My arms tighten around Kelcie as I check where Mrs. Adams is, and seeing she’s getting close to us, I snap, “Fuck. We have to run.”
Kelcie’s breaths come too fast as she starts having a panic attack, and not wasting another second, I grip her to me as I lunge forward, running for the wooded area behind a mausoleum.
“Stop!” Mrs. Adams yells. “Stop and face what you’ve done! Come back here!” Her voice grows shriller with every sentence.
I hear sirens as I dart between the trees, and when she fires another shot, I duck to my right and press my back against a large trunk.
Thank God! Someone must’ve heard the gunshots and called the sheriff’s department.
“I will kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”
Breaths saw over my dry lips as I look down at Kelcie, and seeing she’s unconscious and her lips are blue, the air is ripped right out of my lungs.
“No!” I crouch down and let go of her lower half so I can check her for bullet wounds. “Kelcie! Baby?”
There’s another shot, and it slams into the bark behind me. I instinctively duck while my hand keeps roving over Kelcie, but I don’t see any blood.
“Darlene!” I hear Sheriff Williams shout. “Drop the weapon and let’s talk about this. No one needs to get hurt. There’s been enough killing.”
“No!” she spits the word out. “You let them kill my baby and even helped that monster move out while Colby’s blood was still wet on the floor.”
“Don’t, Darlene!” The sheriff’s voice is tense. “I don’t want to shoot you. Please. Drop the gun. Let me help you.”
“The way you helped Colby? No! That good-for-nothing girl should’ve died with her family. Instead, she got to live and destroy my boy.”
I pat Kelcie’s cheek, willing her to come to. “Open your eyes, baby. Please.”
“Noooo!” Sheriff Williams hollers, followed by two gunshots, and I lean over Kelcie to keep her shielded from any stray bullets.
Seconds later, I hear Mrs. Adams cry, “Get off me. Let go. I have to kill them.” I hear her sob hysterically. “I have to. Get off. Noooo. They need to pay.”
“I’ve got her restrained,” Deputy Stone calls out.
Boots crunch, and as I glance around the tree, I see Sheriff Williams jogging toward us.
I adjust my arms and pick Kelcie up bridal style. When her head falls against my shoulder, her lashes begin to stir, and I freeze. “Baby? Open your eyes. Come on.” Finally, she comes to, and when I get to see her beautiful brown irises, a relieved smile spreads over my face. “There you are.”
“Is Kelcie okay?” Sheriff Williams asks.
“What?” Kelcie mumbles, then her eyes lock on the blood coating my neck, and they go wide as saucers.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “It’s just a scratch.” I sink down to my knees and cradle her. “It’s over. We’re safe.”
“Did either of you get hurt?” Sheriff Williams asks as he places his hands on his knees and leans over to look at us.
I lock eyes with Kelcie. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shakes her head while she sits up a bit straighter, then she rips off her glove, and her fingers probe the area on my neck where the bullet grazed me.
“I’m really okay.”
Her chin begins to quiver as her hands move all over my chest before she grips hold of the lapels of my coat.
“Come on,” Sheriff Williams says. “The ambulance is here. Let the paramedics take a look at you.”
When I climb to my feet with Kelcie still cradled in my arms, she says, “I can walk.”
I ease her onto her feet but quickly place my arm around her to keep her close to me.
