Brave Love

by Allyson Simonian

  “Jesus,” Fairbanks whispered. He went back to the closet, knelt down, and rifled through the boxes on the floor. “It has to be here,” he said, his tone desperate.

  Ethan’s jaw clenched. “What’s the make and model?”

  Fairbanks stopped his search and sat back on his knees. “It’s a Glock G30.”

  Not a semi-automatic weapon, Ethan thought, but a .45 that could do some damage.

  “Any other weapons?”

  The man shook his head.

  • • •

  As darkness fell hours later, Ethan and Mark were canvassing on foot on Gable Street. They’d finally had a solid lead on Nicholas’s whereabouts. A friend of his had been interviewed by one of the detectives, and had seen him downtown an hour before.

  “I’ll take Beach Street. You want to take Grove?” Mark asked.

  Ethan nodded and they separated.

  A shout broke out on the radio a short time later. “Suspect on Emery!”

  Ethan was only two blocks from there. As he ran toward the street, he could see a figure sprinting in the darkness. Quickly radioing his location, he ran faster, working to narrow the distance. Once he’d rounded the corner of Jefferson, he’d gained some ground.

  By the time Nicholas ran down Pearl, Ethan was only half a block behind. The teen ducked into an alley. As Ethan rushed into the mouth of the alley, Nicholas was skidding to a stop, apparently realizing too late the alley had no exit. Ethan drew his gun and shouted for the teen to put his hands in the air.

  Ignoring him, Nicholas turned and took off toward the end of the alley, then leaped onto the chain link fence blocking its end. But the fence was too high to scale, and Nicholas fell backward. Ethan rushed toward him, and Nicholas drew the Glock as he scrambled to his feet.

  “Drop it!” Ethan shouted as he skidded to a stop. His hand tightened on his own weapon.

  The teen’s hands were shaking hard as he waved the gun in front of him. His eyes were wide and wild; the kid looked terrified.

  “Easy!” Ethan called. Cautiously, he took a few steps forward.

  “What they’re saying about me . . . it’s not true!” the teen shouted. “I didn’t mean for anyone to die!”

  Shoving aside thoughts of James, his anger at the injustice, and his natural desire for revenge, Ethan struggled to control his emotions and aimed for a calm tone. “Just take it easy, all right? I’d like to lower this gun. Let’s both do that before someone gets hurt.”

  All the muscles in Ethan’s body were rigid. A drop of sweat slid down his back. “On the count of three, now. One . . . two . . . three . . .”

  The teen’s gun lowered a couple of inches, and Ethan said soothingly, “Good. That’s it.”

  A second later, the boy’s gaze flickered and he quickly raised his weapon.

  From the corner of his eye, Ethan saw Mark had entered the alley.

  “Drop it!” Mark shouted.

  “It’s okay, Mark. I’ve got it,” Ethan called out sharply, not taking his eyes off the teen.

  When Mark didn’t answer, Ethan darted a quick glance in his direction. Standing frozen, his gun aimed at Nicholas, it was as if his partner hadn’t heard him.

  This wasn’t going to end well; Ethan could feel it.

  The boy’s gun moved a fraction of an inch, and Mark’s gun went off a second after that. As Nicholas went down, the Glock fired and a bullet slammed into Ethan, taking his breath away. Falling backward onto the pavement, Ethan shut his eyes against a searing heat.

  He’d been wearing his vest and didn’t understand the pain until it dawned on him. Instead of hitting the vest, the bullet had hit his shoulder. Mark shouted into his radio as footsteps rushed into the alley.

  Rob, another officer, knelt beside Ethan. “We’re getting you help.”

  Ethan groaned and tried to shift his position. When he turned his head, he saw Nicholas lying lifeless in the darkness yards away.

  As Mark continued speaking into his radio, Rob took something out of his pocket and pressed it against Ethan’s wound, trying to staunch the blood flow. “Lie still.”

  Ethan didn’t know how long he’d been lying there before a siren pierced the night. Soon, medics surrounded him. Fire burned his shoulder as they strapped him to a gurney and loaded him onto the ambulance.

