know who it is.
“What the hell?” Liam says as she steps in front of me in a protective stance.
“Is that Sammy?” I say, stepping around and dropping the picnic basket. She’d only be coming in like that if something was really wrong.
Liam grabs my hand and we both run over just as she gets out of the car and starts yelling.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I shout, and she’s running over to us.
“Where is Cyrus? Is he here?” she shouts at us.
“I don’t know. What’s going on?” Sammy runs up the steps to the Mermaid and flings open the door. “Please let him be here.”
“Sammy, slow down. Tell us what’s happening,” Liam says.
“I was listening to the police scanner because I like to make sure he’s being safe when he’s on duty. Someone called in a bar fight down at the Red Din and then someone else called in and said some drunk tourist had a gun and was waving it around.”
“Oh shit,” I whisper, putting my hands over my mouth.
“Cyrus said he was going to come check on you before he went on duty. I was hoping I could stop him before he went to answer that call.”
“I’m sure everything is okay. He’s a professional,” Liam says, trying to calm her down. “And he’s a former Marine. He knows how to handle himself. The Red Din is close enough that if a gun went off you’d be able to hear it. And even if he went to take the call I’m sure it’s all going to be fine.”
Just then three gunshots ring out and all the color drains from Sammy’s face.
“Fuck,” Liam mutters and he’s out the door. Sammy and I are close behind him, but Liam shouts over his shoulder as he runs. “You two stay back at the hotel.”
Sammy doesn’t listen and runs as fast as she can. I chase after both of them, unsure of what the hell is going on. The Red Din is just down the block, but I can already see a crowd of people ahead of us.
Liam barrels through the crowd, calling for Cyrus, and Sammy is hot on his heels. When I hear Sammy’s scream, it’s like a knife to my heart, and by the time I reach them they’re both standing over a body, watching people perform CPR on the prone figure. I run up to Sammy and grab her from behind just as she tries to lunge forward. When I glance down, I see Cyrus on the ground with his eyes closed.
Sirens blare in the distance and I’m thankful emergency services are on the way. But we’re a small island and there’s only a general hospital here. I doubt they’ve even seen a gunshot victim before. I’m in shock as all these thoughts cross my mind, but I can’t think about the reality of what I’m seeing. Cyrus is completely still as his chest is pressed, but I can’t see any blood.
Liam turns and blocks Sammy’s view and tries to get her to back up. “Let’s move back and give them some space,” he says quietly. “You need to sit down.”
“There’s no pulse,” paramedics working on Cyrus says.
“Don’t you dare fucking die on me!” Sammy shouts as she beats on Liam to get him out of the way. “Don’t you dare let him die! Goddamn you, Cyrus!”
She’s sobbing now as she screams, but the guys who were working on him sit back as the ambulance rolls in. Her words rip through the silence of everyone around us.
“Cyrus, don’t let go! Come back to me!” she screams as a sob like nothing I’ve ever heard comes out of her. “Don’t you leave me, Cyrus! You can’t leave me. I love you!”
Suddenly, Cyrus opens his eyes and sits up. The guys who were doing CPR on him try to cover their laughs. Cyrus looks around as Sammy suddenly realizes what’s happening.
“Well, it’s about damn time you admitted it,” Cyrus says, winking at her.
If he wasn’t dead before, he will be now. Sammy is going to murder him with her bare hands.
