Yanking my phone out of my pocket, my fingers shook as I scrolled through my contacts, trying to find her number. It took me three tries to call her, and finally, I pressed the phone to my ear, closing my eyes again and breathing deeply as it rang.
“Hello?” she grumbled, her voice deep with sleep.
“Josie!” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low and the panic at bay. “The bar is under attack?—”
“What?” she screeched, fully awake now.
“JR will come for you, but lock the doors and hide. Do not come out for anyone.”
“Lizzy, what the hell?—”
“Just do it!” I hissed just as the gunfire stopped. “Oh, God.”
“What is it?”
I didn’t say a word, just sat there terrified as I heard pounding on the outer door. My heart was in my throat as I fought wave after wave of nausea. I didn’t even realize I was squeezing Willa too tightly until she started crying and wiggling.
“Sorry, baby. Just stay still.”
“Lizzy, what’s happening?” Josie hissed.
But I didn’t dare say a word. Not when I had no idea who was on the other side of that door. Footsteps echoed through the other room, coming closer and closer to the bathroom. It wasn’t JR. He wouldn’t stroll around outside like that. He gave me specific instructions, and he wouldn’t stray from them.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at my baby girl.
As if she could sense that something was wrong, she let out a horrible cry that no doubt gave away our location.
“Josie,” I whispered, staring at the door, my heart pounding with every second that passed.
The footsteps grew closer. The handle started to turn.
“Tell my family I love them.”
“Lizzy—”
I spun, cradling Willa against me as I pressed her against the wall, protecting her with my body. The door crashed open and I screamed, my whole body going rigid as a single shot was fired.
But I wasn’t hit.
Something crashed into the vanity, then fell against my back. I screamed again, sure I was about to be attacked. Willa cried against my chest, terrified just as much as I was. I could feel it in her little body.
“Lizzy!”
I almost didn’t recognize the voice over the terror wracking every bone of my body. But when a hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me, I slammed my fist back, screaming until I finally recognized JR’s face.
Relief washed over me, followed by an uncontrollable shaking and a massive amount of tears that I knew wouldn’t stop anytime soon.
“It’s okay. It’s over,” JR said, tugging me to my feet.
As I turned to look at the body on the ground, he gripped my neck, forcing me to look at him. “Don’t look. Okay? Keep her close.”
I did as he said, forcing myself not to look back, though the slick liquid on the ground under my feet told me everything I needed to know. A man was dead, and it was gruesome.
I didn’t even realize I was still clutching the phone in my hand until I heard a distant shouting. I held it out to Jr, barely able to speak. “It’s Josie,” I whispered. “I told her to hide.”
Nodding, he took the phone from me, keeping his voice low as he led me into the office. Everything blurred around me through the tears streaming down my face. I didn’t understand yet what had happened. None of this made sense.
Yet, it felt very personal.
