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“Can’t breathe…” he whispered, gripping my arm as blood trickled out the side of his mouth. Panic filled me as I wondered if they had hit him in the lungs.
“How far away is the ambulance?” Dave questioned over the radio.
“About ten minutes,” the dispatcher radioed back.
I glanced down into the face of my partner. “Can’t breathe…” he pleaded, pulling at my shirt.
“Guys, help me roll him onto his back. Let’s try to make him a little more comfortable.” Everything in me screamed not to do it. I knew we weren’t supposed to move anyone for fear we would do more damage. Yet as he pleaded with me, I also didn’t want to watch my partner, and soon-to-be brother-in-law, die because he couldn’t breathe. I cradled his shoulders, while Dave kneeled to help me swiftly roll him without moving him too much.
“Oh, fuck!” Ryan yelled and immediately dropped to his knees to put pressure on a gunshot wound on his leg that was now gushing blood at an alarming rate. Dave let go of his legs and helped Ryan apply pressure to the area. We knew we had to slow the bleeding.
“Connor, stay with us,” I pleaded, pulling my belt off. I wrapped it around his upper leg, pulling it tight, hoping to help the guys stop the bleeding, but it did little good he was passing out.
“Look after Bailey, bro, please.” His voice was weaker than it had been before and the pale color of his skin worried me.
“Come on, man, don’t talk like that. You’re going to be fine, just fine. Help is on the way.” I looked up, trying to see if I could see the flashing lights of the ambulance. “Fuck, where is that ambulance?”
There was one more gurgled breath and then silence as his head fell to one side. The three of us looked at one another, and I dropped my head in defeat. When I finally found the strength to raise my head, both Dave and Ryan were gone. I was in the same dark alley. My heart rate increased as I stared down at Connor’s cold, lifeless body.
“Dave? Ryan? Where is the fucking ambulance?” I mumbled, staring at Connor’s lifeless body.
“Connor, Connor, wake up!” I yelled. “The ambulance is on its way. Come on, man.” I screamed as loud as I could for help, but no one came. An eerie silence fell over me. I looked around and then back to my partner and watched in horror as Connor sat straight up, turned, and looked into my eyes. “You didn’t do as I asked, Jackson. Why didn’t you do as I asked?”
“I tried,” I cried. “I tried so hard. She wouldn’t let me help her.”
Connor looked at me, more like right through me, and I froze. “Wake up. Wake up, Jackson.” He said.
I closed my eyes tightly as I listened to the sounds of my strange surroundings, my heart beating hard. I felt someone shake me. I opened my eyes and looked around my bedroom. I was about to push them away when I realized it was Zoe who was beside me, gently shaking me.
“You all right? You were dreaming,” she said, gripping my hand. “Who’s Connor?”
I ran my hand over my clammy face and inhaled deeply, my mind wandering back to the look in Connor’s eyes in my dream.
“Are you going to tell me who Connor is?” Zoe asked again.
Instead of answering her, I was silent. I rolled onto my side and sat up on the edge of the bed, trying to catch my breath. The words he spoke in my dream ran at the forefront of my mind.“You didn’t do as I asked, Jackson. Why didn’t you do as I asked?”
“Did you want to talk about it?” she questioned, placing her hands on my shoulders, massaging them.
“No,” I barked, throwing the covers off me and climbing from the bed.
“It might help.”
“It won’t help. Just go to sleep,” I bit out and grabbed my sweats from the bottom of the bed and slipped them on.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside for some fresh air. Go to sleep. I’ll be back in a bit,” I said, grabbing a T-shirt and throwing it over my head.
“Want some company?” she questioned.
“No. I just want to be alone. Go back to sleep,” I mumbled and pulled the bedroom door shut.
* * *
I’d barely slept the rest of the night and was glad when I dropped Zoe off outside of The Crooked Judge. She had spent the morning asking me if I was okay, and no matter how many times I’d told her I was fine, she couldn’t let it go. I remained tight-lipped, however, and just before she left my truck, that was when I dropped the news that I no longer wanted to see her. There was no doubt I’d upset her. The way she slammed the door to my truck and marched off across the parking lot without so much as even looking back at me told me so.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, I didn’t give her another thought. I knew I wasn’t ready to go home yet, so I drove across town and pulled into Ryan and Cara’s driveway. I walked up the walkway and banged on the front door.
