Page 133 of Archer

But he didn’t speak.

He swayed again, arms reaching for me, and he collapsed.

“Archer!” I fell onto my knees beside him, unable to manage his weight, begging him to open his eyes.

His bloody hands touched my face, thumbs sliding along my jaw. “Are you okay?”

I laughed through a sob. “I am fine. You need a hospital.”

Knox knelt across from me, a pair of sheers in hand, an open medical kit at his feet. He cut the fabric of Archer’s shirt from hem to collar, then pressed stacks of gauze to a dark wound pouring blood.

“Oh my God!” I yelled.

Knox’s eyes met mine. “Talk to him. Keep him awake.”

A sharp whistle pulled my eyes to the open doorway. Colton waved his arms over head, directing an ambulance arriving below. A carousel of red and blue light illuminated the dark sky beyond.

I pressed a kiss to Archer’s forehead, damp with sweat or rain, I wasn’t sure. “Hey. Stay with me.”

“Always.”

I sniffled and nodded. “Always.”

“Are you on a livestream?” Knox asked, swapping a soaked stack of gauze for a fresh one.

“Shit.” I reached down and hit the button, ending the stream. “I got some of the attack on video.”

He nodded. “Quick thinking. Nice work.”

“Thanks.”

Archer rolled his head in my direction. “Webb.”

“I got him,” Nash called. “Going to read him his rights as soon as I can wake him up. Someone knocked his ass out cold.”

Archer grinned, and the blood smeared over his teeth in a gruesome effect.

Heavy footfalls pounded up the wooden stairs outside.

“Here!” Colton yelled.

Then the paramedics were in the room, and everyone was in motion.

Chapter 46

Harper

Three days after the storm, the skies and sea were warm and blue, as if they hadn’t recently teamed up to try to wipe us out.

Road and work crews were making substantial progress to erase the damage.

Power saws and compressors buzzed outside my cottage. Hammers struck nails on the roof. And my new energy-efficient windows were already in place at the cottage.

The Outer Banks had taken a real beating this time, but it would never break.

Resilience was a way of life here, and every moment I spent in Carolina Bay made me more certain it was exactly where I belonged.

“Stop hovering,” Archer said from the couch.