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Liv’s head bobs against my shoulder as I take her away from the horror. I lower us to the floor by the front door. The glass coffee table lays in a million glittering pieces. There’s a bullet hole in the support beam in the living room. The furniture is at odd angles or tossed over. They put up one hell of a fight. I’m not sure how long I’m there, holding her to me. Jordy appears and crouches to wipe her face with a wet kitchen towel. He ends up smearing most of it, but after a while it works.
He forces me to look at him by putting his hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “Let me take her. You’re shaking.” His voice is gentle. It’s then I notice Liv shakes in my arms from my own movements. He sits next to me and slides her into his lap, cradling her to his chest.
I clench my fists to stop the shaking, but it doesn’t work. An unexpected sob escapes me, then another. As reluctant as I am to leave her, I stand and walk out the front door. The last thing she needs is me falling apart after what she’s been through, but my heart can’t take it.
I stare into the trees near the house, then lean over and hurl into the bush nearby. I’ve never felt more weak in my entire life. After a few heaves, I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Fuck.” I spit onto the ground and then straighten. A siren blasts in the near distance, and the blue and red of police lights illuminate the trees as they come up the path.
I head back inside and slump beside Jordy. Liv lets out a soft whimper and I take her back into my lap. She relaxes against my chest and I hold her tight.
“She’s going to be ok,” he says.
“Is she?”
Jordy doesn’t answer. Paramedics rush inside and take over for Mark. He lowers to his ass on the ground and scoots a few feet away. Garrett props him up with a hand on his shoulder. They both look exhausted.
They load Dylan onto a stretcher and get him outside. An EMT takes Liv’s pulse. “Can you bring her to the ambulance?”
I nod and carry Liv outside, setting her onto the waiting stretcher. The ambulance carrying Dylan heads down the path. They pull Liv inside a separate ambulance and a paramedic prepares to insert an IV.
Mark is in front of me, and I take a minute to register what he’s saying. My gaze never leaves Liv.
“I called Dr. Lane. She’ll be here soon.” I nod.
A police officer approaches, but Mark intercepts him and I jump into the ambulance and stay out of the paramedic’s way as she works on Liv. Soon we’re at the hospital. They take her away and I’m ushered to a waiting room.
I’m glad Mark called Dr. Lane. She’s the daughter of our family doctor, and one of the top trauma surgeons in the US. If anyone can save Dylan, it’s her.
Mark, Jordy, and Garrett show up a while later and take seats around me, staying quiet.
“They’re going to do a rape kit on her,” Jordy says. My entire being flinches, and my insides twist when he speaks.
I glare at the carpet. Scotty’s pants were at his ankles. He was dead or dying as we walked in. He touched her. Again. My hands twitch with the urge to kill, but she already did it for me. “How far did he get?”
Jordy winces, and something inside me dies. “I’m not sure. They knocked me out with something. I woke when you guys were there.”
“How did this happen, Jordy? We were so fucking careful,” I spit out and my face falls into my hands.
“I don’t know. But we’ll find out.” He grips my shoulder and I nod, sucking air into lungs that won’t cooperate.
“I need to call John and her dad.”
“I already did. They’re both on their way,” Mark says.
“Send the plane for her dad.”
Mark nods and walks away to make the call.
Dr. Lane nods at me as she rushes past us and into the surgery suite. She knows how precious time is for Dylan. A nurse fills her in as they rush through the doors.
Dylan took a bullet meant for Liv. Of that I’m sure. I’ll never be able to repay Dylan if he makes it out of this, but getting Dr. Lane here is the best I can do.
“Liv’s dad will land in the morning. I’ll send a car for him,” Mark says as he rejoins us.
Time passes and I do my best to keep a lid on my emotions. Jordy hands me a plain black t-shirt from the gift shop and I tug it on. John arrives and dread forms in my gut. His eyes blaze with an emotion I struggle to place. Part fury, part fear, part compassion. He nods and turns to Mark, who fills him in on what we know.
A while later, Mark moves to sit next to me. “Dylan doesn’t look good.”