  He gritted his teeth as the ambulance took off, and thought of Paige. Part of him wanted her notified, but how would she feel about that? She wasn’t his girlfriend any longer. A bump in the road jarred his shoulder, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain.

  Several minutes later, the ambulance finally came to a stop at the hospital and he was whisked inside. Fluorescent lights whizzed by above him, nauseating him as the gurney was wheeled down a long hallway. Hurried voices talked about surgery and removing the bullet after hospital personnel took over.

  Soon Ethan was inside the OR. When a mask went over his nose and mouth, he breathed in, more than ready for relief from the intense pain.

  Chapter 38

  Paige had been hoping to hear an update from Ethan, but he hadn’t contacted her since he’d left that morning. She’d just arrived home after working a full day. As a frozen dinner heated in the microwave, she switched on the news. There was no coverage of the arson investigation.

  As she ate, she reflected on the evening before. She’d felt nothing but understanding from Ethan, but that wasn’t a surprise. What did surprise her was how easy it had been to share everything.

  All this time she’d been afraid of telling Ethan the truth, worried about his reaction, but he hadn’t looked as if he felt sorry for her. Of all things, he’d said she was brave.

  She went to bed an hour later, still thinking of everything. She considered texting Ethan as she plugged her phone into the charger, but decided against bothering him. All was quiet until three a.m., then her phone rang. Unease stirred as she sat up to answer.

  “Paige? It’s Melissa.”

  Apprehension swept coldly over Paige. There was no reason for Melissa to be calling at this time of night. In a tight voice, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Ethan was brought in earlier,” Melissa said as Paige’s heart hammered in her chest. “He was shot in the shoulder. He’s in surgery now to repair the veins and get the bullet out.”

  Paige gripped the phone as Melissa continued. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be all right.”

  But Paige could barely get past the word shot. She shut her eyes, willing what Melissa was saying to be true.

  “Paige?”

  “I’m here.”

  “Listen, it’s almost my break time,” Melissa said in a reassuring voice. “I’ll get somebody to cover for me and come pick you up.”

  But Paige wasn’t going to be able to wait. “No. I-I’ll get there myself.”

  “Don’t drive. I’ve got a cab company’s number in front of me. I’ll call them right now.”

  Swallowing hard, Paige said, “Okay.”

  Ten minutes later, she was dressed and waiting outside. As she paced the length of her porch, she wrung her hands together. By now she could have been at the hospital. She should never had agreed to wait for a cab.

  Knowing she couldn’t wait a moment longer, she ran down the steps. Just as she was opening the door of her SUV, the taxi pulled up. She scrambled for the cab. Once inside, she’d told the driver she was going to the hospital, then she bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried desperately not to cry.

  God, she needed to get a grip. Melissa had said Ethan would be fine. When she opened her eyes again, the cab was only a few blocks from the hospital.

  The driver pulled to the entrance and turned around with a frown. “Do you need help getting in?”

  Shaking her head, Paige quickly handed him the fare and a generous tip. Melissa was waiting at the reception desk when she hurried through the sliding glass doors. With a minimum of conversation, they made their way to the OR waiting room and sat down.

  Time dra
gged by slowly, the minutes feeling like hours as Paige’s mind churned. Back and forth she went, first worrying about Ethan and how he was doing in surgery, then regretting the time they’d spent apart because of her own fears. Over and over she berated herself, wondering if things could have been different if she hadn’t pushed Ethan away, then chastising herself for being so ridiculous.

  It was nearly twenty minutes later when Melissa stood again. “I’m going to have to get back to work.”

  Jerking her head up, Paige nodded.

  Melissa gave her a hug. “I’ll be back down as soon as I can. I’ll make sure they know you’re waiting here in case he comes out of surgery before then.”

  Visions of bullets and blood filled Paige’s mind after Melissa left the room. Ethan had to be okay; he just had to be.

