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“The egg! Go there now.”
“I’ll drop you off first. I don’t want you and Noah in the line of fire. The robbers are armed.”
Her eyes went wide, and she put her hand to her mouth. “Oh my goodness.”
He turned on Boundary Street and zipped down to Bay Street. He pulled in the drive to his house and put the truck in Park. “I won’t come in.”
She leaped out of the truck and got Noah out of the back. “Let me know what’s going on.”
“I will.” Once she was clear of the vehicle, he backed out of the drive and drove for the bank.
“Shots fired. Officer down, officer down,” the radio squawked.
His veins turned to ice at hearing every cop’s worst nightmare. He knew every one of the officers on the force, and they were all good people. Most of them had families. Praying it was only a minor wound, he got to the bank as quickly as he could. Police cars and vans surrounded the building, and an ambulance came screaming to a stop behind him. There was nowhere to park, so he pulled his truck as close to a police car as he could and left it in the street.
Paramedics got out of their vehicle, and Bernard hailed them from in front of the building. “He’s over here.” He spotted Lucas and waved him over.
Because of the crowd of people standing around, Lucas couldn’t see which officer was down, and he stopped in front of Bernard. “Who was shot?”
Bernard’s attention stayed on the paramedics blocking their view. “Brace yourself, Lucas. It’s Vince.”
Lucas froze, and his tongue didn’t want to work. He licked his lips and managed to ask the question he feared most. “Is he dead?”
Bernard shook his head. “Chest wound. Don’t know much more yet.”
“Nellie. We need to get her.”
“The perps got away.”
“With the egg?”
“No. Response was too quick for them to get it, but they were yelling for the teller to get the box. They knew the number of the box, and they had a key as well.”
Lucas rubbed his forehead. “Carly’s key?”
“I don’t know. Has she seen it lately?”
“I’ll have to check. Last I knew it was in my safe.” Lucas couldn’t tear his gaze from the backs of the paramedics as they knelt over Vince. He wanted to be there encouraging his partner, but there was no room for superfluous bodies as they fought to save him.
“Go get Nellie,” Bernard said. “She’ll need you.”
“I want to pray for Vince first.” Barely aware of his surroundings, Lucas walked toward the huddled figures, and Bernard followed him.
He lifted his voice in a prayer for God to save his friend, for the paramedics and doctors to know what to do, and for Nellie and the twins.
“Amen,” Bernard said, and several other officers echoed his word.
Lucas turned and ran toward his truck. Vince and his family lived in Port Royal, and Lucas drummed his fingers as heidled through slow traffic until he hit Ribaut Road. When he was able to drive faster, he pressed his foot to the accelerator and zoomed out to the ranch home.
Nellie met him at the door and didn’t move to allow him inside. Her purse was on her arm, tangled in her long red hair, as if she’d been about to leave. “There’s an officer down, and you’re here. It’s Vince, isn’t it?” Her voice was strained, and her eyes were wet and full of fear. She grabbed his arm. “Is he alive?”
He embraced her and felt her trembling. “He’s been shot, Nell. The paramedics are working on him now.” He stepped back and let his arms fall to his sides. “Let’s meet them at the hospital. Where are the twins?”
“At Vince’s brother’s for the weekend. I’ll text him on the way and tell him to try to keep them from listening to any news until I can get to them.” Her voice quavered. “Will he live?”
Lucas wanted to reassure her, but that wasn’t fair either. “A gunshot to the chest, but he’s still breathing, so we have to cling to hope.”
She nearly fell as he escorted her to the truck, but he caught her before she could go down. Her face was set and strained, and she bit her trembling lip. He got her settled in his truck and got in to drive to the hospital.
