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My hand reached for a piece of scaffolding, a metal beam, but something struck me, and the last thing I saw was Luca’s face full of confusion and horror, before the world spun.
“ALEX!” screamed Lola.
And the last thing I thought, before the light left me, and there was a sickening thump, was a quiet sense of calm, that the right thing had been done, and now nothing mattered anymore.
Chapter 29
Lola
Shewasbrave,wasmy little girl. Brave from beginning to end. All the nurses said so.
“You’ve been a pleasure to take care of,” smiled the nurse, as she kneeled down and put the colorful plaster on the tiny cut on Macy’s head.
“Is my mommy okay?” she said.
“Well, she looks okay to me,” said the nurse, standing up and smiling at me. “Cute kid,” she said.
“Is that it?” I said. “Nothing else?”
“She’s probably going to have a few nightmares,” said the pediatrician. “Who wouldn’t after that?”
“Well, nightmares are fine. We can cope with nightmares.”
“If there’s anything either of you find it hard to cope with,” said the doctor. “You can call me. And I’ll give you something light to sleep later.”
“I think we need it,” I said.
“Can I sleep in your bed tonight, mommy?” said Macy, looking up at me. I brushed her hair off her face. My daughter. The most resilient little girl in the world.
“You’re sleeping in my bed every night for a week,” I said sternly. “No arguments.”
The children’s ward was empty at this time of night. It was quiet as I led Macy out, hand in hand. She was shaken and traumatized and totally in shock, but she was fine, thank the stars, she was fine.
I led my little girl out by the hand and through the ward. All around us, I could hear the beeping of machines, the low noise of monitors, and quiet conversations between doctors and nurses.
I left the children’s ward with Macy, and the elevator doors were sliding shut when a rough, dark voice said, “HEY!”
I looked up, still panicked, still wondering who it was.
“Oh,” I said, and put a hand in the elevator. “It’s you.”
Russell O’Rourke was standing there, and as the door thunked open again, he stepped in. Macy backed up.
“It’s okay, sweetie,” I said, giving her a reassuring glance. “This is the man who saved you.”
“Judging by what the ballistics guys have just told me,” growled O’Rourke, “it was Mr. Lowe who saved the two of you.”
I lowered my eyes, and felt a rush of blood spread to my cheeks.
“Mister Alex was the hero,” said Macy, and suddenly I felt tears rushing up through my body.
“Yeah,” I said. “He was.” And I began to cry.
***
Sara came to sit with Macy for a while. There was something I knew I had to do. If I didn’t do it now, I wouldn’t sleep a wink. And more than anything, I needed to sleep now. Needed to know that the nightmare was over.
Only, it wasn’t.
