AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Handley Barratt found us walking up the road. He and his bodyguard. They left us a few blocks from here, as close as they could get it. Handley somehow slowed the blood with his first aid kit, but the bullet is still in there. Kimball shot her. Where is Haldyn? Where is she? Kimball had her. Have you found Haldyn yet? What about Brett Naylor?”
“Naylor was taken to County Gen. This place was locked down. He’s being prepped for surgery. Haldyn is here. She was shot when we took down Kimball. He’d brought her here after Wilson hurt her in the van,” Daniel said, putting one arm around Madison’s waist. He guided her to the glass entrance to the ED. “She’s in surgery now. Let’s get you inside. Get you checked out.”
Heather’s twin stayed at Jarrod’s side. She was first through the pneumatic doors.
People came from everywhere.
Including Madison’s mother. She cried out, yelled her daughter’s name when she saw Madison. The memory of her face when she saw her daughter was seared into Jarrod’s head forever now.
Jarrod just kept going where Murdoch’s brother waved him. “Here! Get her in here then get back. Get a team in here.”
People almost shoved Jarrod out of the way.
But they had Hope and Madison back. When Haldyn woke, he was going to be there to tell her. They had Hope and Madison back now.
102
All they could do now was wait. Heather somehow ended up in the corner of the surgical waiting room, after she’d changed out of the blood-soaked shirt—someone in the ER had given her a T-shirt with W4HAV printed on it, but she didn’t remember who. One of Cashlyn’s friends, she thought.
She’d been in this exact waiting room several times before. She wouldn’t forget.
Hope was in surgery now. She’d opened her eyes on the gurney. She’d seen Joy and said their sister’s name immediately. She’d recognized Joy and smiled. She’d squeezed Joy’s hand. And then Hope had looked at Heather.
She had reached for Heather. “I’m…okay…Heath. I’m okay…promise.”
“You will be. No matter what. I’m sorry. So sorry. Hope, I…”
“Not your fault…Super…Heath. Can’t always fight the bad…guys…for me, you know. But…we Colesons have…fight them together…sometimes, too. Love you. Both of you. Rest of us, too. No matter what.”
There were other people there. TSP. Her breath caught. It sank in—there were going to be dozens of TSP flooding the hospital after what had just happened. Cops dead, cops injured, forensics techs injured. Colesons involved. The media loved harassing her family, after all. This was going to be like a party for the media now.
But the TSP would be everywhere.
Not all of them would be good. And they would be there—looking at her family. Questioning. They would be there—near her family.
Steve had a lot of friends in the TSP. Especially in Wichita Falls.
Someone sank into the chair next to hers. Trapping her there next to the wall.
Heather turned a little. Pulled back. Instinctively.
She looked up. Into dark eyes and a classically handsome face. His hurt was in his eyes. He loved Haldyn. Deeply. She had never fully realized that before. “Any…word on Haldyn?”
Her boss shook his head. Just watched her for the longest time.
He was one of the ones who had always scared her the most. It was time she admitted that to herself. He was big, strong, arrogant and powerful. Just like Steve.
So well connected in the TSP. Just like Steve.
No. Daniel McKellen was even more powerful than Steve Wilson could ever be. That terrified her so much.
Heather had never trusted why she had gotten Major Crimes in the first place. She suspected, though—the transfer requests that had been denied so many times when she’d been a nobody female cop out there had been suddenly rushed through almost the instant her connection to the governor’s wife became known. Imagine that.
Connections, power—they went hand-in-hand.
He shook his head. Just stared at her. She knew he knew. Knew exactly what Steve had done to her. Everyone would know soon enough.
Heather just couldn’t find it in herself to care right now.
