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  I stared at him open-mouthed, unsure of whether or not he was waiting on a response.

  He took a deep breath and let go of my hands. “I have a shoebox of things in my room that I think will help me explain this a little better. Do you mind if I…?”

  “No, go,” I said, urging him to retrieve the box.

  As I sat on the edge of the couch, I racked my brain for how I could’ve possibly known Derek and Hannah. I couldn’t remember them from my past, but something about his eyes and her mischievous grin seemed far too familiar.

  A tap on the outside window interrupted my thoughts. I glanced up to see Luke standing in the shadows on the other side of the glass. Perched up on the ledge of the porch, he motioned for me to come closer. I shooed him away and turned back to my thoughts.

  He tapped on the window again, this time harder. I finally got up, went across the room and opened the window.

  “Go away—”

  “Listen to me, Julie,” Luke said. “You need to get out of here. Now.”

  “Go away, Luke. I’m done with this—”

  “Dammit, Julie, listen to me—”

  “I’m fine—”

  “I just got off the phone with a friend over at the West Bridge PD,” Luke said, irritated that I wouldn’t listen. “They’re Miltons. Derek and Hannah Milton.”

  “Derek and Hannah Jones,” I corrected him.

  “They changed their last name and left town after the trial to ward off the press. It’s like they vanished off the map, until now,” he said, leaning closer to the window screen so I’d hear the enunciation of each syllable. “Derek and Hannah Milton. Son and daughter of Conan Milton—”

  “The man who murdered your parents,” Derek said behind me, setting a shoebox down on the end of the couch. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you Julie—”

  “Back up,” Luke interrupted, pressing his finger against the screen.

  “Julie, please,” Derek begged, stealing my attention from Luke. “I don’t mean any harm. Hannah just wanted to see it for herself. She wanted to see that you’d really moved here to Oakland and started over. She’s still having trouble coming to terms with what our father has done. She needs closure.”

  I backed against the window, facing Derek, and the realization of their likeness hit me full force. His blue eyes… he had his father’s same, round, ocean blue eyes. And Hannah bore that same nasty smirk her father had worn in all the press photos… and in the mug shot taken after the murders.

  The front door opened and Luke let himself in, taking an immediate stride across the room to put himself between Derek and myself.

  “Derek,” Luke said, putting his hand out to keep him from taking another step closer. “I’m taking Julie with me now, and you’re going to stay right where you’re at, and you won’t ever come near her again—”

  “Please,” he said. He looked past Luke and leaned to the side to meet my stare. “Julie… I’m so sorry. I know that words can never undo what my father did, but I want you to know how terribly sorry I am. But please… God, Julie, please don’t make me suffer for what he’s done.”

  I took a step out from behind Luke, putting my hand on his arm to let him know I was okay.

  “You’ve known,” I started toward him, “all this time, you’ve known who I am, and you couldn’t find just one moment to tell me who you are?”

  “I wanted to, but—”

  “But what?” I asked. “Your father murdered my parents. He put a gun to their heads, put a bullet through their skulls, and you think telling me that you’re sorry is going to make it better? His blood runs through your veins, Derek! His evil courses through your body, and you expect me to accept your apology? How do I know you weren’t planning on coming back in here and killing me yourself?”

  “You don’t,” he said. “But you have to trust me—”

  “I don’t! I don’t have to trust you!”

  “Julie,” he begged. “I swear… I never wanted to hurt you.”

  “That makes one of us.” Hannah’s voice came from the back of the room.

  None of us had heard her come in, and when I turned to meet her stare, my heart sank to my stomach.

  Hannah stood in the doorframe between the kitchen and living room, her eyes never leaving mine. And as she took a step forward to command the room, she lifted a handgun in the air and pointed it directly at my face.

  Chapter Seven

  Sunday September 23

  “Hannah, no!” Derek yelled. “Put the gun down—”

  “Not until she’s dead,” Hannah said, eerily calm. “Not until I finish what Daddy started—”

  “Hannah!” Derek screamed. “Don’t talk like that.”

