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“That’s fine.” He turned to Agent Carlson. “Let her boyfriend go along with her.”

“You’ll stay with mom?” she asked Paul.

“Absolutely.”

She gave Paul a grateful smile, then lifted one hand away from Linc’s, and held his hand normally as they followed Agent Carlson down the hall.

19

Linc watched Leila’s every move as she started talking to the agent. He hated to see her trembling. He hated to hear her voice so shaky. And it about killed him when started to cry as she described pulling her dad down against her so they wouldn’t pull him away from her.

“I know this is difficult for you, Ms. Cloud,” Agent Carlson said. Another agent had come in with them, Agent Gilder. She didn’t say anything, she just took notes and observed.

“No, I’m fine. I want to give you as much information as possible so you can get these bastards who tried to kidnap my dad.”

“That’s what I want to go over with you again.” The agent smiled as he pushed the cup of lukewarm coffee toward her. “You heard three shots before you shot your dad’s pistol, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Was it one shot, pause and then two shots? Or was it two shots, pause and then one shot? Do you remember the sequence?”

Linc watched as she gnawed at her lower lip. “Why does that make a difference?”

“I’m just trying to get a full picture of what happened.”

“There was one shot…then another shot,” she looked up at him, her face suffused with confusion. “Then there was a third shot. I don’t know. I just don’t know. All I remember was that Dad was putting Mom’s present into the trunk. I heard the screeching tires and thought what an asshole, then Dad closed the trunk, walked past me so he could open the passenger door for me to get in. But before I could, I saw the van skid to a halt in front of us, and two men dressed in black with ski masks jumped out. The next thing I knew, I was on my hands and knees on the cement floor of the garage. I didn’t even know they had guns until I heard the shots.”

“You were found on your back, with your father lying on his back on top of you, how did that happen?” the agent asked.

“I’m not sure. I think I tried to get up after I heard the shots. I was worried for Dad. Then it was like he was shoved back against me, and we both toppled backward. I think he was trying to protect me.”

“I’m sure he was.” Agent Carlson nodded. “Can you tell me how you got your father’s gun?”

“It was after they tried to pull him off me. One of them leaned down and grabbed Dad’s arm and pulled.”

“Can you describe him?”

“He had brown eyes, and the gloves he was wearing didn’t reach the sleeves of his shirt. He was brown like me. So, more Hispanic or Middle Eastern, not African American.”

Detective Carlson nodded and continued to write notes. What else did you notice about him, any tattoos, distinguishing marks?

Leila shook her head. “No. Nothing.”

“Okay then, when he tried to pull your dad away from you, what happened then? I grabbed hold of Dad with both of my arms and locked one hand over my wrist real tight. I wasn’t going to let them take him. There was already so much blood on Dad’s chest.”

“You’re doing good. Then what happened?”

“The other man came over and started to help pull Dad away. That’s when I started to scream for help. I knew I wasn’t going to win. I was frantic. I was screaming, and struggling, then I saw Dad’s gun under the car beside me, and I grabbed it with my right hand. As soon as I had a good hold on it, I let go of Dad entirely, and I shot at the first guy. I knew I’d missed before I even took the shot because the gun slipped with all the blood on my hands. Before I could take another shot, the guy tried to hit me in the face, but I ducked down behind Dad. I fucked up, I should have taken another shot.”

“Stop it, Leila,” Linc whispered as he took her hand. “You handled yourself great. You and your dad are both alive. That’s a win.”

“Your boyfriend is right. Your dad is alive because of the steps you took.”

“Can I go out and be with my mom now?”

“Yes,” Agent Carlson said. “Can we get you another cup of coffee before you go back out there?”

“Is that what that was in the cup?” Leila teased.