Grace Roberts - No End to Love

Copyright 2016 by Grace Roberts

All rights reserved.

Edited by Serena Clarke - Free Bird Editing

Cover designed by Najla Qamber Designs (www.najlaqamberdesigns.com)

To discover other titles by Grace Roberts, please visit her website: authorgraceroberts.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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* * * 3 years earlier * * *

S eattle PD officer Adam Cavanagh sat on the floor of Union Bank in downtown Seattle, his right arm wrapped around his wifes shoulders, while his left hand pressed down on the wound on her abdomen, hoping against all hope it would be enough to stop the bleeding until the paramedics arrived.

The sound of the two gunshots still rang in his ears, as warm blood seeped through his fingers and stained his dark blue uniform.

This wasnt happening.

This couldnt be happening.

The day had started just like any other since theyd moved back to Seattle from Spring Harbor, Oregon, as newlyweds three years ago. Hed gotten up at six, showered and had a quick breakfast, then put on his uniform. Just before heading out to work, hed bent and kissed his beautiful wife. Hannah had opened her eyes, smiled, and wished him a good day.

Then hed taken a step to the left and placed a soft kiss on Sophie, his six-month-old daughter, who was sleeping peacefully in her cot after keeping them up until past one in the morning. Shed been getting better though; now she only woke a couple of times throughout the night. Even though Hannah was confident that in a couple of months their little angel would let them sleep a whole night through, Adam thought she was indulging in some wishful thinking.

It was shortly before lunchtime when his partner and senior officer Xavier Mendosa drove past Union Bank. Adam had asked him to stop by for a minute so he could say hello to Hannah and see if she could manage to have a quick lunch break with him.

He hadnt expected to walk in on a robbery. He hadnt expected to step into the bank where Hannah worked and see a man holding a gun to her head. Another man stood beside her, wielding a knife and demanding she hurry up and shove the money inside a black bag.

Hed frozen with his hand on the glass door handle, completely forgetting his police training as feelings overwhelmed him. Things couldve been different, if only hed managed to keep his cool and not let his heart rule his actionsjust like hed been trained to do. But they didnt teach you how to be detached when the person youve loved for all of your life has a .45 caliber pressed to their temple.

Without thinking, hed pulled out his own handgun, aimed it at the man, and shouted, Seattle PD, drop the weapon!

The guy with the bag had freaked out and escaped through an emergency exit, triggering the alarm. The other man had whipped his head around, taking his eyes off Hannah. The sixty seconds that followed were the longest minute Adam would remember for the following weeks, months, and years. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. The man lifted his Glock, and Adam froze. Hed never shot anyone before. Hed never killed a man. He hesitated all of two seconds, and when two gunshots sounded in the room, he waited for the pain to engulf himbut it didnt. It couldnt, because the shots hadnt reached him.

The man lay lifeless on the floor, with a hole in his chest right above his heartcourtesy of Mendosa, whod come out of nowhere and had done what Adam hadnt been strong enough to do. It was only then that Adams brain registered the images his eyes had witnessed a few seconds before: Hannah thwacking the mans hand, the hand that held the pistol aimed at Adam. That had been the moment the first gunshot went off. The one that followed was the one Mendosa had fired.

Which meant...

Hannah crumpled to the floor before Adam could realize what had really happened, and his agonized shout rang in his own ears as he rushed toward her.

Now, as he sat cradling her, tears streaming down his cheeks, he wondered why hed hesitated in the first place. Why hadnt he just shot that man when hed had the chance? Nobody wouldve blamed him for killing a criminal. Sure, he wouldve undergone an interrogation and investigation by the Internal Affairs Department, but hed only have to tell the truth: the guy had aimed his weapon at him, and Adam had fired. Self-defense. No authority abuse or bureaucratic nonsense. His wife wouldve confirmed his version, and they wouldve dropped all charges.

He wouldnt be sitting on the cold, tiled floor, listening to his wifes ragged breathing, as she tried to tell him she was sorry for acting impulsively.

I freaked out. I thought he was going to kill you she croaked, and squeezed her eyes shut in pain.

Shh, its okay, baby. Just stay calm, the ambulance will be here any minute now.

Mendosa had called the station to inform them about the robbery and was now taking peoples statements. Sirens wailed in the distance, and Adam prayed the paramedics would get there in time to save his wife, whose body felt limp and heavy in his arms now.

Hold on, baby. Theyre almost here. Stay with me.

Hannah tried to take a breath but the effort caused her to cough. He pressed his hand down harder on the wound.

I couldnt lose you she said, in a small and barely audible voice between heavy breaths.

Adams heart broke, shattering into a thousand pieces, small shards hed never be able to glue together again. Shed taken the bullet that wouldve hit him, and now she was slowly fading away in his arms, life oozing out of her body with every drop of blood that stained his uniform.

Youll be okay, baby. Ive got you. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before resting his cheek next to hers. She was warmunusually warm, considering she was the one who was always freezing, no matter the season. Ive got you.

Seconds dragged, one after the other, each ticking instant pulling her away from him, like black fingers tugging at her white blouse sleeves, trying to snatch her out of Adams grip. Those same black fingers squeezed around his throat with each ragged breath his wife took.

Where is the ambulance?

Love Sophie for both of us Hannah said, choking on the last two words. A fit of coughing shook her body, and when she inhaled the effort made her squeeze her eyes closed in pain again.

He sat up straighter, giving her space to breathe, and she looked up at him through slightly dazed eyes. Her beautiful, clear blue eyes that always held a sparkle of liveliness and excitement for life, that always oozed love when she stared at him, now looked dull.