Okay, I HAD to get this chapter up. It's one of my favorites! Who was Ian's target? Was it Patrick, Ben's father? Or could it have been Riley, Ben's best friend? Could it be the defiant owner of the key, Alexis? You'll have to read to find out!

Chapter 14:

Ian's Revenge

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Alexis screamed as Riley fell to the ground, blood staining his shirt and jacket.

Alexis made a move to go to his side , but Ian pointed the gun at her. She froze, torn between fear and love.

"You better make a decision fast." Ian warned. "By the looks of it, he doesn't have much time. A punctured lung no doubt, if not worse. He has about an hour to live. An hour and a half if he's lucky." He looked directly into Alexis's eyes. "Make your choice."

Alexis looked from Riley, to the key in her hand, to Ben, Abigail, and Patrick. Ben nodded his head slowly. His best friend's life meant more to him than any treasure. Alexis took one final look at the key and hurled it past Ian's head. "Fetch!" She yelled, her eyes burning with anger and hatred.

Ian smiled, then turned to pick up the key. Then he melted into the brush behind him.

Alexis was instantly at Riley's side, tears spilling from her eyes. "Riley!" She cried, cradling his head in her arms. He had gone a deathly white, but was still conscious. She looked at Ben. "Call 911!" Her words galvanized him into action. She turned her attention back to Riley. "Riley, stay with me, please!"

His eyes began to close as darkness crept into his field of vision.

"No!" Alexis cried. "I love you! I love you, Riley!"

The next ten minutes passed by in a blur. Alexis refused to leave Riley's side. She and Ben flew in the Care Flight helicopter to the closest hospital. Riley was rushed into emergency surgery as soon as they arrived.

Alexis and Ben waited outside in the ER waiting room. Alexis was deeply distraught. Ben took her hand. She looked into his face, then buried her face into his shoulder and sobbed. He rubbed her hands comfortingly and let her release her pent up grief.

Abigail and Patrick arrived later after driving the car to the hospital.

Alexis fell asleep in her chair. Ben looked up as the lead surgeon walked toward him. He stood.

"Are you Mr. Gates?" He asked.

Ben nodded.

"Come with me." He said quietly, noting the sleeping woman's presence.

Ben followed him down a hall and around a corner. He found himself standing outside of Riley's room. Ben couldn't help but notice the clipboard beside the door that listed Riley's name and injuries in a doctor's chickenscratch handwriting.

Poole, Riley Alexander

Four gunshot wounds

Punctured lung

2 fractured ribs

Shattered Radial bone.

Severe blood loss

Ben sighed. He looked through the door. Riley was on a ventilator. An IV was in his arm and several machines kept track of his vital signs.

"Look, Mr. Gates. We've done all we can, but there's only a fifty percent chance he'll survive the night." The doctor said gravely.

Ben's eyes fell.

"I'll arrange for you and the others to stay after visiting hours tonight. I'm sure he would want you all with him if he were conscious. I'm sorry, Mr. Gates."

Abigail held Ben in her arms comfortingly when he told her what the doctor said. Patrick placed a sad hand on his son's shoulder. The three then watched Alexis sleep.

"What should we do?" Abigail asked.

"I hate to wake her up, but she will probably want to be with Riley if he…" The words seemed lost to Ben. He'd never thought he might lose his best friend. "If he…passes away."

Patrick gently shook Alexis awake. "You might want to visit Riley now." He said solemnly.

Alexis slowly rose to her feet. The events of the past few days were catching up with her making her extremely tired, and now this. The man she loved was just barely clinging to life.

Silently, they entered the room where Riley lay. The monitor that kept track of his heartbeat seemed to be beeping much slower than it should. Riley was dying.

The scene brought back all too painful memories of the day, ten years earlier, when Ben had lost his former girlfriend, Charlotte.

Alexis took Riley's hand and pressed it against her cheek. She had only known him for five days, but she felt like she had known him for years. Silently, she prayed for a miracle.

They took turns keeping vigil throughout the night, promising to wake the others if Riley's condition worsened.

Alexis had the shift just before dawn. A thought suddenly stuck her. "I have exams today!" A voice screeched in the back of her mind.

Ben awoke slowly. "Alexis?" He whispered. " How's Riley?"

"Well, he survived the night." Alexis said, a note of hope entering her voice.

"Ben. I have finals today. I have to fly back to D.C. this morning if I want to take the exams and graduate."

Ben thought for a moment. What a plight! Forced to choose between a degree and staying with her injured lover! The surgeon walked in as Ben considered Alexis's problem.

"Mr. Poole appears to have stabilized through the night." He said. "He's not out of the woods yet, but he's a fighter. He must have something," He looked at Alexis, "or someone to live for." He made a few marks on the clipboard that had been outside the room and left.

"Well, that settles it. Riley would want you to graduate from college, so I'll drive you to the airport so you can fly back." Ben offered.

"Thanks." She said. "And I'll call Chloe to see if she can pick me up."

Ben stopped in front of the airport doors.

Alexis still had a worried look on her face.

"Don't worry." Ben said. "I'll call you if anything changes for the worst."

Chloe didn't have to ask what was bothering her friend. The media had latched onto the story the day it happened. The entire nation knew Riley was fighting for his life in a Virginia hospital.

Most of the ride home was quiet, but as they pulled in to the pulled into the parking lot of their dorm complex, Chloe noticed that the key that had always hung around her neck was missing. "Your key! Where is it?"

Alexis looked away and fiddled with the enameled flag. "I gave it to Ian. So he wouldn't hurt anyone else."

"C'mon. You need to get some rest before the exams later." Chloe said, helping her friend from the car.

Her tests flew by. She hardly knew how she made it through them all when her mind was still in Virginia with Riley. She crashed Friday night, completely exhausted from the exams and worry. She slept all through Saturday and part of Sunday, which was a rarity for her since she taught a teen girls' bible study at a local Baptist church.

Finally, Sunday afternoon, she decided to fix herself up and go for a walk.

The plants were green everywhere. Everything was so lush and full of life. It depressed her to see that. Everything seemed to have the abundance of life that eluded the one person she cared about most. After a while, she stopped to sit on a park bench. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She cringed. "I knew I should have told Chloe I was leaving. Now I get to have my head bitten off." She thought. "I'm sorry, Chloe." She said.

There was an awkward silence. Alexis froze. She slowly turned around, fearing what or who she might see.

When she met the person's gaze, she found herself staring into friendly, brilliant blue eyes. For a moment, she thought she was seeing an angel. "But Ben never called." She told herself. The afternoon sun beamed around him, making him seem to glow slightly. Then she noticed how he was holding his arm, as if it were in a sling. "Angels don't have slings." She though. She stood and faced him. "Riley?" She whispered.

He smiled. "The doctor was right. I do have someone to live for."

Alexis ran to him and they embraced, ignoring the awkwardness of Riley's sling.

Ben and Abigail watched from the street. "I thought they'd make a cute couple." Abigail said.

"Yeah, but were going to have to cut this reunion short." Ben reminded her. "The doctor said that Riley could come home, but he couldn't over-exert himself."

Abigail smiled at Ben. He put his arm around her waist as they watched their younger friends for a few more moments.

A/N: If you want to know more about what happened to Charlotte, please read "Charlotte's Legacy".