“Oh my god,” she breathes as she drops it and crashes to her knees beside me. Her hands flutter over my hoodie where it’s warm and sticky. “He shot you. Oh my god. We have to stop the bleeding.”
“It’s fine, come here.” Grunting, I clutch her close with my uninjured arm, stroking her hair. She flinches when I brush over a lump. I’m woozy and aching, but the only thing that matters to me is her. “I’m sorry, Thea. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let you leave.”
“No, shh, I’m sorry,” Thea whispers, hugging me until I wince. “Shit. God, I’m sorry I didn’t listen. I should’ve listened. I came here alone, it was so stupid, but I had to help her. I couldn’t let him hurt her like he hurt me, I—”
“You’re safe now. It’ll be okay, baby.”
She fusses over the wound, finding a dish towel to help stem the bleeding, and helps me sit up. I can’t tell if it was my shoulder or lower, my whole arm throbs. I can move it, so I don’t think he hit bone. If I’m lucky, it was a graze or a clean through and through. We shuffle further away from Coleman’s knocked out body.
“Can you stand? We have to get you to the hospital.”
“Yeah.” I lean on her for support. The red staining her pristine coat catches my eye. “The blood on your coat, are you—?”
“I’m fine. Just a little banged up.” She shows me her palm, where a shallow cut has mostly clotted over. “Broken glass. But I stabbed him with a screwdriver I found in the basement.”
The corner of my mouth lifts. “That’s my girl. Resourceful even in a crisis.”
Her lower lip wobbles as she pauses, really taking me in. “I love you so much.”
A band constricts around my heart. I almost lost her.
“I love you, too.” With a rough sound, I gather her in my arms, kissing the top of her head. “Won’t ever stop. My heart beats for you, sunshine.”
“How touching.”
We spring apart as Coleman climbs to his feet, the gun in hand. I step in front of Thea, shielding her as he takes aim.
“Come here, princess,” he commands.
A small sound catches in her throat. She buries her finger in the back of my hoodie.
“You willing to die for her?” Coleman’s voice is creepy as fuck, completely psychotic. “I’ve shot you once, now I’ll finish you.”
“I’m not letting you near her.”
Narrowing his eyes, he stalks toward us. I back up, keeping her behind me as we move into the next room.
The front door flies open and flashing lights illuminate the shadows in the living room. Shouts come from the front and back of the house.
“Freeze! Hands up!”
About fucking time.
Coleman’s eyes go wide as he whirls to face the cop and the gun trained on him from behind. More responders pour in from the front.
“Put the gun down on the floor slowly!”
“Officers, this is a misunderstanding.” Coleman shifts his demeanor, putting on his good teacher act. “This punk broke in.”
Thea and I shuffle out of the way. I stay in front of her, hands up to show I’m unarmed.
“Drop the weapon!”
I meet his gaze and smirk. “Game over, bastard.”
Watching Coleman’s expression crack as the authorities disarm and cuff him is satisfying. Thea takes my hand while we are ushered outside. I’m never letting go again.
It’s a madhouse on the quiet residential street outside of Coleman’s place a short while later. The road is crammed with squad cars, an ambulance, a news van, and the neighbors watching the scene unfold.
Coleman is in the back of one of the police cars as the cops secure the scene and take our statements.
Thea and I are seated on the back of the ambulance as the EMT patches my injured arm. They cut my hoodie off and Thea wrapped the blanket they gave her around me to keep the frigid night air at bay.
Mom’s going to have a goddamn field day when she gets wind of this. Deranged teacher, wounded protecting my girlfriend. Sympathy vote, here she comes.
“GSW, male, eighteen.” A paramedic standing to the side checks off on a tablet. “We need to get you to the hospital for a CT scan so they can confirm the bullet isn’t lodged in your arm.”
The paramedic rolls her eyes as I lift the oxygen mask off and toss it aside.
“Fuck that, I’m not going anywhere. I feel fine.” I hold Thea closer, tucked beneath my good arm. I’m not ever leaving her side. “Not without her.”