  For the next two hours, she alternated between sitting and pacing the room. Her stomach was riddled with knots by the time the door opened and a doctor in green scrubs stepped inside. Paige was the only one in the waiting room, so he had to be there about Ethan.

  Squeezing her hands together, she walked toward the doctor. The sound of her heartbeat pounded inside her ears. At the very moment the doctor opened his mouth, a nurse came rushing into the room. She and the doctor spoke in hushed whispers before the doctor turned and started for the door.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he called over his shoulder.

  Falling into a chair, Paige gripped the armrests. Had they been talking about Ethan? Was something wrong?

  Fifteen agonizing minutes went by before the doctor returned. This time Paige felt too numb to stand.

  She swallowed hard. “Is he . . .”

  The doctor stepped up to her. “He’s fine. He had a reaction to the anesthesia, but that’s not uncommon.”

  Paige gasped out a breath. “He’s really okay, then?”

  The doctor nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “You can go see him if you’d like. They’re moving him from recovery to his room now.” Checking the clipboard he carried, he gave her a room number.

  Not trusting her legs, Paige continued to sit after he left. Adrenaline was still coursing through her body, buzzing through her along with a relief that made her weak.

  Melissa reentered the room a short time later. “I had a feeling you’d still be in here. I’m off shift now. Come on, I’ll take you to Ethan.”

  They walked to an elevator and rode up to the fourth floor. Paige’s heart thudded inside her rib cage when the elevator door opened. She blindly followed her friend down a hallway. When they stepped inside a room, Ethan lay there asleep on the bed, his face drawn and pale.

  “Have a seat, Paige. He should be awake again soon.” Melissa brought over a chair.

  Sinking onto the seat, Paige slid her hand into Ethan’s.

  • • •

  An image flickered and Ethan struggled hard, trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Moments later, though, the image slipped away.

  A machine beeped nearby. Unlike the last time he’d woken, there were no voices calling his name. It was tempting to allow the machine’s steady beep to lull him back to sleep; exhaustion still consumed him. But instead, he fought the fatigue and blinked his eyes open.

  Turning his head slightly, he took in the room around him. It was different from the one he’d first woken in. Flashes of what had happened filled his mind. He shifted, attempting to sit up, before a pair of hands firmly pushed him back onto the bed.

  “Ethan, no.” It was Melissa standing over him. “Lie back. You’re going to be fine, but you’ve got some stitches you don’t want to pull. Can you remember what happened?”

  Ethan gave her a slight nod.

  “You were really lucky.”

  He tried his voice. “Yeah.” The word came out in a rough whisper.

  “Paige and I have been here since you came out of surgery.”

  Paige? She was here? Turning his head, Ethan cringed as fresh pain sliced through his neck and shoulder. He couldn’t see her.

  “She just stepped out to update your mom on the phone.” Frowning, Melissa cocked her head as if listening, then walked toward the door. “Hang on a second, Ethan.”

  • • •

  When Paige hung up after talking with Ethan’s mother, Debra, on the phone, she turned to find Mark blocking the door of Ethan’s hospital room.

  Standing stiffly in the doorway, Mark glared down at her and said, “You’re not his girlfriend anymore.”

  Paige bristled at his hostile tone. “But I was just in there . . .”

  She knew officers were protective of one another, but this was crazy. She wasn’t going to hurt Ethan. As Mark crossed his arms over his chest, she sucked in a breath and prepared to argue.

  The door swung open and Melissa stepped out. “What’s going on out here?” She eyed Mark curiously. “Is there a problem, Mark?” When he shook his head, she looked at Paige. “You coming back in?”

  Paige nodded and then gazed up at Mark. His mouth pressed into a tight line, but a heartbeat later he stepped aside and let her enter the room.

  As she stepped inside, Paige gasped. Ethan was awake.

  “Ethan,” she said softly.

  Chapter 39

  The man paced in his living room as he watched the news channel’s coverage of Ethan Cole. Since taking a bullet, Cole had been billed as a hero. A hero? The stupid cop merely got in the way of a punk kid’s bullet.

