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I had no choice but to stand up.
Rising seemed to get his attention quickly. Once I was up, Landon moved to the girls and Gyth rolled a little closer to block them all. Hoping like hell this didn’t set the guy off even more, I raised my hands up in an unthreatening manner. The pistol-whipped back and forth before it was soon trained straight at my chest. I was about to use the conflict resolution I’d learned over the years to hopefully stop more bullets from flying, but then I heard someone scream, “nooooo” and my blood ran cold.
Instinct kicked in as the crazed gunman turned toward the sound and I simultaneously leaped for him. I hit him like a freight train. Taking him to the ground, the gun flew out of his hand, but not before he got off a shot or I could immobilize him.
The next thing I knew, Gyth was next to me, still in his chair, and had his foot pressed to the guy’s back. Chair or no chair, the man’s legs were strong, his body massive, and the man on the ground wouldn’t be getting up. My buddy may have been injured and working his way back the best he could, but he was still a force to be reckoned with. Some days he was in the chair and other days he would walk with a cane depending on the pain.
Gyth motioned for me to go. I didn’t hesitate, taking off toward sweet little Jurnee who hadn’t gotten up from where I saw her fall when I tackled the shooter. What was she thinking running right out into the middle of a dangerous situation like this?
The bar was in utter chaos. More people were running for the exit, so I was having to weave in and out of them like I was back on the field during my old football days.
I reached Jurnee and hit my knees hard. She was on her stomach and deathly still. Not wanting to hurt her, I slowly turned her to her back, and all the air left my lungs in an audible whoosh. Her blood-soaked shirt told me she had been hit. The fucker nailed her in the right shoulder, but it didn’t go through. I hoped to God it hadn’t damaged any muscles and she would be okay.
Ripping my jacket off and then pulling my t-shirt over my head, I pressed my shirt against her wound as I hollered for Landon to get someone over here to help her right the hell now. She needed medical attention and quickly. Just as I was about to lose my ever-loving mind, I heard the sweetest sound.
“Braxton?”
Looking down into the depths of the most beautiful, soulful eyes I had ever seen, my body relaxed at the notion she would be okay. Yet at the same time, I was so pissed at myself for not protecting her. She didn’t deserve this, and right then and there I vowed to myself I would never let anything happen to her again, she was the most captivating person I had ever met, and I could have lost her before I even got the chance to get to know the woman she had become. Lost in thought and having not responded, she spoke again.
“Are you okay? Are our friends going to be alright?”
She had just been shot and she was worried about everyone else. Just went to show the type of person she was, and whomever she let into her life was damn lucky. I hoped that from here on out I was one of those people. “We’re all okay, it’s you I need to take care of. Just hold on, help is on the way. You were really brave, that being said you shouldn’t have done what you did, but we will get into that later.”
“But I was…”
She started and didn’t get to finish as cops and paramedics filled the place, rushing over. Just then Alley and Summer swarmed in on us as well. Summer being a nurse wanted to take care of Jurnee, but the paramedics pushed us out of the way and before long had her on a stretcher and heading out the door.
“You two ride with her to the hospital and let us handle the cops. We will be right behind you,” I said looking into my sister’s tear-filled eyes. I knew she was scared and worried, but Jurnee would be okay. “She is going to be fine, they will take good care of her. I’ll be right behind you,” I said once again. As the girls took off after their beloved friend, I turned to mine and the cops who now had the drugged man in cuffs and were hauling him out the door.
The other man who had been shot was already gone, along with his lady friend and my friends were speaking to the police, giving their statements on what went down. I headed over in their direction, anxious to get this done and get to the hospital to check on my girl.Wait what did I just say? My girl. Umm, I didn’t think that could be right and yet it felt as if it rang as true and loud as the church bell at midnight on Christmas Eve.I wasn’t going to deny the feelings currently stampeding through my mind.I needed to get this settled and get out of here. I had every intention of exploring the emotions swirling one by one through my mind and just hoped Jurnee would be on board.
Gyth, Landon, and I walked into the hospital to find Alley, Summer and an older couple I assumed must be Jurnee’s parents, sitting in the waiting room. I had met them before, but that was when the girls were young and I would drop Alley off at their house, so it had been awhile. They all wore concerned looks and the women had tear-streaked faces. I knew from being in the military and having experience with gunshot wounds, that Jurnee would be okay. Still, it was not easy to deal with, especially given how it all unfolded.
Approaching the group sitting on the hard, uncomfortable, plastic chairs, I gestured for the other guys to follow me. Looking at my sister’s crushed expression, I could tell that she was having a difficult time waiting to make sure her best friend was okay. “How’s she doing?” My gut was tight as I asked the question.
“She’s in surgery right now,” Alley replied as she took a deep breath before continuing. “We will just have to wait until she’s out to know the extent of her injuries. This is killing me, Braxton. She was there because I asked her to come. When she got there she almost left and if I would have let her, this wouldn’t be happening to her right now.” Huge sobs wracked my sister’s body as Summer and the older lady both hugged her from each side. I felt even worse for not stopping this from happening. Not only was Jurnee hurt, but my sister and the others were devastated.
“This is in no way your fault, don’t even go there, sis.”
Alley seemed to remember everyone standing around and swiped furiously at her eyes to get rid of the tears that had pooled in them. With a hiccup, she swallowed and took a deep breath, wrestling for control of her emotions. Then looking over at the older couple, she started some introductions. “Mr. and Mrs. Collins, this is my brother Braxton, and his friends Gyth and Landon.” She didn’t really meet Landon’s eyes when she said his name, but what I noticed is that he looked crushed at how upset Alley was. At that moment, I suspected I had been missing something major going on in my sister’s life for an exceptionally long time.
Reaching out, I took Mr. Collins’ outstretched hand and told him how sorry I was for what happened to Jurnee. His eyes were mixed with equal measures of anger and sadness, leaving me feeling awful once again, awful for not protecting his little girl and everyone else there tonight.
“Braxton, it’s been a long time, but I remember you from back in high school,” the older man said.
“Good to see you, Mr. Collins, I am just sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
“Please, please, call me Johnathan.”
“Okay, Johnathan it is. The guys and I would like to take a seat and wait with you until Jurnee comes out of surgery if that’s okay?”
“Yes, please sit,” her father said, motioning to the empty chairs. Mr. Collins shook the other guys’ hands and told Landon he remembered him as well.
As we all sat in silence, waiting for someone to tell us anything, I couldn’t help but think about everything that had transpired this evening. From finally being out of the war zone, knowing my sister and I would be spending time together again, to hanging out with my friends and the start of the new business. But what I wasn’t expecting at all was Jurnee walking into the bar and pretty much shifting my entire world on its axis. She had me from that first moment and right or wrong, this was happening. Because I was a goner.
I must have been lost in my thoughts because the next thing I knew someone was talking.
“Who’s here for Jurnee Collins?”
