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“I can do this.”
“Yes, you can. You’ve made it this far, Lillian.”
Sirens sound in the distance, a form of comfort just as Thayer being here is. “Calvary is coming," Willis announces. I thought it was for my benefit, but he’s grinning at Carlton. “For you. Hope orange is your color. You’re going to be wearing it for a while.”
I snicker, able to enjoy him messing with her now that I’m safe. She deserves it for what she tried to do to me. I’m normally not a spiteful person, but in her case, I’ll make an exception.
We slowly make our way toward the house, Willis’ hand on Carlton as a precautionary measure, Thayer’s on me because he cares. It’s a marked difference and it begins to warm me from the inside, thawing the ice that had taken root from fear.
As we approach, the place seems to light up, the air around it almost deathly quiet, only to implode from the interior out seconds later. Thayer immediately shoves me down, covering my body with his.
Willis does the same with Carlton, his protective nature, the oath he took as a cop, not allowing for anything else.
“What the hell?” Thayer mumbles or perhaps he’s yelling and it merely sounds muffled from the ringing in my ears?
“Your case just went up in flames,” Carlton cackles. “The suspect, too, if I’m lucky.” Our heads all whip toward her, shocked at her being happy someone might have just died at her hands. Yes, he was a murderer, but two wrongs and all that. “I’m on the fast track for lieutenant.”
“She can’t actually believe…” When she begins smiling, trying one after another as if she’s preparing for a photo op, I realize she does. In her head, she’s brought a killer to justice and that’s all that matters.
Her attempting to hand me over to him, rigging a building to blow, uncaring who got caught in the crossfire.
That’s all superfluous nonsense that has no bearing on the facts, in her warped mind.
“Will you help me pick out what to wear to the ceremony? I admire your fashion sense.” Carlton takes my silence as an agreement and starts asking my opinion on whether she should go with a dress or a nice pair of pants and blouse.
“Just nod,” Thayer encourages me. “Play along.” Doing as he says seems to appease her.
Tires kick up gravel, sending it flying around us as numerous vehicles arrive, the lights from them rivaling the illumination from the fire roaring mere feet away. It takes me a second to process that some of them are here to douse the flames and keep them from spreading while the others are for us.
Carlton is lifted and put in the back of a squad car while I’m lead to a waiting ambulance. I refuse to let Thayer go, a feeling that he seems to return, as his hand tightens on me. “Let her get checked out, man,” Willis prods him. “She’s surrounded by cops.”
Thayer snorts. “Not exactly a soothing endorsement considering Carlton was,” he’s already removed her right to be called a member of law enforcement, “one of us.”
Willis, however, pats him on the shoulder and wisely points out, “I don’t think she ever truly was.” I feel Thayer’s eyes on me as I walk toward the ambulance, the weight of his stare reassuring, the absence of it as my checkup begins allowing him to start working the scene causing an ache.
“Where does it hurt?” The EMT asks, effectively gaining my attention. I explain about my fall and he gently gauges the movement of my legs, finding the right a little tender. He secures it with an Ace bandage, informing me it should be x-rayed to ensure it’s merely a sprain as he suspects. He tests my arms next, reminding me I was shot. His glare alerts me that I probably should’ve started with that. “Luckily, it’s just a graze,” he says a few minutes later. “This will sting, though,” he explains not even a second before it does.
“Little warning would’ve been nice,” I whimper.
“Better if you least expect it.”
“Your bedside manner sucks.”
“That’s for doctors and nurses. My kind have side of the road manner, and mine is perfect.” I laugh at his humor, appreciating the distraction as he continues to probe the wound, wincing when he hits a particularly tender spot. “Sorry,” he apologizes, his tone sincere, though he doesn’t stop. “I need to search for any debris in it from your adventure.” He winks at the term, a sanitized and less scary sounding version than what it truly was.
Running for my life.
“We’ve got a body,” someone hollers, my head and the EMT’s swiveling to discover it came from a firefighter. Hoses are focused on that section; I’m assuming to fight the flames to make it safe for them to retrieve it.
I see Thayer and Willis cross my line of sight, their destination Carlton’s current location. They’re determined and I feel just a smidge sorry for her. But it’s quickly erased when I remember she brought it this down on herself.
“Ready for transport?” The other EMT inquires
“I want to stay here,” I inform him, preferring to be close to Thayer, even if it’s from a distance while he works.
“Can’t. You need checked over to a degree I can’t do here.” My gaze darts to Thayer, who seems to know I need him. He says something to Willis, then strides toward me.
“You taking her?” He asks, unsurprised by the decision. The man nods and Thayer turns to me. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Promise.” With a sweet kiss that I take as another vow, Thayer urges me to get settled inside.