  The man’s gut burned as he stared at the screen. He’d been watching Paige as she’d gone out with the cop, watching as they’d held hands and made eyes at each other. It had burned to see Paige with another man, but he could be patient. He could let her have her fun.

  Cole was part of the game. A small, insignificant part, to be sure. Let him have the media attention; he posed no threat. Soon enough, Paige would be his once again, and when she was, Cole wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. Hero or not.

  She’d be with him always . . . he’d make sure of it.

  Chapter 40

  “Mom, please . . .” Ethan was using the last of his limited energy to speak with his mother. Paige had handed him the phone when the call had come in. “I’m fine, and I don’t want you to cut your vacation short.”

  But it was as if his mother hadn’t heard a word. “We’re almost at the airport in Rome. We’ll be home by tomorrow.”

  Sighing, he glanced at Paige. “Put David on, Mom.”

  When she did, Ethan asked him to try to calm his mother. David placed his hand over the phone and spoke quietly with Debra before she came back on the line.

  “You’re really okay?” she asked.

  “I am,” Ethan said.

  David had been able to talk some sense into her; she was finally wavering. Debra gave a long sigh a minute later, and Ethan knew she’d been convinced. This was his mother’s first time being happy in forever. He wasn’t going to be the one to mess it up.

  • • •

  As the weekend passed, Ethan’s recovery progressed. On Monday morning, a physical therapist spent an hour with him, encouraging him to move his shoulder. While the motions hurt like hell, the therapist seemed pleased by the time he left the room.

  Now, a doctor was in. Wearing a white lab coat over peach-colored scrubs, she stood hunched over, examining his shoulder. Paige, who’d been with Ethan nonstop, even sleeping on the room’s reclining chair, had finally gone home for a change of clothes.

  To say the last weeks had been miserable was no exaggeration. But Paige’s presence now was brightening everything. Each time Ethan woke, she was there to help him, and it meant the world to him. That she cared enough to stay with him night and day spoke volumes, and Ethan suspected it meant that her feelings for him ran deep.

  Hopefully deep enough to resume their relationship.

  The doctor had asked a question.

  “I’m sorry,” Ethan said. “What?”

  The young woman tilted her head and repeated her question. “Do you live with anyone?
”

  Ethan shook his head. “No. I live alone.”

  The doctor made a notation on Ethan’s chart and hung the clipboard on the foot of his bed. “I’m planning to discharge you tomorrow. We can arrange to move you to a rehab facility for a few days.”

  Ethan frowned and waved a hand in the air. “I’ll be fine at home by myself.”

  She gave her head a small shake before launching into a discussion of how a few days in rehab would be helpful. There was physical therapy onsite, as well as staff to help patients dress and shower.

  Ethan was about to decline more firmly when the door opened and Paige stepped inside. The doctor turned to her and explained her concerns. “Will you be able to stay with him after he goes home?”

  Glancing in his direction, Paige hesitated for a second before saying yes.

  Ethan quickly clamped his mouth shut. If the doctor’s orders meant Paige staying in his house, sleeping under the same roof as him, then he’d be a fool to protest. And maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to convince her to give him another chance.

  Chapter 41

  On Tuesday, Paige had just helped Ethan settle into his bed when a car door slammed outside. Ethan’s doorbell rang moments later.

  “I’ll be right back,” Paige said.

  When she got downstairs and opened the door, Ethan’s mother stood on the front porch, twisting her hands together. With her skin pale and the dark circles under her eyes, Debra looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. Paige glanced past Debra to see that David had parked on the street and was coming up the walkway.

  “How is he?” Debra asked after she stepped inside.

  Paige hugged the other woman. “He’s okay, really. Go on upstairs and see for yourself.”

  David gave Paige a hug after he entered, then he followed Debra up the stairs. When Paige stepped into the doorway of Ethan’s bedroom a moment later, she found Ethan doing his best to convince his mother that he was fine. Within minutes, Debra calmed considerably. Obviously the phone call hadn’t been able to afford the same reassurance as seeing her son in person.