“They’re taking him to the hospital,” Blake said. “Violet should also be checked out just in case.”
“Leave my daughter right where she is,” Ned warned. “I’ve taken care of her all her life and I’ll keep doing just that.”
“Taken care of her?” April snapped. “You’ve used her, threatened her, and terrified her. If you call that taking care of her then she’s better off without you.”
Ned tightened his hold on April’s neck, making her squeak out in pain and protest. The paramedics were wheeling Tanner out now. “Let her go,” April begged, wanting her niece to be taken away from all this carnage. A courtyard littered with dead bodies was no place for a child. And the worst of it was - none of them were wearing their usual head gear.
They’d seen Violet and fired anyway. Had they known all along? Was it all just a ruse to make April and Violet think they possessed more humanity than they really did? Or was it for their protection, to conceal their identities from her and Violet. The depravity of this whole situation was so disgusting, the only thing April could think about was getting Violet out of here as quickly as possible. “You’re not even her father. He is. Let her go!” She cried.
Ned pressed the gun into her temple. “What did you say?”
“Tanner is Violet’s father. He’s even listed as her father on her birth certificate,” Caden said.
“You’re lying,” Ned accused.
“No, I’m not,” Caden said, producing the digital copy of Violet’s birth certificate on his phone and showing it to Ned. “Tanner is her biological father.”
April had no idea about the birth certificate. But then she remembered the last conversation she’d had with Tanner before he left.“A DNA test proved it. Violet is Tanner’s daughter.”
“You little…” Ned pushed the gun harder against April’s temple as his other hand squeezed at her throat until shecouldn’t breathe. Her vision started fading, her head growing heavy with no oxygen. “No one is going to-” Ned’s snarled words cut off when a loud gunshot rang out. A warm wetness hit the back of April’s neck as Ned’s hands went slack behind her.
Not bothering to look back as his body fell to the ground, not allowing herself to think about what just happened, or how close she’d come to just being killed herself, April beelined for Violet, dropping at her side and scooping her up in her arms. “Violet, wake up, Sweetie. It’s all over.” She’d been out of it too long. This whole time, April had expected her to wake up at any moment, but her niece hadn’t so much as twitched a finger. “Violet, wake up. It’s Aunt April. You’re okay. Wake up, Sweetie.”
“I thought you said she’d come out of it on her own,” Caden said, kneeling beside them.
“It’s been too long,” April whispered in a panic. “Come on, Violet. Wake up for me. Open your eyes. It’s all over, Sweetie. Come back to me.” She wiped away the beads of sweat on her niece’s forehead and carefully pushed her damp hair out of her face.
“Maybe you should get her to a hospital,” Blake suggested. “She did lose a fair amount of blood.”
April hadn’t even noticed that all of Tanner’s friends had closed ranks around her and Violet. She shook her head. “Violet’s never needed medical intervention before. Come on, Sweetie, open your eyes for me,” April pleaded. “I don’t even know what we would tell them.”
Violet’s hand moved and April instantly took it in hers. “There you are. That’s it. Wake up, Sweetie. I’m right here. It’s all over now.”
Violet nodded just as her eyes opened. “Aunt April?”
“Hi, Sweetie, how are you feeling?” April asked with tears in her eyes.
“Did Ned hurt you?”
Touched by her niece’s concern, April shook her head, forcing a smile. “No, I’m fine.” She would wait to tell her about Tanner and Echo for as long as possible. “Do you think you can sit up for me?”
Violet did, and her eyes grew big as she looked around at all of Tanner’s friends. “Where’s Daddy?”
“They just put him into that ambulance over there so he can go see a doctor,” Caden quickly informed her. April appreciated that he’d made it sound like it was no big deal.
Violet turned to where Caden had pointed, and April took that opportunity to carefully position herself so as to block Ned’s body from Violet’s view. He had a bullet hole in the side of his head that was bleeding out onto the pavement. Now that Violet was more alert, it was the last thing she needed to see.
As awful as it was, April was actually glad it was finally really over. Violet was truly free from that monster. “Why don’t we go to the hospital with Tanner,” April said. When Violet eagerly agreed, April picked up her niece, who lay limply in her arms, still exhausted from her ordeal, and started walking toward the ambulance with Tanner in the back. Hopefully seeing him alive and maybe even semiconscious would be less scary than trying to explain to Violet how he’d been shot trying to get to her.
When no one followed, April turned and stared at Tanner’s friends. “Aren’t you coming?”
“We can’t,” Caden said, a mixture of sadness and anger brewing in his steel gray eyes. “We all fired our weapons, so we need to stay here until we’re debriefed. An officer will need to get your statements, but we can worry about that later.”
Garrett approached her, the Texas Ranger she’d seen him with earlier, walking beside him. “April, I’m told you’ve met Ranger Hayes Wilder. We work together, and he’s agreed to go with you and Violet to the hospital.”
April nodded, not sure what to say to the man, and turned to Garrett. “I thought we could go in the ambulance with Tanner,” she said, eyeing the paramedics that were already closing the back doors.
“They want to get him there as quickly as possible,” Garrett said. “Listen, I trust Ranger Wilder. He’ll get you there safely and stay with you until we can join you. Come on.” Garrett guided April to Wilder’s vehicle with Caden following close behind.
