Lizzie—

Darko’s a mess when I come through the door.

“Have you heard from him?” I ask.

He’s sitting on the couch but looks up when I enter. He shakes his head, his eyes glassy.

I put an arm around him. “We’ll find him. Have you checked with his basketball team?”

He gives me a distant look, and I know he’s not thinking clearly. “His team? Yeah, good idea.” He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling. “The coach is in here somewhere.”

I take the phone from his hands. “I’ll call him. Does the club know?”

He shakes his head. “I only called you.”

I explain to the coach and ask him to pass the word to Eli’s teammates and parents, advising him to ask them if he’s come around in the last twelve hours. He promises to get back to me soon.

Darko is a wreck, and I put my hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay. Here. Call your club. We need everyone out looking.”

He nods. “You’re right.”

It’s not long before they all descend on the house, and we leave Kate and Evelyn here in case he returns home. Everyone else splits up, covering the town in a grid.

Darko and I take his truck and drive past his school.

I reach a hand across and grip Darko’s arm. “Park. We need to go in and ask if he showed up today. Maybe he’s here.”

We do just that, but to no avail. The woman behind the counter advises us to call the police, but Darko isn’t ready to do that.

“I’m sure we’ll find him. Thank you,” I say and walk arm and arm with Darko to the truck.

I turn him to face me when we get there, and he leans against the quarter panel.

“You okay?”

He shoves his hands in his pocket and shakes his head. “No. I fucked everything up.” He meets my eyes. “I’m sorry, Lizzie. The other day, I—”

I cover his mouth with my finger. “Shush. That’s not important. You were stressed, and you yelled. It’s over. I’m sorry I left. I got scared and overwhelmed. I was afraid I couldn’t do it, and I panicked. I used the fight as an excuse to run, but I’ve been miserable without you.”

“Me, too.”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” I whisper. “If I hadn’t said those things, Eli wouldn’t have been so hurt.”

“He’ll get over it, right?”

“Yes. We’ll find him, and I’ll tell him how wrong I was, how scared I was. He’ll understand.”

He looks at the horizon. “I don’t know where to look.”

“We’ll drive around. He couldn’t have gotten far, right? If he’d have called his aunt, she’d have called you.”

“You sure?”

“She would have wanted to know what happened to make him want to leave.”

“I suppose so.”

“Want me to drive?” I ask.

“I’m fine.”

We climb in the truck and drive around, searching every person walking the streets.

Occasionally, Darko checks in with his brothers, but no one spots him.

We’re sitting at an intersection, and the crossing gates go down for the train coming through.

“The train to Silverton,” I murmur. “That’s where his grandmother lives, isn’t it?” I frown. “Do you think he went to her?”

“They’ve gotten close. Maybe.”

“Did you call her?”

“Not yet. I didn’t want her to worry. Besides, if he’s going there, he didn’t tell her he’s coming. She would have already called me.”

We watch the slow-moving train, and I point at it. “Could he be on that train? Doesn’t it run to Silverton?”

At my words, Darko straightens in his seat and stares at it, thinking. “No, that train only runs to the Canyon this time of year. It doesn’t go all the way to Silverton until later in the spring.”

“Then maybe he went to the airport.” I pull up the flights that would get him to Nebraska. “There’s one bound for Lincoln that leaves just before noon.”

“Where would he get the money?”

I shrug. “He could have taken money from your wallet or used your credit card. Maybe he had money when he arrived.” I get a text on my phone. “Hang on. The coach says none of the kids have seen him, and he didn’t ask any of them for a ride.” I look over at him. “The airport is fourteen miles.”

“Maybe he’s hitchhiking,” Darko murmurs.

“We need to check the airport.”

Twenty minutes later, we find him walking along Airport Rd about two miles from his destination.

When Darko pulls to the side, Eli drops his duffel bag.

Darko runs to him, hugging him.

I step out and watch until they pull apart, and Eli looks over at me. Then I walk to him.

“Eli, I didn’t mean those things I said. I used it as an excuse because I got scared of making a commitment to your father. It was all happening so fast. He and I were fighting, and I just made up a reason to leave. But it wasn’t true. I love being with you and your dad, and I’ve been miserable since I left.”

“What were you scared of?” he asks.

“Of having my heartbroken. I don’t know if I can take losing another man I love, and if this doesn’t work… I was just guarding my heart, Eli.”

“I’m not going to break your heart, Lizzie,” Darko says to me, then turns to Eli. “And I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want either of you to leave.”

“I don’t want that, either,” I say, and Darko and I both look at Eli.

“Me, either,” he says. “I just didn’t want to be the reason you left and the reason Dad was so sad.”

“Then I think we’re all decided. Let’s go home, yeah?” Darko asks.

“Yes, let’s go home,” I say and look at Eli. “What do you say, kiddo?”

He nods. And we all load in the truck.

By now, it’s midmorning. I twist in the seat. “How about we stop and get some food? I’m starved.”

Eli grins. “Me, too.”

Darko drives downtown and pulls in at a small pancake restaurant. “How about this place?”

“Pancakes! Yay!” I say, yanking on my door handle.

“Let me call and tell Rock,” Darko says, and I step out of the truck. I put my arm around Eli, and we head inside to get a table.

A hostess at the register looks up with a smile.

“How many in your party?”

“Um, three, but we might have some friends join us.”

