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He looked toward Felicia, who was struggling to push Mr. James’ large lifeless body off her. She finally managed to shove him over the side of the chair where he fell to the floor. She sprang to her feet and Patrick squeezed off another round, catching her in the forehead. She fell to the floor.
Joe dropped to his knees and cupped his head in his hands as if that would help the massive throbbing or high-pitched ringing caused by the two gunshots fired so closely to his ear. It didn’t help. He couldn’t think and could hardly see straight. He turned and tried to focus in on Patrick. The man’s arms hung at his sides. His right hand still gripped his handgun.
“Drop your weapon,” his dad commanded.
Patrick stood frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at his dead mother.
Joe slowly reached over, and meeting no resistance, pulled the weapon from Patrick’s hand.
Despite the dizziness caused by his ringing and throbbing head, he managed to rise to his feet. Elizabeth sprang to her feet, ran to him, and threw her arms around his waist. He held her tight as she sobbed into the crook of his neck.
Just then the police arrived and took control of the scene. It took hours to untangle and clear the scene; probably would have taken longer if not for his dad’s experience. The whole ordeal was exhausting, not only for himself but for Elizabeth and his father as well.
In the end, the bodies of Mr. James and Felicia were removed from Elizabeth’s living room, and Patrick had been taken into custody.
* * * *
Elizabeth, gripped Joe’s hand tightly as they, and Tony, walked back to Joe’s house. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to release her protector, her savior’s hand, as she relished in the security of his hold. Because of him, and his dad, she was alive. Her heart raced at the thought of how they’d risked their own lives for her.
Joe’s hand tightened around hers.
She was surprised to find Holly and her mother still sitting with Jody and the kids. They had arrived sometime during the horrific event, and at the sight of the squad cars went to Joe’s place, just as Jody had when she heard the gunfire.
Once the police had arrived and secured the scene, Joe had called over to his house and asked Jody to stay with the kids until he returned. Holly and her mother chose to remain as well.
Now here she stood, in Joe’s living room, with her friend’s curious gazes on her. Elizabeth nodded at the men and they excused themselves to get the kids ready for bed.
The ladies stared at her, waiting for some sort of explanation. She couldn’t blame them. She would have wanted to know what was going on if the roles had been reversed with any one of them. But how much should she tell? She’d kept so much from them, and wasn’t exactly sure as to why. They were her friends. If it had been the other way around, she would have wanted to help, and support them.
She met each one of their gazes, first Jody’s, then Holly’s, and Holly’s mother’s. It was time to tell them, way beyond time. She sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then started at the beginning.
Though it was difficult to start telling her story, she managed to tell it, in its entirety, without shedding a tear. Perhaps she was simply all cried out, or maybe it was the relief that came with the knowing Patrick was likely going to prison for a long time, and Mr. James, well, he wouldn’t be carrying on his tradition of raping women.
Holly swiped the tears off her cheeks. “All this time...all this time I’ve been leaning on you and pushing you to do everything for my wedding, and you had all this to deal with. I feel so selfish. I wish I would have known so that I could have been there for you. Why didn’t you say something?” Holly asked as she rose to her feet and pulled her into a tight embrace.
After a moment Elizabeth stepped back. “I don’t know. I was embarrassed and humiliated at first, and then after a while, everything just happened so fast. I think helping you with the wedding plans distracted me from what was going on in my life, and actually helped me get through it. I had something good to look forward to.”
Joe and Tony stepped into the living room. Elizabeth looked at Joe, and reached for his hand. He wove his fingers with hers before she glanced back at her friends.
“Plus, I had a lot of love and support from Joe and his family. Without them, I don’t know what I would have done, and I probably wouldn’t be standing here now.”
Joe lifted her hand to his lips. His sweet, simple gesture caused her heart to swell. Who was she kidding? Her heart was no longer her own, it was his, and yet, she’d never felt so complete.