“Connor, they’re just trying to help.” Thea rests her bandaged hand against my stomach. It shakes slightly, the shock and adrenaline wearing off. Troubled shadows cloud her beautiful eyes and I want to drive them away. “Don’t give them trouble.”
“I want to see Chief Landry’s face when he gets here so I can look him in the eye when I tell him I fucking told him so.”
“It doesn’t matter now. As long as they stop him from attacking and abusing others.” Thea puts her head on my good shoulder and I cradle her close.
I can’t stop touching her. It’s vital I feel her in my arms, to know she’s okay.
“Who are they?” Thea murmurs.
A black SUV rolled up a minute ago, stopping near the ambulance. The windows are tinted. It doesn’t seem like regulation, and the car model is way too expensive for a government budget.
“Feds?” I squint as the doors open and one by one the agents get out. “Maybe some kind of elite prodigy squad, they don’t seem old enough.”
They’re not like the FBI agents shown in the movies at all, despite dressing the part with long dark coats and sunglasses at night. All four of them are tall, imposing figures. Tattoos creep up the side of some of their necks and onto the backs of hands as they adjust their sleeves and cast assessing glances around. One with thick, slicked back blond hair gives orders to one of the other guys with inky hair and a contemptuous frown.
“Ten minutes. In and out,” the blond agent says curtly. He addresses the most hostile looking guy in the group. “Keep it clean.”
A dangerous vibe rolls off them and people give them a wide berth as soon as they move like shadows through the bustling scene, spreading out. Agent Grumpy heads in the house, while the rest follow the domineering blond dude who must be in charge.
The agent stops an officer by planting a hand on his chest. The officer is annoyed until the fed removes his sunglasses and speaks too low for us to hear. Whatever he says, it has the officer heeling to his chain of command, jerking a thumb behind him at the squad car where Coleman is in custody.
He motions to another officer and Coleman is yanked from the car, then marched over to the group of feds. As he gets closer, Thea tenses. I clutch her in a hug. He can’t get her now.
Coleman goes willingly enough, until he sees who he’s trudging toward. He freezes.
“No.” He loses his cool, paling. Struggling against the officers, he tries to get back to the car. “No, no!”
“Is that any way to greet me?” The lead agent asks with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. He holds out his hands. “I told you we’d find you. No point in running.”
Coleman hollers in protest as the two other intense agents grab his arms. They have no problem containing him. Their boss gets in Coleman’s face, grabbing his jaw and forcing his head back. The curve of his smirk is lethal.
With a sharp nod to his guys, they drag Coleman to the SUV and shove him in the back seat. One pulls out a knife as he slides in with him.
My brows jump up. Are switchblades FBI regulation? Thea finds my hand around her waist and grips it tight. I stroke my thumb over her knuckles to soothe her while we watch.
The lead agent flicks his gaze at us. He motions in our direction, then stalks off toward the house.
After watching his boss’ back for a moment, the remaining agent comes over. I blink in surprise when he stands in the pool of light from the open ambulance. This guy can’t be much older than Thea and I, maybe two or three years at most. He has tousl
ed dark brown hair and a sick neck tattoo of a crow in flight. His coat is open, revealing ripped black jeans.
There’s no way these guys are real FBI.
“Need a statement. Shoo,” he says to the EMT working on me. The EMT gives the guy an unimpressed look. He chuckles and nods his head toward the house. “You have a problem with it, you can take it up with him. Trust me, he is in a pissy as fuck mood right now. Rough target for him to finally get his hands on.”
“Fine.” The EMT points at me. “Don’t think about leaving the scene. Coherent or not, you need to see a surgeon as soon as possible.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Thea assures him, squeezing my hand. “I’ll make sure of it.”
The fed imposter grins at her, winking. “You’re cute as a button.”
A growl rumbles in my chest. He lifts his hands in surrender.
“Just sayin’, man.” Once the EMT moves away, he gives me a once over. “Should’ve waited. Our way was a lot cleaner than all this fuss. Here.”
He hands me a thumb drive and doesn’t wait for an answer before walking back to meet up with the other guys.
