Page 67 of Summer Affair

Around lunchtime, she was busy clearing out the room and setting it up for her next client when the loudspeakers that had been installed after the last hurricane came through the area crackled to life.

Brett’s voice came over the system, urgent and strained.

“Attention, all staff and guests. This is not a drill. We have an active shooter on the grounds. Repeat, there is an active shooter. Everyone, get indoors and lock yourselves in a safe space immediately. Employees, proceed to your designated stations.” The message repeated several times.

The blood drained from Andrea’s face as the announcement echoed in her ears.

They had trained for this. Once a month. She knew what to do. Knew it was up to her to keep people safe. Yet, somehow, her body and mind refused to focus.

Suddenly, she could hear screams from outside and the sound jolted her into motion. She rushed out of the massage room and into the lobby area, where Kara was standing looking very pale.

“Kara!” Andrea called out, her voice steady despite the panic rising in her chest. Kara jumped and turned to her, her expression mirroring Andrea’s urgency. “We need to get everyone inside. Now.” She rushed towards the front doors and opened them as several older campers rushed towards them.

“Please, be careful,” she called out. “Everyone inside.” She waved towards the few employees helping some of the older guests who needed help with walkers.

They herded the campers towards the pool house, moving quickly but trying to remain calm. Andrea’s heart pounded as she scanned the area for any sign of Dean or the shooter. She’d seen Dean serving guests at the pool deck moments before when she’d checked out her last client.

She wanted to call him on his cell phone, but she knew she had to stay focused on the immediate task of getting the guests to safety first. No doubt Dean was doing the same thing somewhere.

As soon as they had all of the employees and guests from the pool and bar area inside, Andrea locked the outer doors and moved everyone towards the back rooms, where they’d be out of sight. Then she finally pulled out her phone, her fingers shaking as she typed a quick message to Dean.

“Where are you? Please be safe. I’m in the pool house under lockdown.”

She hit send and stared at the screen, willing a reply to come. Nothing. The seconds stretched into agonizing minutes, and still there was no response.

When she couldn’t stand the wait any longer, she rushed from the massage room back to the locker room and grabbed one of the employee walkie-talkies. There was a bunch of chatter between Brett and Aaron and the rest of the security team.

“Last seen heading to the pool house…” someone said and her heart skipped.

Was the shooter heading right towards them? She glanced at the back door and held her breath. Was it locked? She moved over and flipped the bolt in place. What about the front doors? The glass was no match for a gun or a heavy deck chair.

“Two down near the back loading dock. We need an ambulance,” Aaron said.

“He’s on the run,” someone said, and she could hear them breathing hard. “I’ve got him cornered.”

She knew that voice well. Dean. Dean was chasing the shooter.

“Dean?” she screamed into the walkie-talkie.

“Clear this line!” Brett shouted back at her.

She held her breath.

“Dean, where the hell are you?” Brett asked.

“Just past the unicorn chair. Heading to the fort,” Dean replied a little breathless. “SOB is shooting…”

Just then Andrea heard the shots, and everyone in the room hiding with her cried out and jumped in surprise.

“I need to go,” Andrea said, her voice trembling as she looked at Kara.

“No,” Kara said firmly, placing a hand on Andrea’s arm. “You can’t go out there. We need to stay here. We have to keep everyone calm. He’ll be okay. He knows what to do.”

Andrea’s heart clenched with fear and frustration. Every instinct screamed at her to go help Dean.

“If it was Carter, what would you do?” she asked.

Kara glanced at the door and Andrea knew the answer. She’d rush out that door too.