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“Are you hit?” she asked.
“It’s not me.”
She dutifully lifted her radio and made a request for an ambulance and more backup. I dimly heard the words officer down, but my attention was all for Wilder.
“You weren’t supposed to get hurt,” I whispered, using my free hand to take his. I lifted it to my lips, pressing a kiss on his knuckles.
“I had to impress you somehow.”
“Getting shot is a stupid way to impress me. Don’t do it again.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“Next time, buy me some flowers and call it a day.”
“Sure. I know how much you love magnolia.” He closed his eyes, his grip loosening.
I looked up, blinking back tears. The pain in my chest was so tight and raw I thought my heart might stop just so the feeling would go away. How had I screwed things up this royally? Deerling was dead, Wilder was… Wilder wasn’t doing great.
I couldn’t have done this worse if I’d tried.
Cash was standing next to me, though I didn’t remember seeing him come in. He crouched down next to me, a phone pressed to his ear. Giving me a quick once-over, he said into the receiver, “Yes, sir, I think she’s okay. I’ll get her to call you as soon as she can.” A pause. He glanced at Wilder. “I don’t know.” He hung up.
I stared at the phone. “C-Callum? Was it you…with his voice?” I pressed harder on Wilder’s ribs, hoping the pain might make him wake up. He didn’t respond.
“He called me when he saw the news. There’s a speaker jack at the door, for a walking mic, I guess? No idea. I plugged my phone into it. Your uncle’s idea, which makes sense. Insanity seems to run in your family. You’re out of your mind, you know? Broadcasting this for the whole damned world to see.”
“I keep telling her she’s crazy,” Wilder mumbled, and I started to cry. The relief of him still being alive was too much to keep inside.
“Yeah, well, you and I finally agree on something. How did your uncle even have my phone number?” This question was directed to me.
“I have no idea, but it’s Callum. He’s probably had it since you and I started dating. Perks of being a king, he just knows stuff.”
Cash got to his feet as the paramedics arrived. I was grateful to the sheriff for his decision to plan for the worst, even though the worst ended up with him dead.
The crew gently moved me aside, replacing my hand with a big gauze pad. I waited as long as I could before letting go of his hand. When they pulled him away, my heart sank, not knowing if it would be the last time I’d see him alive.
Another paramedic wrapped me in a blanket and led me outside. The parking lot was swarming with police cars, not all of which had the Franklinton Sheriff’s Department logo. Josie was talking to a female plainclothes officer, and I was taken to an ambulance before I could talk to her.
I wanted to thank her. To let her know, somehow, that what she’d done was worth it. The paramedics were having none of it. They sat me in the back of an empty ambulance and checked me for injuries and signs of shock. I barely noticed them. Cash and Matt were talking to officers next to a big police van, and two body bags were wheeled out one after the other.
At least it’s not three.
“There’s a fur…rug inside. I need it,” I announced, trying to get to my feet.
“We’ll get her,” a male paramedic assured me. When I blinked at him in confusion, he blushed. “The videos are everywhere. That one… The one with all the things he had?” He shook his head. “I’m sorry for your loss. I wish we’d all known right away where you were.”
I nodded dumbly. I guess I hadn’t made that clear initially.
“Is my friend going to be okay?”
The two paramedics taking care of me exchanged uneasy looks. “It’s hard to say. But his accelerated healing gives him a better chance.”
I stared at the church again, wishing I could burn the whole place to the ground. I was grateful my body w
as too weak and too tired to make that wish a reality.
“You need to send someone to the rural road near the turn for Folsom. There’s a family there. You’ll need police.” Probably a whole team of therapists. “Someone needs to help them.”
