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“Aurora!” Hunter roared as he took the scene in. He raced towards me, ignoring the gun I held on him. Hunter carefully grabbed the handgun from me and yanked his phone out. Speaking quickly into it, Hunter placed it down and checked the cop was dead and then turned to me. Sharp eyes studied me, and Hunter held a towel to my shoulder while murmuring soothing words.
“Hunter!” Gauntlet yelled as he ran into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later. He took one look around and swore fluently.
“Need to call cops. Aurora needs a hospital, and a gunshot will be recorded and reported,” Hunter declared with a helpless shrug.
“What the fuck happened?” Gauntlet demanded.
“Don’t know. Found the front door bust open and discovered this. Aurora’s not said a word yet,” Hunter explained as I kept staring at Haynes’s body.
“His name is Haynes. He’s brother to one of the cops locked up for assaulting Klutz,” I whispered.
Hunter’s head jerked.
“Phone Nando and Goldberg and tell them we’re reporting a 911 call, but Ramirez can’t be on the scene. Ramirez is compromised where the Haynes brothers are concerned,” Hunter said.
Gauntlet nodded and dialled 911. I heard Gauntlet speak but kept staring at the body. This was the first person I’d shot up close. Of course, I believed I’d hit some at the warehouse with Casey, but their bodies had gone up in flames. This fucker was sharing my kitchen with me!
“Feel sick,” I muttered.
Hunter looked alarmed, reached to the sink, and pulled down a bowl. He held it on my lap as Gauntlet hung up.
“Klutz is on his way,” Gauntlet said. He crouched close by, and I flinched back.
“Aurora, it’s okay. Nobody’s going to hurt you,” Gauntlet promised, and his hand rose to rub my hair and smooth it down. I winced as he touched a raw patch.
“I think Haynes pulled my hair out,” I whispered, my hand raising to touch the spot Gauntlet had. It was raw and painful, so I let my hand drop.
Sirens screamed to a halt outside my home, and two uniformed officers rushed in. I recognised them as Bobby Horton and Dan Lucas, and both cops stopped and stared at the scene. Another car screeched to a stop, and Nando Hawthorne and Goldberg walked in.
“Shit, this is a fucking mess!” Nando swore.
“Get a perimeter up and allow Klutz to enter the living room and nowhere else,” Goldberg announced as he got on his phone and called the chief. Other cars were pulling up, and I could hear Nando telling officers what to do. Clearly, the officer’s down call had got attention by the number of people turning up.
“Back the fuck off and do as ordered. The chief is on his way!” Nando roared at someone as Gauntlet picked me up and carried me into the living room.
“Is she the wife of the guy Haynes and Zucker attacked?” a male cop pressed.
“What’s it to do with you, Irons?” Goldberg demanded.
“Just asking, detective. Seems fucking odd that Hayne’s brother’s lying dead in her kitchen,” Irons replied.
I closed my eyes and let the sounds drift over me. I didn’t want to know anything else anymore.
Chapter Nine.
Aurora
Isat shell-shocked in a booth as a nurse cleaned my wound and declared it a through and through. A doctor was coming to check on me, one Klutz knew called Doc Gibbons, and then it would be stitched. Cops were hanging outside, but the exiles were full of force alongside the old ladies. Casey and Klutz hadn’t left my side, but Phoe had barged her way in and told the ER doctor to bugger off and fetch either Doc Gibbons or Doc Paul. Nobody bothered to argue with Phoe, as she’d given several large donations over the years to the hospital.
Klutz informed me Nando was outside waiting for a statement, and I nodded dully. A man meant to protect and serve had attacked me in our home. Naturally, I didn’t feel very safe, nor did I want Klutz or Casey to leave me. Everything had happened so quickly, and I was still taking the time to assimilate it. I felt a genuine sense of violation that my haven had been invaded by an evil asshole who’d been intent on hurting and killing me. As people rushed around me, I clung to Klutz’s hand, profoundly understanding how he must have felt when approached by those two cops.
Nando came in and offered a sweet smile. Behind him followed Goldberg, and they both held a friendly stance.
“Aurora, can you tell us what happened now?” Nando asked gently.
A broken sob left my mouth as I began to cry, and Klutz and Casey wrapped arms around me.
“Yes,” I managed to get out between wails.
