Chapter 266 Chapter 266

Chapter 266 Chapter 266
"I'd do it for you." Daniel leaned forward, hands flat on the table. "But Emma, I need to know if there's a point. If you can see us having a future. Because if you can't, if this is over, then I might as well re-enlist. Sign up for another tour. But if there's a chance—"
"I don't know," Emma interrupted. "I don't know if I can get past this, Daniel. I want to. God, I want to. But every time I look at you, I see that casket. Which is stupid because you are right here, alive. But I remember what it felt like to think you were gone. And I don't know if I can trust you not to—" She couldn't finish.
"Not to lie to you again." Daniel's voice was flat. "Not to make decisions for you."
"Yes."
"I can't promise that either." The admission tasted like ash. "If it came down to protecting you or being honest with you, Emma, I'd protect you. Every time. That's who I am. And I won't lie to you and say I'd do it differently. I would give my life so you could live."
Emma closed her eyes. "That isn't fair. I know it sounds pretty and I should feel grateful… but we need to work as a team or why are we here."
"We're figuring it out." Daniel's voice was rough. "Or trying to. I know I fucked up. I know what I put you through. But I love you. That hasn't changed. And if there's any chance we can work through this, I want to take it."
Emma opened her eyes, met his gaze. "I need more time."
"I'll give you whatever you need." Daniel nodded.
They sat in silence. The cafe noise swirled around them.
"I should go," Emma said finally. "I have a session with my therapist this afternoon. We have a lot to talk about."
"Okay." Daniel stood when she did. "Can I—can I walk you out to your car?"
Emma hesitated. Then nodded. "Sure."
Small victories. Daniel would take them.
They left the cafe together, Byrnes falling into step ahead of them. The bodyguard's eyes were constantly moving, scanning the area for threats.
They were halfway to the curb when Daniel saw it.
A flash of light on the rooftop across the street. Brief, then gone.
But he'd spent too many years in combat zones not to recognize it.
Scope glint. Sunlight reflecting off glass.
Sniper.
Daniel's brain processed it in a fraction of a second. Sniper on the roof. Emma in the open. His eyes dropped to Emma's chest, where a red dot, right over her heart had appeared. Laser sight.
Time seemed to slow. Daniel's body moved before his conscious mind caught up. Training kicking in.
"Emma!" He didn't wait for her to react.
His hands found her shoulders, shoved hard, driving her back toward the cafe entrance.
Emma stumbled, crashed against the doorframe.
Daniel followed her momentum, covered her body with his, wrapped himself around her like a shield.
The crack of the rifle shot split the air.
Fire exploded across Daniel's back. High, between his shoulder blades. The impact drove him forward, slamming Emma against the wall.
Pain. White-hot and all-consuming.
Then they were falling, tangled together, hitting the ground hard.
Daniel tried to cushion Emma's fall, but his arms weren't working right. Everything was slipping sideways.
"Daniel?" Emma's voice. Scared. "Daniel?"
He wanted to answer. Wanted to tell her she was okay, that he'd gotten her, that the shooter couldn't get to her now.
But his mouth wouldn't form the words.
Warm liquid spread across his chest where he was pressed against Emma. Blood. His blood.
He'd been shot. Well fuck that hurt.

Emma's POV
"Emma."
One second Emma was standing on the sidewalk, the next Daniel's hands were on her shoulders, shoving her hard.
She stumbled backward, lost her balance, crashed against the doorframe. Pain exploded through her shoulder and the back of her head as it connected with the wall.
Then Daniel was there, his body covering hers, pressing her against the brick, and she couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't—
A loud noise cracked through the air.
Daniel jerked against her, his body going rigid. A sound escaped him, something between a grunt and a gasp, pained and shocked.
Then they were falling.
Emma went down hard, Daniel's weight driving her into the pavement. Her head bounced off the concrete, stars bursting across her vision. Everything went fuzzy for a second, sounds muffled, the world tilting.
Something warm and wet was spreading across her chest where Daniel was pressed against her.
Blood.
"Daniel?" Her voice came out thin. "Daniel?"
He wasn't moving. Just lying there, heavy and still, his face buried against her neck.
Panic clawed up Emma's throat. "Daniel!"
She tried to push him off, needed to see his face, needed to know he was okay. But he was too heavy.
Then someone was there, rolling Daniel off her. Byrnes. The bodyguard's face was grim, focused, as he turned Daniel onto his side.
That's when Emma saw it.
Blood. So much blood. Spreading across Daniel's back, dark and wet, pooling on the pavement beneath him.
He'd been shot.
Daniel had been shot.
"No." The word came out as a whisper. "No, no, no—"
"Stay down!" Byrnes barked at her, one hand pressing hard against Daniel's back while the other went to his phone. "Shots fired. I need an ambulance at Fifth and Madison, now!" He gave the cafe name and address.
Emma scrambled forward on her hands and knees, ignoring the way her head spun, the way her vision kept trying to tunnel. "Daniel, please—"
His eyes were open. Barely. Glazed with pain and shock, but focused on her face.
"Em." His voice was rough, weak. "You—you okay?"
"Am I okay?" Emma's laugh came out as a sob. "You just got shot, you idiot. You stupid, stupid—" Her hands were shaking as she reached for him, touching his face, his shoulder, anywhere she could reach. "Why did you—"
"Had to." Daniel's hand found hers, grip weak. "Couldn't let—couldn't let him— I need you to live."
"Don't talk. Just…just hold on, okay? Help is coming. You're going to be fine." Emma was babbling now, words tumbling over each other, desperate and scared. "You're going to be fine. You have to be fine. You can't… after everything, you can't die on me now, Daniel. You can't. I'll make you regret it if you do."
"Not planning to." His lips quirked, almost a smile. "Already died once. Don't recommend it."
"That's not funny." Emma's free hand went to his cheek, cupping his face. "Don't you dare make jokes right now."
"Love you." Daniel's eyes were starting to drift closed.
"No. No, no, no. Stay awake. Daniel, stay with me." Emma's voice rose, panic clawing its way up her throat. "Byrnes, he's—he's—"
"Pressure's holding," Byrnes said, but his jaw was tight. "But he's losing blood fast. Where the hell is that ambulance?"
Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer.
Emma pressed her forehead to Daniel's, whispered his name over and over like a prayer. His hand was still in hers, grip getting weaker by the second.
He'd saved her life. Thrown himself in front of a bullet meant for her without hesitation. She realized that's why he had pushed her out of the way.
Just like he'd faked his death to protect her. Just like he'd offered to leave the Marines for her.
Everything Daniel did, he did for her.
And she'd pushed him away. Told him she needed time. Made him wonder if they even had a future.
"Don't you die on me," Emma whispered against his skin. "Don't you dare die on me, Daniel. I didn't survive the last three months just to lose you now. Do you hear me? You hold on. You hold on."
Daniel's hand squeezed hers. Barely there, but enough.
The ambulance screamed around the corner.