A bullet is lodged in her bulletproof vest.
“It caught the plate,” I inform her.
“I’m okay.” Tessa winces. “Mostly.”
Walker lands on his knees next to me. His hands are shaking.
“Talk to me.”
I’m not sure if he means Tessa or me, but I answer him anyway. “No blood. Her vest caught the bullet.”
Walker lets out a breath, his shoulder relaxing.
Tessa coughs. “Damn, that hurt like a bitch.”
A laugh bubbles up in my throat, and I’m unable to hold it in. Walker joins me, but when Tessa lets out a laugh, she flinches from the pain.
EMTs rush in, arriving quickly, having been on standby for the grand opening.
I move to make room, but Tessa catches my wrist. “Hey.”
Turning back to her, I place my hand on hers.
“Take care of him.”
My face scrunches in confusion, and Tessa nods to Walker, who is helping Santiago and Levi with the suspect.
“He acts tough.” Tessa flashes me a painful grin. “He’s not.”
Tessa releases me, and I finally step back as the EMTs work on her.
Unsure of where to go, I awkwardly shift on my feet. I know my guys don’t want me near the shooter, and the EMTs need space. It’s not like there’s a good place to sit, either.
I shuffle to the side and choose to hold up the wall.
The guys get the suspect cuffed and haul him to his feet.
My breath catches.
Abbott?
CHAPTER 51
LEVI
Violence is rarely as loud as people imagine. Movies make it seem like it’s always rapid gunfire or swords clashing together.
Today, it was two gunshots.
But it’s the screams that linger with me.
And when I saw Blake run to Tessa, I thought I was having a stroke.
The image returns to the front of my mind, and my chest tightens all over again.
Every few seconds, my eyes drift from the road in front of me to the passenger seat.
Blake stares out the window as her hands rest in her lap, fingers laced together so tightly her knuckles have turned white.
