“Andi,” he said, looking back to her like she’d lost her mind. “He’ll get away.”
“That’s not your problem,” she said, pleading. “You’re worth more to me alive than your name in the paper for being the hero. Please, Hill. I love you and you love me, and though you don’t realize it right now, we’re eventually going to be together because we’re supposed to be. So if you let some punk-ass troll take you out, I’m going to be super pissed.”
He blinked, his expression stunned.
She had surprised herself with the love declaration, but she wasn’t going to take it back. Seeing Hill in front of her at the exact moment she needed him was all the sign she needed. The universe wanted them to be together. She would keep fighting for this.
“And news flash,” she went on. “Horror stories don’t end well for the dudes. Don’t go after him. I don’t want to be a final girl.” She released his waistband and whirled her finger in the air. “Get in the damn truck.”
Hill stared at her for another second and then gave a curt nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
She put the phone back to her ear. “I sprayed the guy with pepper spray. He’s running down the street, heading north, but he’s going slow because he can’t see.”
“We have officers on the way,” the operator said. “Just stay on the line.”
Hill got in the truck and put it in gear. He rolled forward slowly, keeping the guy in the beam of the headlights but not getting too close.
Andi reached out and grabbed Hill’s hand, squeezing it.
He sent her a gentle smile that warmed her from the inside out and squeezed back.
She knew they had things to work through if they were going to be together, but him getting into the truck had told her enough. Hill had chosen to be her hero instead of the hero. He’d kept himself safe even when it went against his instincts. That meant he had hope for the future. For himself. For them. A belief that there was something bigger waiting for them that was worth protecting. That was all she needed to know.
She could work with that.
“If he walks into the street, you have my permission to hit him nonfatally with the truck,” she said, her eyes narrowing on her attacker. “Fucker.”
“Gladly.” Hill’s jaw flexed as he kept the guy in sight.
Sirens whined in the distance.
The guy took a sharp left, right out in front of them. Andi smirked.
Hill gave her a brief look and then accelerated just enough to make it hurt.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hill sat in the waiting area of the police station while Andi gave her statement down the hall. The guy Hill had accidentally-on-purpose tapped with his truck—Jake something or other—was in another part of the station getting interrogated. Hill wished he could have a few minutes alone in a room with that piece of shit. When Andi had stepped under the harsh fluorescent lights of the police station, Hill had seen for the first time that her elbows and knees were scraped up and a patch of her hair had been ripped out, her scalp matted with blood. The thought that someone had hurt Andi, had thrown her to the ground with plans to assault her or worst… Hill couldn’t even process that level of rage.
I could’ve lost her.
The realization was like being plunged into icy water. He didn’t want to imagine a world that didn’t include Andi. Though he’d only known her for a couple of months, she’d become part of the fabric of his days without him realizing it. He could clearly define the time before Andi and the time after. Even in his memories of the times before, everything seemed grayer, faded. Long days, an empty house, time stretching out before him with no idea what to do with the hours. The times after, in contrast, were painted with color—full of laughter and scary movies and cooking and tangled sheets. Mornings when he woke up and was actually excited about the day. Days when he remembered the person he used to be. Andi had been like a shot of adrenaline straight into the bloodstream of his life.
And she could’ve been taken from this world. Just like that. Because he’d pushed her away, hurt her. To protect himself. The coward’s move. He should’ve been walking her to her door tonight. Instead, she’d had to face her worst nightmare alone.
But still, even after all that, when he’d gotten to her, she hadn’t yelled at him or been angry for what he’d done. Instead, she’d knocked him flat on his proverbial ass. A talent she seemed to have.
When she’d declared she loved him—right before demanding he get his butt in the truck—his whole world had tilted under him. He’d known after their conversation earlier in the night that she was developing feelings for him, but the way she’d put it out there… I love you. You love me. Like that didn’t take a shit ton of bravery. Like they were facts that just existed. That had made something inside him click into place.
Could it be that simple?
Everything in his life had felt so complicated for so long that he always looked for layers within the layers. Why had he gone back in to save those people even after the building was declared too dangerous to go back inside? Was it because he was brave or because he didn’t care if he made it? Had Christina cheated on him because there was something wrong with him or because there was something wrong with the relationship? Had his mom left because she didn’t think Hill was worth sticking around for, or was she just so depressed that she thought everyone would be better without her?
He’d searched for answers for so long, but maybe the answers didn’t matter. The past couldn’t be changed. The future couldn’t be controlled or guaranteed. All he could do was deal with what was going on now—here, in the present. What did he want his life to look like now?
When he was with Andi, he was happy. And she seemed happy with him.
Maybe it was that simple.
Hill was broken from his train of thought when Eliza sat down next to him. She’d arrived at the station a little while ago, after Andi had called her to tell her what happened. She handed him a Snickers bar from the vending machine.
He took it even though he wasn’t hungry. “Thanks.”
“Do you think she’s going to be in there much longer?” Eliza asked, opening a package of Reese’s Cups. “I’m afraid when the adrenaline wears off, the reality of what happened tonight is going to settle in for her and she’s going to need us.”
Hill frowned. “I don’t know how much longer it will be, but Christina’s in there with her. She’ll watch out for her and let me know if Andi needs anything.”
“Christina the ex?” she asked. “That might be awkward.”
“I don’t think so. We’re on good terms now, and she already met Andi a while back. She’s the one who helped figure out that Andi had been doxed. I wouldn’t have gone to the house when I did if Chris hadn’t told me what happened.” He leaned back and sighed. “I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Andi had been forced to bang on neighbors’ doors for help. If the guy had caught up with her…”