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She was too far away for him to call out her name, so he followed her into the crowded area Luckily, she stood out easily because of the color of her coat Just as he got within shouting distance, someone else stepped in front of her Rylan bit back a curse as he recognized Lucas Brewer

Reround, Rylan watched as Bree chatted with Lucas for a few minutes They were too far away for him to hear the conversation, but when the othera drink, he was unable to stop his hands fro into fists He relaxed when Bree shook her head and indicated Sushi Stop, the Japanese takeout place

As she walked away from Lucas, Rylan’s cell phone buzzed It was a call from Trey

The sheriff didn’t bother with a greeting “It’s not him”

“What?” Rylan covered his free ear with one hand to block out soround noise

“I didn’t get to Winnipeg Before I left, I got a call telling uy they have there is not David Swanson” Trey spoke each word clearly “He paid soet himself arrested—”

“Got to go”

Rylan broke into a run His heart faltered as he drew closer to Bree, his eyes drawn to her back There, between her shoulder blades, was the bright red dot of a gun target It stood out clearly, even on the vivid color of her jacket He knehat that dot hts Wherever that red circle went, so would the bullet As he watched, it moved up toward the base of her skull

He didn’t have ti the distance between theround Her startled exclaunshot Rylan’s right shoulder went nuh it as if he’d been stabbed with a red-hot poker Warht wasn’t an option, and he toppled forward onto his face

When he ed to turn his head, and he sa much blood there was, he wanted to cry Not with the pain—although that was bad—but because he could die right now, and he still hadn’t told Bree he loved her

Chapter 18

Bree landed on her knees, twisting to her side to avoid crushing Jekyll She turned her head in ti over her As his features contorted in pain, it was obvious what had happened Rylan had risked his own life to save hers