Beholden (The Belonging Duet, #2)(2)

I return fire trying to shoot my way to safety. Screams and gunfire are all I register through the chaos. The dust flies with each bullet hitting the dirt.

“Muff!” Mark calls out as my vision starts to fade.

The metallic taste of blood floods my mouth.

“Motherf*cker! Move!” he yells, trying to get me out of harm’s way. Opening my eyes, I see Mark’s face contort as he continues to shoot.

Using my arms, I try to crawl closer. It f*cking hurts. The pain is everywhere as a bullet rips through my abdomen, stopping me from moving. I lie here out in the open ready for my fate.

I look over at Mark as he returns fire and rushes towards me.

“Mark,” I croak out, my vision hazy as he approaches me.

I close my eyes and succumb to the black. I don’t want to wake up. The pain is too much. Besides, Catherine is here in the dark. Hearing her voice makes me want to try, but I’m losing my will.

“Jackson, you have to fight!” Her voice is thick with emotion.

“I’m too tired, baby. I want to stay with you. It doesn’t hurt so much here. You make me feel better,” I tell her, content to see her face and hear her voice. I know she’s not real—but I want to stay here.

Her eyes close as a tear falls down her beautiful face. “You’ll hurt me more if you stay. You have to go back. Please. For me,” she begs.

I’ll do anything not to hurt her again. I’d give her everything just to stop the look of suffering on her face. I open my eyes and the piercing torture jolts me back to life while the bullets slice through the air around me.

Mark hoists me over his shoulder as I hold back a scream from the impact against my injured shoulder. The pain radiates from my head to my toes, reminding me I’m still alive. If I can still feel, I can fight.

“We have to go. Now!” The tone of command conveys the urgency of the situation.

I’m thrown in the back of the Humvee and the jolt causes me to cry out. “Holy shit! It f*cking hurts!” I can’t hold back. My vision fades again and I’m not sure if it’s from the pain or if I’m coming to the end.

“Muff, can you hear me?” The doors slam closed as we take cover in the Humvee and start to move.

Mark hovers over me. We continue to take fire but the protection of the vehicle allows us to get the hell out of here. Each bump in the road is pure agony. They drive frantically trying to get back to the base as one soldier radios in my injuries.

“He’s been shot three times. Get the HELO on standby!” Mark yells out to him as we take a sharp turn, causing me to shift.

“My f*cking leg,” I cry out.

“Put your hand over your shoulder.” He presses my hand over the bullet wound, trying to force me to put pressure on it. “I have to deal with your leg, so you have to hold it.”

I try to hold on but I can’t feel my arms, every limb is heavy. My hand starts to slip. “I can’t—” I start to say.

“You don’t have a choice, you son of a bitch!” Mark yells in my face. “Shut the f*ck up and hold on to your shoulder!”

Mark grabs a needle from the medic bag and injects something in my arm. Everything becomes foggy and numb. I’m so tired. The smell of sweat, blood, and fear filters through the Humvee.

Something slaps my face forcing me to open my eyes. “Eyes open, you f*ckbag! Don’t close them!” Mark’s eyes are wide and focused. I feel my pants rip. “Muff, this is going to hurt,” he says calmly before he clamps his hand around the bullet hole in my leg, pushing down.

“Fuuuuuuuuck!” I scream out as a hot fire spreads through my veins burning everything in its path.

The pain is taking over and I can’t fight the black.

He pushes again as my eyes fly open. “I told you. Keep. Your. Eyes. Open!” He turns to the driver. “Faster!” Mark ties something around my leg creating a tourniquet. His voice is harsh but I hear the undertone of fear. We both know this isn’t good. The blood loss, the multiple bullet wounds, and the fact that we’re not close enough to the base is the reality we face.

Mark rips open my shirt and sees the blood around my abdomen as his hands tremor in terror. My hand falls again and he positions himself to put pressure on my stomach and my shoulder.

“Be there in three,” the driver calls back to us.

“You have three minutes to tell me all the reasons I should keep you from bleeding out. You close your eyes, I’ll f*cking push harder. Try me, motherf*cker.” He grips my face making me focus on him.

“Tell her—”

“Not a chance. Tell me.”

“I love …” I pass out from the agony.



I awake to the constant stream of beeping behind me. Where am I? I feel something warm in my hand but I can’t open my eyes. The weights holding my eyelids closed are too heavy to lift. I hear mumbling and I swear it’s Catherine and Mark, but that wouldn’t make sense.

Attempting to get my limbs to cooperate, I try to lift my arms but they won’t move.

“Jackson …” I hear her call to me. “Please wake up. I don’t know if you can hear me, but God, I hope you can.”

Catherine.

She’s here.

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, clearly upset. “Mark called and I … I just … come back to me.” I hear her sob and the need to comfort her overwhelms me. I want to wake up and tell her it’s okay, but everything is locked. Every part of me is heavy and unwilling to cooperate.