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She took aim and squeezed off a shot that went between the men. The noise was deafening, making Eddy scream louder. She saw dirt fly up in the air behind her assailants and the newly wary looks on the men’s faces. After a beat, they started forward again, moving faster now, but the bellow of a bullhorn ripped across the parking lot before they reached her.
“Stay where you are,” an authoritative voice stated. “Put your hands above your heads.”
Kelsey looked past the men. While she’d been focused on them, police cars had arrived. The lot was full of them and an EMS truck. Thank God help arrived before she was forced to do something drastic.
“Hands where we can see them!” The men put their hands in the air and complied with the police demand.
Kelsey clicked the safety back on and carefully put the gun back in her bag, glad to get it out of her hold. Without waiting for permission from the police, she rushed toward where Cole lay on the ground. He was face down on the pavement, his head twisted to one side. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands on his back. She could feel that he was breathing, but it seemed unsteady to her.
“Cole,” she said, leaning closer and struggling to be heard over Eddy’s screams. Police officers swarmed past her to subdue the assailants. Knowing they’d do their job, she kept her focus on Cole, willing him to open his eyes. “Cole, can you hear me?”
“Ma’am.” A paramedic put his hand on her shoulder. “Let us take care of him.”
She got to her feet, giving them space to work. There was nothing she could do for Cole, so she pulled Eddy from the baby sling and held him tightly against her, trying to soothe him as she watched the paramedics assess Cole. She felt so helpless—unable to help Cole, unable to soothe Eddy whose screams continued. Had she damaged his hearing by firing the gun so close to him? Was he hurt or just frightened? God knew she was terrifiedandfurious.
She tried to suppress the anger she felt at this entire situation. Logically, she knew it was important to stay calm, hold it together, so she could explain what happened to the police and bring some justice to this mess. But all the logic in the world couldn’t stop her hands from shaking or her heart from thundering in her chest. She watched as the paramedics carefully rolled Cole over and strapped him to a backboard. There was blood on the side of his face that had been pressed to the pavement. She wanted to touch him, soothe him.
“Ma’am, can you answer some questions?” An officer had approached her.
“I’ll try,” she said, dragging her focus from Cole. Over Eddy’s shrieks, she did her best to explain about the car hitting Cole, the men coming at her, the fight, and the shot she’d fired into the ground.
“Did you recognize your assailants?” another officer, this one in a suit, asked.
“No,” she said. “The attack wasn’t personal—they were hired for this job. They mentioned a boss who’d given them orders.” She told the police about the threat she’d been under and her father’s disappearance. “Look up the reports,” she said after she gave her name and Cole’s. “That kidnapping a few days ago in San Diego was meant for me. I think you’ll find that those guys were responsible for it.”
Cole was in the back of the ambulance by then. The doors were still open, and she could see the paramedics starting an IV in his arm. They’d leave with him any second—leaving her behind. She couldn’t let that happen, so she walked toward the EMS vehicle, the police officer keeping pace with her. She knew he was asking more questions, but she ignored him.
“I’m coming with you to the hospital,” she announced when she reached the back of the ambulance.
“It’s best it you don’t,” one of them said. “The police’ll—”
“I’m coming.” She cut him off and grabbed a handle to pull herself into the vehicle. She didn’t intend to interfere with their work, but she had to be near Cole. She took a seat on a bench opposite where Cole lay on the gurney. No one else tried to argue with her, which was gratifying, but one of the paramedics leaned down to whisper something to the police officer. She could guess what they were saying. Most likely something about how she was in shock. She damn well might be. Her skin was cold, her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and waves of nausea were going through her. She’d be okay, but Cole…
With her eyes on him, she rocked back and forth on the bench, doing what she could for Eddy, who was still inconsolable.
“We’ll meet you at the hospital. We have more questions, Miss Reeves,” the police officer said.
She nodded her acknowledgement, and a minute later, the ambulance doors slammed shut and the vehicle began moving. One of the paramedics stayed by Cole’s side monitoring him, but the other came to kneel in front of her.
“I’m Alex,” he introduced himself. “Let’s check you and the baby out.”
“No need to check me—I’m fine,” she said, refusing the care for herself. She laid Eddy on the padded bench next to her so the paramedic could look at him. She refused to take her hands off her baby, but Alex worked around her. He put a stethoscope to Eddy’s chest, not that Kelsey thought he could hear much over the racket Eddy was making. After that, he checked the baby’s limbs. Eventually, Eddy began to calm under the paramedic’s gentle touch. The man must have kids, or maybe Eddy had just worn himself out with screaming.
Cole had still not awakened. He had an oxygen mask over his face and an IV in his arm, but neither appeared to be helping. His color was still ashen. Why didn’t he come around? Kelsey tried to force herself to be calm, to take in slow, steady breaths. She needed to be strong for all of them but a little voice in her head asked, what would she do without Cole?
EIGHTEEN
With relief, Kelsey felt the ambulance slow before it turned into the hospital. A few seconds later, the vehicle backed into a bay and the doors were opened from the outside.
“I need you to sit tight while we unload the gurney,” Alex said to her as he and his partner prepared to move Cole. She waited while they pulled him from the ambulance. He was whisked through a set of double doors with the paramedics and other medical personnel at his side.
“I’ll help you inside, miss,” a man with a name tag that readEricsaid. He took her arm and helped her step from the ambulance. Her legs were shaky, but they’d hold. All she wanted to do was follow Cole, so she could see what the ER was doing for him. “Take a seat.” Eric gestured to the nearby wheelchair.
“I can walk.” No matter how shaky she felt, the last thing she wanted to do was sit. She already felt helpless enough.
“I’m sorry. It’s hospital policy.” Eric spoke in a firm but kind voice.
She didn’t want to get Eric in trouble or waste time arguing, so she sat in the chair with Eddy on her lap. When Eric headed for a different set of doors from the ones Cole had just disappeared through, though, she balked. “I need to be with the man who came in on the ambulance.”
