AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I told you it would be fine.”
“No,” I interrupted and he scratched his head. “Tito shot Michael. I killed Tito. It’s bad. We need a helicopter ambulance. We need one now.”
He blinked. It took half a second for those serene eyes to process. “On it.”
I hung up the phone so he could do what he needed to and to resist the temptation to crumple. I had to concentrate on Stephen. “Tell me her name,” I snapped, irritated at my clicking teeth.
I grabbed a jacket. It was Michael’s and I pushed it down on Stephen’s open wound.
“Whose name?” He coughed, and the fingers of one of his hands caught mine and held.Okay.At least he could talk again. His grip seemed weak, but he still controlled his hand.
“Tell me the name of the woman. The one who you love. I’m not fooled. There is someone, I can tell.”
He smiled at me, and his gaze became far away, as if he pictured her face instead of mine. “Cheryl. Wish I told her. I should’ve.”
“Good news is you’ll have plenty of time later. Youwilltell her. Tomorrow, when you wake up from surgery. You’ll feel like hell, but you’ll tell her then. It’s going to make her cry, but I hope you don’t think she’s going to forgive you for scaring her just because you admitted it finally. That’s what’s going to happen, Stephen. I’m going to insist upon it, and you have no idea how totally annoying I can get when I get a bug up my ass about something.”
How long would it take for the chopper to arrive? Minutes? Hours? I didn’t think we had hours, and I had no idea. I would just keep talking until it came. Stephenwouldsurvive, if I had to use sheer willpower to make it happen. Why hadn’t I done something sooner? I pushed the guilty thought away. I only had time to focus on the moment. Later, I’d have plenty of time to regret my actions or inactions.
“How did you meet Cheryl?”
14
The luxury sunset tour by helicopter I experienced in Hawaii wasn’t like the ride with Stephen. EMTs had rushed into the room to triage Stephen and get him ready to fly. We were airlifted out before Michael arrived, so I don’t know if it was nearby on standby or what miracle made it arrive so fast. According to one of the paramedics, Michael would be meeting us at the hospital.Okay.
I sat, staring at Stephen and holding his hand as we jolted around in the air in the way only helicopters could jostle. Michael’s colleague and likely best friend passed out when we were in the air about twenty minutes. I didn’t know what to do. I’d never been so terrified a person was going to die before…
Except when Michael had been shot.
And Hope. She nearly died.
And Layla.
Okay, a lot of people had nearly died lately, and I wasn’t sure how much trauma I could hold.
I killed Tito.The whole scene replayed over and over again in my mind. Every gory and gruesome detail. I fought off another wave of dizziness and realized I almost hyperventilated. I neededto breathe slower. Soon after, we were on the ground and they rushed Stephen past me. I spun to watch him vanish behind the whoosh of the automatic doors. Then I noticed my reflection in the glass.
Suddenly, the horror of the look on the one nurse’s face…made sense.
I sank into a chair. My legs were too weak to carry me any further. I texted my sisters.Michael is fine. Something bad happened. His friend is shot. Maybe dying. And I had to kill someone. Can’t think. Text later.
They didn’t love to be told to leave things alone. My lips almost curled into a smile. I wondered if they would, in this instance.
Michael appeared and I rose. We stared at each other, and I wondered what his solemn, steady eyes saw in mine.
He said, “Oh, what the fuck. Where is the nurse? Why aren’t they treating you?”
His frantic tone broke through the haze, so I lifted a hand to reach for him. “None of it is mine. I’m not hurt. Not at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
He took my shoulders in his gentle hands, but I pulled back before he could hug me. “You don’t want this on you. It’s really bad. You just—don’t.” Was that my voice that wavered? I pulled it together, straightening my shoulders.Maybe I can have a meltdown later but not now.“They just took Stephen back.”
Instead of the hug, Michael cupped the side of my face. “Tell me what happened. Every detail.”
So I did. Every single detail. He never looked away, not once the whole time I talked. “Thank fuck I left that armoire unlocked. What did you say he said? Thatthe boss said you had to die.When did the Russians turn him? He was never eveninRussia.” He stepped away from me. “I’m so sorry, Bridget. I told you to trust me and look what happened.Don’ttrust me.I obviously don’t know what I’m doing.” He stepped away from me and shouted at the top of his lungs toward the ceiling. “If I can’t keep you safe from the people I leave in the house to protect you, then what the fuck am even I doing?”
“Boss?” Roy stepped into the hallway. “How do you want to handle this?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “Take her to a hotel nearby. Send cleaners to both locations. Tito is dead, and the Russians are gone. I’d like to assume she is safe, but until we interview every single person who works for me... I’m going to check on Stephen then I’ll meet you there. Don’t leave there until I arrive, Bridget. I only fucking trust you, Roy.Onlyyou. Do you understand?”