“Do you know them?” Thea asks.
“I think so.”
When I look up, the imposter agents are piling into the SUV with a drawer from Coleman’s bureau and the computer tower. All the evidence of Coleman’s crimes. The doors slam, then the SUV peels out and speeds away.
Something tells me Coleman won’t make it to jail.
Whatever. The only thing that matters is Thea’s safety. I lean my head on hers, breathing easier when a hint of her sweet scent hits my nose.
Thirty-Nine
Connor
As the anesthesia from surgery wears off, I wake up groggy in a hospital room. Thea is by the bed, holding my hand as she dozes, her head resting on her folded arm. Her hand is re-bandaged.
“Hey, man,” Devlin says from a chair by the window, Blair asleep in his lap with her head on his shoulder and his coat draped over her.
“Time is it?” My tongue moves sluggishly and a gross metallic taste makes me grimace.
“Late. You got out of surgery at eleven and it took a couple of hours for the drugs to wear off.”
Out in the hall, I hear Mom’s grating voice, followed by Dad telling her to keep it down. She’s arguing about using this to turn around the approval ratings after they took a hit. The gunshot wasn’t a fatal injury, but Mom is here to put on her show anyway.
Rolling my eyes at her ridiculous bid for a boost in her numbers, I angle my head to get a look at the bandage covering my upper arm. It’s stupid that I’m even in the hospital. I told the paramedic I didn’t want to come, but Thea insisted to be on the safe side. I couldn’t refuse the pleading look she gave me.
“What’s the damage?”
“Stress fracture and stitches, but you’re lucky. It went in and out and missed anything vital. Minor fragments and the residue left behind, but the nurse said most of it was the force of impact to the tissue from close range.”
“Still hurts like a bitch.” I flop my head back to the pillow, easing my frustration by brushing Thea’s hand with my thumb. “Did you bring my computer?”
“Yeah, hang on.” Devlin nudges Blair, his smile tender as she makes a quiet sound. “He’s up. Want to sleep still?”
“No, I’m awake.” She moves off his lap, wrapping the peacoat around her shoulders. Her gaze shifts to me. “Glad you didn’t die.”
I snort, then regret it when it makes my arm throb. “Hi to you, too. Dev, can you also get the flash drive from the pocket of my jeans?”
Devlin gets my laptop out from a bag by his chair, then rummages through the plastic bag containing what’s left of my clothes in the corner. At all the movement, Thea startles awake, gripping my hand tighter. Her wide eyes relax once she realizes where she is.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Okay, baby?”
“Yeah, I was having a bad dream.” She presses her forehead to the back of my hand. “It wasn’t real.”
“It wasn’t.” I pat the bed. “Come here.”
“No, I don’t want to hurt you.” She gets up, gesturing with her hands. “You just got out of surgery!”
Gripping her wrist, I tug until she falls into an awkward position, bracing her arms on either side of me.
“Do I seem like I’m a severely injured invalid?” I run my good hand up her side. She no longer has the blood-stained coat on, down to a fuzzy yellow sweater and tan pants. “Come here, baby. I need you close.”
“Fine, but if the doctor comes in, I’m not taking the blame for any trouble we get in.”
“I’d break every rule just to have you close.”
She settles on her side next to me in bed, kissing my cheek. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m more glad that you’re okay.” I cup her face and pull her closer, capturing her lips in a kiss. Her body trembles as I hug her against my uninjured side, feeling the remnants of tension bleeding away. “It’ll all be okay now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
She makes a soft sound of agreement, pressing her face into my neck. A hot wetness against my skin makes me squeeze her as tight as I can, trying to pull her pain onto my shoulders to help her bear the weight of what she faced tonight. When things have calmed down, I’ll be whatever she needs to support her through dealing with the emotional fallout of knowing she was a victim of grooming.
“Here.” Devlin brings the laptop and flash drive over, setting it up on the tray table.
I pull the tray closer with Thea’s help.
“What do you think is on it?” she asks.
My brow creases as I open the folder on the drive. From the scraps I know of the guys impersonating federal agents, it could be anything. “Let's find out.”