  Luke pulled me back slowly, shielding my body with his. He took a step backward, lighting forcing me against the far wall, and covering me completely from Hannah’s aim.

  My body shivered behind his, and I could feel him gently pressing himself against me to assure me that I was safe. He reached back and took my hand, squeezing my fingers for a brief moment before letting go.

  “Hannah,” Luke said, stepping forward an inch.

  “Stay back,” she yelled, waving the gun higher.

  “Hannah,” Luke continued. “You don’t want to do this. Please put the gun down—”

  “Listen to him,” Derek pleaded with his sister.

  “Stop it!” she yelled at both of the men, taking a step to the side to get a better view of me. “You,” she said, still aiming the gun, “step out here. I want to see your face when I kill you—”

  “Hannah,” Derek said. “She’s an innocent girl. She’s a victim, just like us. She had nothing to do with what happened—”

  “She’s his daughter,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I was born without a father because of what he did—”

  “He was doing his job,” Derek argued. “You know Dad was messed up, Han—”

  “I had to live my entire life with my father behind bars,” she said, meeting my stare. “So you’re not a victim. You had your dad.”

  “Hannah,” I said, stepping out from behind Luke. He reached out to pull me back and I stopped his hand. “This is my fight—”

  “You hated him for not protecting your mother,” Luke said. “I’m not going to let you hate me for not protecting you—”

  “I’m okay,” I said, turning back to her.

  Even with the weapon still aimed in my direction, I was surprisingly composed. I saw the pain in her eyes, but pain didn’t equate to violence. Part of me had trouble believing Hannah had it in her to harm another human being. But when I considered that Dad had thought the same thing about her father, I felt my heart sink a little.

  “Hannah, please put the gun down. We have much more in common than you might actually believe, and I really think it would do us some good to talk this out—”

  “I don’t want to talk it out with you,” she said. “I want to kill you—”

  “What good would that do?” I asked. “What problem would that solve? My dad arrested your father, your dad killed both of my parents, and now the playing field is level, okay? Both of our parents are at fault for what we’ve lost, so why carry this any further? You can’t let your life be ruled by this, Hannah. You have to live your life in spite of tragedy.”

  A tear slid down her face and as she lowered the gun, I took a step forward to continue. “Your dad wouldn’t want you to make the same mistakes he made—”

  “Don’t tell me what my dad would want,” she screamed, raising the gun again. “He’d want me to kill you.”

  The room fell silent and I felt Luke’s hand grasp my wrist. He stepped behind me and his body ran along the backside of mine, strong and firm, and completely unwavering. If he was losing his cool, there was no indication.

  “Jules,” he whispered, almost so quietly that I didn’t hear him. “When I say go, go. Get out of this house, and don’t look back.”

  “No,” I let out a cry, m
y voice shaking. “She’ll shoot you—”

  “What are you saying to her?” Hannah asked Luke, now pointing the gun at him.

  I felt him tap one finger on my back. Then two. I knew his third tap would be my sign to go, and when his third tap came, he yelled Go, and I ran for the door.

  But before my hand grasped the knob, an explosion of gunfire stopped me dead in my tracks, followed by a loud thud as something shook the floor beneath my feet. My ears ached as the sound of a second shot enveloped the room.

  I turned to see Derek fighting his sister for the gun, both of them rolling on the floor. He pinned her on the ground, struggling to keep her finger from the trigger, but Hannah wasn’t going down without a fight.

  She shot the gun again, this time the bullet zipping past Derek’s head, and embedding itself in the living room ceiling.

  I turned to yell for Luke to interfere, but he was no longer standing where I’d left him. I surveyed the room in fear. Where was he?

  And when my eyes fell to the floor, I suddenly felt my world come crashing down.

  Luke was lying on the carpet near the struggling siblings, unresponsive as blood spilled from his chest.

