Page 113 of Dirty Legacy

She touches my cheek. “Is everything okay?”

I hold her hand and nuzzle against it. “Yeah, angel. Everything’s okay.” I kiss her fingers before joining my sister and Danielle. They hug me and Rowan lets out a single, hopeless sob against my chest, which shatters my heart into glinting pieces. I touch Danielle’s hand and she presses it back, lips pressed tight.

“He’s going to be okay,” I tell her, but she’s pale and seems so small.

“What if he’s not?” Her voice is tiny. Her eyes dart to Rowan and she grimaces. I can tell she’s trying to be strong for her daughter, but it’s hard.

“He will be.”

There’s not much else to say after that. Angie joins us and we remain in a tight huddle, killing time, doing not much more than staring at an old TV playing reruns of Frasier in the corner of the room.

I start to feel like nothing will ever happen, like we’re trapped in a strange limbo between now and the future, when the door opens. A fit, middle-aged man in scrubs enters. He’s got the broad chest and the big, fine hands of a surgeon, a clipboard held out like a shield in front of him.

“Ah, Cathal Maguire’s family?” He looks at us expectantly.

“I’m his wife.” Danielle stands, even though I can tell she doesn’t want to. I’m proud of her though. “Is he okay?”

“The procedure went well,” the surgeon says in that brisk, clipped way his profession forces. “We removed the bullets and repaired the damage we could. There’s going to be a long recovery and no guarantee he’ll walk right again. One bullet fragment clipped his spine.”

“But he’s alive?”

The surgeon looks surprised. “Nobody told you? Yes, oh, yes, he’s doing well. You can see him in about an hour, though he won’t be all the way awake yet⁠—“

Danielle breaks down into relieved sobs. The surgeon frowns at her like he doesn’t know what to do. I stand and guide her back to Rowan and Angie, all three women crying now.

“Thank you,” I tell the surgeon. “I’m his son.”

“Your father’s a lucky man. Any one of those shots could’ve been the end of him.” The surgeon checks the door behind him. “The man who brought him in⁠—“

“I understand he’s in police custody?”

“Yes. Well. He saved your father’s life.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“Do you have any questions?”

I ask him what I can, but there isn’t much more to learn. He leaves and we’re alone again, but the feeling in the room is vastly different. Danielle laughs for the first time and even Rowan’s smiling. Their relief is like heaven.

I make a call while we’re waiting. “Connor Maguire. Haven’t heard from you in a while. I was starting to think you forgot all about me and my very generous retainer.”

“How are you, Tyler?”

“Well as can be expected. What can I do for you?”

“You know my associate Marcus Boyd.”

“How’s he holding up? I always tell him he’s got a job at the firm if he’s ever interested. He’ll make a great lawyer.”

“He’s in need of your services.” I give him a brief rundown of what happened.

“Marcus should be fine. They’ll question his ass all day and night and that car’s gone forever. Did he have anything illegal in the vehicle?”

“Not sure. I doubt it though.”

“Good. Alright. Cops don’t toss a guy in jail for saving a life. I’ll find out what I can and deal with it. No worries though, he’ll be okay.”

Whatever the charges will be, if there are any, Tyler and his army of morally dubious lackeys will use every legal trick to bring my friend back home.