“Financial reports.” Devlin leans over my shoulder from the other side of the bed.
Not just financial reports. I jerk forward, trying to sit up, only to grit my teeth at the discomfort it causes. Some of the machines connected to me throw off warning beeps before settling down as I lay prone.
“What’s wrong?” Thea bounces her gaze from the screen to me. “Don’t move so much, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
“They’re statements of my accounts.” I nod to each file. “Trust fund and the private accounts.”
The ones I use to grow my bitcoin investments.
“So they’re watching you?” Devlin clarifies.
“No. Well, yes, probably. The balances are all tripled from when I looked at them last. That was only a few days ago.”
Whoever the hackers are, they’re powerful.
Devlin and Thea give me matching expressions, brows rising high. Blair whistles from the visitor’s chair across the room. I was close to my goal before, but this is beyond. With this much money, I no longer have to wait to escape Mom’s bullshit. A disbelieving laugh huffs out of me.
“Holy shit,” Thea murmurs. “That’s a lot of money.”
I already know what I’ll do with some of it. My gaze slides to her. Her dream is to open a bakery. I’ll make that happen sooner than she planned.
A commotion at the door draws our attention. Thea’s mom bustles in, arguing with the nurse on her tail. Thea tenses at my side.
“No, I will not stay out!” Mrs. Kennedy snaps. She takes one look at the two of us in the hospital bed and her lip curls. “Thea! Let’s go. You’re coming home right now.”
“I’m staying here.” Thea sits up, but remains by my side. “I’m where I belong.”
“You are not. Get away from that boy right now.” Mrs. Kennedy shakes her head violently. “When I heard from Maisy’s father what happened tonight with your teacher, hours later, I—”
“Mom.” Thea sighs and squeezes my wrist. Sliding from the bed, she goes to her mom, taking her by the shoulders. “You can’t keep smothering me. What you told me yesterday? The way you did it? You should’ve told me a long time ago instead of the way you handled it.” She lowers her
voice, but remains firm and strong. “If you had, maybe I wouldn’t have questioned everything that was normal about myself. I didn’t understand why you were so strict with the way I dressed because you weren’t open or honest about your sister.”
“Thea,” Mrs. Kennedy whispers, throat working. “I only wanted to keep you safe, but you still ended up in danger.”
Swiping away tears, Thea goes on. Her voice quivers with emotion. “I’m not blaming you. Or myself. It’s no one’s fault but Mr. Coleman’s for manipulating and preying on me in a vulnerable state. He’s the actual monster to blame for hurting me. It was a perfect storm, but I can’t go back and change it now.”
Pride blooms in my chest watching my girl stand up for herself and not allowing what she went through to bring her down. She’s so strong, even when the world is crushing her. I didn’t think I could love her anymore than I already do, but the warm glow fills me up from the inside.
Her mom is rendered speechless, expression crumbling. “I didn’t hear from you and I was so scared.”
“I know. I’m sorry, it was a crazy night and I forgot to call you once it was all over. Learning about the truth and getting attacked by him on the same day was a lot to handle.” Thea rubs her mom’s arms as she collapses against her, crying into her neck. Thea meets my eyes over her hysterical mother’s shoulder. “I’m okay, I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” Mrs. Kennedy cries. “I’ll do better.”
“Okay. Shh, it’s okay,” Thea soothes. “Why don’t you head home? You’ve seen I’m safe. I’m not sure if I’ll come back tonight or stay here.”
“Will you call me?”
“Yes. We have a lot to talk about.”
Sniffling into the tissue Thea hands her, Mrs. Kennedy nods, calming down. The door opens again and my mother steps in, phone pressed to her ear. Dad’s right on her tail, going to sit in the visitor chairs with a weary sigh.
She gives Thea and her mom a dirty look. “Damien, I’ll call you back. Handle it.” Hanging up, she addresses the room. “Here’s the story when the reporter arrives in the morning—”
Ruthless Bishop: Dark New Adult High School Bully Romance (Sinners and Saints Book 3) Page 30