  “Luke!” I screamed, running to his side, no longer concerned for the fight happening between Derek and Hannah. I fell to my knees and took his face in my hands, tears falling from my eyes to his, and weeping uncontrollably over his motionless body. “Luke, please. Oh, God, please Luke—”

  “Julie,” Derek screamed, still fighting his sister. “Call 9-1-1.”

  I ran to the phone and dialed the number, screaming mostly incomprehensible sentences, but stressing that Officer Reibeck had been shot and was unresponsive. I gave the address, threw the phone, and fell back at his side.

  I held his head in my lap, weeping over his motionless body and pressing down on the wound. Hannah’s first bullet had been aimed to stop Luke from charging her and it hit him in the chest… just above his heart.

  “Luke,” I cried, watching his blood seep through my fingers as I applied more pressure to his chest. “Luke. Please… please don’t leave me.” Through jagged breaths and tears, I tried to find the strength to continue. I had to tell him. He had to know before it was too late. “I love you, Luke. You can’t leave me. I need you.”

  The seconds ticked by, each one slower than the one before, and just when I’d given up hope for any sign of life, Luke’s eyelids flittered open and he looked at me through the half-open slits.

  “Jules,” he whispered, his voice raspy and his breathing jagged. “I’m sorry—”

  “Luke,” I said. “Please stay awake. There’s an ambulance on the way. They’re going to be here any second to take you to the hospital. Just hang in there okay? Please—”

  “Jules,” he said, his voice weak as his consciousness faded. “I’m losing a lot of blood—”

  “Stay awake,” I said again. “Just listen to me. Try to keep your eyes open—”

  “Julie,” he said, managing to lift his right arm. He cupped my face with his hand and squeezed as tight as he could, but his strength was simply gone. He whispered something again, but I couldn’t make out his words. He closed his eyes, but his mouth still moved. I leaned closer to him, hoping to decipher his barely audible whispers. His eyes opened again, and I leaned in as close as I could.

  “Luke,” I said, my tears falling onto his cheeks. “I love you. And if you die…”

  “I’m not going to die,” he whispered. “I promise.”

  He lifted his head far enough for his lips to brush mine. With tears streaming down my cheeks and across our lips, I reluctantly eased into his kiss. When I felt his strength slipping away, I tried to pull back, but he held me as close as he could and parted his lips, allowing for the kiss to deepen.

  And when he couldn’t find the strength to carry on, I pulled away from him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes again and managed a faint smile.

  The sound of crashing filled the air, and again it was the gun. But it hadn’t been shot. Derek stood over his sister’s unconscious body, wielding the handgun as tears filled his eyes.

  “Derek?” I watched Hannah’s body for a few long beats, noticing a slight movement in her chest.

  “I knocked her out,” he said, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done. “She’s just unconscious.” He dropped the gun to the floor and rushed to my side.

  Luke turned his head away as his breathing became more and more shallow. The warmth of his breath subsided. The heavy movement in his chest desisted. But the blood kept pouring, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  As I heard the sound of faint sirens in the distance, I ran my fingers through Luke’s hair, crying over his motionless body.

  “Luke, please,” I begged. “Please don’t leave me.”

  Derek kneeled next to Luke, grabbing his wrist and feeling for a pulse. He leaned down and pressed his ear to Luke’s bloody chest, and after a few faint seconds, looked back at me with teary eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, Julie,” he said. “He’s gone.”

  Dear Reader,

  If you enjoyed reading Just a Little Embrace and have a moment to spare, I would greatly appreciate a review on the site where you purchased the book.

  Thank you!

  -Tracie

  Please follow me online for updates on what’s next!

  http://traciepuckett.com/

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  Also available for download:

  Just a Little Crush (Part I)

  The Webster Grove Series

  Sweet Nothings

  Coming Soon:

  Just a Little Sincerity (Part III)

  Acknowledgments

  Cover photography (courtesy Dmitri Gromov | Dreamstime.com) has been altered from its original version and was purchased for royalty-free commercial use.

  To mom, because I owe you the world.

  And a BIG thanks to Marlene for the comments, suggestions, and everything all around!