“Let me check and see if we’ve got some tables in the back.” She moves off, and Eli and I stand waiting.

Darko joins us, his eyes on his phone, typing out a text. “Rock’s gonna swing by and pick up Evelyn, then join us.”

“Great,” I say. “They’re checking for a couple of tables.”

A moment later, the door opens behind us, and two guys dressed in black rush in, wearing ski masks. Eli is closest to the door, and one grabs him, pointing a gun at his head. “Nobody move!”

The second man vaults over the counter and hits the button that opens the cash register, digging for money.

My stomach drops, and there’s terror in poor Eli’s eyes as he nervously holds his shaking hands in the air.

Darko doesn’t hesitate to charge the man, grabbing his gun and aiming it at the ceiling. They struggle, and it discharges.

I grab Eli and yank him to the floor with me.

There’s another shot, and I cover Eli’s and my head’s, cowering on the floor. I hear a thud next to me and look up to see the two men dashing out the door.

It’s then I realize that the thud was Darko falling, his still body facedown before us.

Everyone in the place is screaming, and I crawl to the man I love, rolling him over. When I pull apart his jacket, there’s blood on his shirt.

He blinks, and clutches his side, his eyes meeting mine. “Is Eli safe?”

“Yes, baby. He’s okay.” My eyes blur with tears. “You saved him, but you got yourself shot, you big dope.” My voice breaks into sobs.

“Dad?” Eli moves over Darko’s face. “Dad, don’t die. You can’t die.”

“I’m not dying, Eli.”

“Call 911,” I bark at the waitress who approaches. “Hurry!”

“Let me see him, miss,” a gray-haired man says, kneeling next to Darko. “I’m a doctor, son. Let’s see your wound.”

Eli scoots out of his way, and I spot Darko’s phone on the floor where he dropped it. Snatching it up, I press his finger to the screen, then find Rock’s contact and call him.

“Yeah, VP?”

“It’s me, Lizzie. Darko’s been shot. We’re at the pancake house downtown. Hurry.” I don’t wait for a reply, disconnecting and scooting to Darko’s other side. I lean over him. His skin looks gray, and there’s a pool of blood on the floor.

I lift his head onto my lap, holding him close. Please, God. Save him.

This can’t be happening. He can’t lie, dying in my arms. It’s Matt all over again. I shake my head. “Don’t leave me, Darko. You can’t leave me. Please.”

He says something to me, and I bend to listen.

“I’m not leaving you, darlin’. But I do feel a little light-headed. I love you, Lizzie.”

“I love you, too.”

He passes out, and I shake him.

“No, Darko. No.” I glance at the elderly doctor. “Can’t you do anything?”

“I’m keeping the wound closed, dear. That’s all I can do until the paramedics get here.”

A moment later, we hear the sound of sirens, and they dash in, followed by the police.

I’m quickly pushed out of the way, and they load Darko on a gurney and rush him out the door.

Eli and I hug, both of us weeping, and I follow as they load the man I love into the ambulance.

Rock finds us and gathers us close. “Come on, we’ll follow them to the hospital.”

“I want to go with him. I need to go with him,” I plead.

The paramedic shakes his head. “We’re going to be working on him the whole way. There’s no room.” The back doors slam shut, and off they race, lights and sirens going.

“He’ll be fine,” Rock assures, but I know he can’t make that promise.

I spend the rest of the day pacing in the hospital waiting area while Darko is rushed into emergency surgery. The club shows up, and Kate and Evelyn hurry to me, then hug Eli.

“This is a nightmare,” I whisper shakily to Kate.

Finally, the surgeon comes out in scrubs. “Who’s here for John Taylor?”

Rock and I both move to him. “We are,” we both say, and Rock puts an arm around me.

“He’s out of surgery. There was some damage to his spleen, but that’s not vital, and a nick to his large intestine, but we repaired it. He got extremely lucky. We’ll have to keep him a few days to fight any infection and let him heal. He’s in recovery right now, but he should be moved to a room within about an hour.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Rock shakes his hand.

After he leaves, I hug Rock’s waist. “He’s going to be okay.

He strokes my back. “He’s got a lot to live for. You need to be strong, understand?”

I nod and brush my tears.

“Gotta fill in the boys. You good?”

“We’ve got her,” Evelyn says as she and Kate approach.

When the nurse comes to tell me what room he’s in, Rock lets me have a few minutes alone with him. “I’ll bring Eli up in ten.”

“Thank you.” I ride the elevator alone and peer around the door to Darko’s room. Messages sound in the hospital intercom overhead, and the place smells like disinfectant.

He looks pale.

When he senses movement, he turns his head. He smiles and lifts an arm, the one that doesn’t have the IV hooked to his hand. “There’s my girl.”

I dash to him. “Oh, baby. How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Sore. Is Eli okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. He’s waiting to come up and see you. You gave him a scare.” I clasp his good hand. “And me, too. I was so afraid I was going to lose you.”

He smiles. “At least I would have died in your arms, baby. Can’t think of a better way to leave this earth.”

“Promise me that won’t happen.”

He squeezes my hand, then kisses the back of it. “I promise, not till I’m old and gray.”

“I’m going first,” I say stubbornly. “So, don’t even think about it. I couldn’t survive without you.”

“Babe, if God is so cruel to take you first, I’ll be five minutes behind you, because I can’t live without you, either.”