Page 96 of Wild Escape

She spun to the ground, and the weapon clattered to the tile.

I advanced and shouted to the concierge, "Call 911!"

Mortified, the concierge dialed as fast as she could.

My foot kicked Kenzie’s weapon away as I approached. I knelt down and put pressure on the wound. Warm blood oozed through my fingers.

The shoulder is full of nerves and blood vessels that feed the arm and hand. She'd be lucky if she ever used that arm again.

Kenzie wailed and moaned in agony as I tried to stem the tide of blood. It was the second time in less than an hour that I had to keep someone from dying.

Sirens drew near, and soon EMTs and paramedics flooded into the lobby, along with the fire department. Deputies weren’t far behind.

I backed away, let them take over, and stood guard over her pistol until the forensic investigators arrived to bag and tag it.

Once the scene was secured, I stepped into the bathroom and washed the blood from my hands.

EMTs stabilized Kenzie and transferred her to a gurney. She was rolled out of the lobby and stuffed into the back of the ambulance.

This time, Paris got her money shot.

I returned to the Porsche.

Daphne still sat in the passenger seat where I left her. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and slipped behind the wheel. I called Kenzie’s mother and informed her of the situation.

She was not thrilled. "I'm on my way to the hospital now."

I was 99% sure Kenzie would live. I wasn't so sure about Levi.

We returned to the station. I surrendered my duty weapon and filled out an after-action report in the conference room.

The sheriff poked his head into the room. “You’re on leave until further notice.”

“I still have a prisoner,” I said, nodding to Daphne. She sat in a chair next to me.

“I’ll assign her to that nitwit partner of yours. Where is he?”

“Infiltrating the Greek system on campus.”

The sheriff groaned.

He told me to see the head shrinker. Standard protocol. I had no intention of doing so.

“How often do you shoot somebody?” Daphne asked.

“Only when necessary.”

“Is that a lot?”

I nodded.

It was after 2:00 AM by the time we got back to the party at the Kappa house. Jack was on stage with the band in the backyard, cranking out classic covers along with some Wild Fury tunes.

The crowd loved it, and Jack had endeared himself to a new class of undergraduates. When he came off stage, the Kappa president came up to him and said, "Dude, the Fury has to play another show here! How about the Halloween bash?"

Jack pointed to me. "That's my manager. Talk to him."