“Put the gun down, Zia.” Another male voice.
Taylor thought the voice belonged to Glen, but she kept her focus locked on the gun. She could barely hear over the roaring in her ears. Where was Jake?
Sirens sounded.
“Put the gun down.” Glen’s voice sounded closer. “You don’t want any more trouble.”
“Like hell. You don’t know what I want. Jake Solomon was the last fucking one. Now he’s dead, too. My job is done, except for this bitch.”
Jake couldn’t be dead. With the gun leveled at her midsection, Taylor shivered and risked a quick glance toward the door. Jake lay in a pool of blood. One paramedic knelt at his side. Another ran up with the trauma box.
“What about me?” Taylor stepped toward the table and hoped Dan had the sense to get out. Zia followed her, turning her back on the door. She seemed to forget about Dan and about Glen.
Taylor pitched her voice low and, she hoped, loud enough for Glen to hear. “You want a taste of what Randy told me? How badly do you want to know, Zia? Do you want to know what he thought of you? What he told me about you? What he did to get under your skin? Is that what you’re craving? What you need to understand?”
“Shut up.”
“Do you want to know what he planned to do? What he did with the buckles you sent? I know where Randy’s belt is, too. If you kill me, all the answers are lost to you. Lost. Gone.”
“I said shut up!”
“You’re losing control, Zia. Listen to yourself. You’re screaming. You remember what happens when you lose control.”
Zia straightened, took a breath, and pushed her hair out of her face. “I’m not screaming.” Her voice sounded calmer.
“Good cover, Zia, but doctors won’t tumble to your act again.”
She shook her head again. “No doctors. I’m not going back.”
Glen and two uniformed officers moved slowly forward.
“What did the doctors tell you? Did they say you were delusional?”
The officers inched closer.
“Those dumb pricks didn’t have any idea about me. At first they thought I killed him. My own daddy. Put me on a suicide watch. Drugged me.”
“They wanted to be sure you were all right.”
“Stop! Not true. They tried to make me believe the cover-up, that he had PTSD and wouldn’t take his meds. Nothing was wrong with my daddy except that fucking load of Solomon’s Compass crap. I loved him. Dumb-shit bastard doctors with their talk and their drugs. Nobody cared about Daddy or anything I said. I got tired of fighting them and finally said what they wanted to hear. But I never believed them. They were wrong. I never forgot—”
Two uniformed officers grabbed Zia’s arms. After a brief struggle, she slumped. The officers held her upright by her elbows. Glen slid the pistol from her fingers. “It’s over, Zia.” He nodded to one of the officers who cuffed her hands behind her back.
Dan hugged her again. “Why did you keep talking? Zia got angrier by the second.”
“And focused on me, not on you or Glen or the officers moving toward her.”
“She could’ve killed you.”
“But she didn’t. Jake drew her attention from me in the same way I drew it away from Glen and the officers. I acted as a distraction, that’s all.”
Jake. He had to stay alive. He couldn’t die. He was too strong. She willed him to fight, to live, as she watched the paramedics tending to him.
“How did you know about the doctors?”
“She mentioned them earlier. I took a guess because of her behavior. If she’d have said I needed my head examined or some other behavior indicated she didn’t have a mental problem, I would’ve riffed off her words. Always have a Plan B, Dan. Always have a Plan B.”
As soon as the officers led Zia outside, Taylor hurried to the doorway with Dan beside her. The paramedics were sliding a backboard under Jake to lift him to the gurney. He grimaced and told them to take it easy.
“How is he?”
The paramedic at Jake’s side smiled. “He lost some blood—two entrance wounds—but we stopped the flow. One bullet made a clean exit. Not sure about the other. Docs will stitch him up, and he’ll be good as new.”
She swallowed. “Okay. Where are you taking him?”
“Halo Flight is three minutes from touchdown. They’re probably taking him to Memorial in Corpus. I’ll find out.”
He turned to use the radio on his collar.
She grasped Jake’s hand. The iciness made her shiver. With her other hand, she smoothed his hair away from his face. The silky feel between her fingers calmed her. “You’re going to be all right. They’re finding out where the helicopter will take you, and I’ll ask Dan to drive me. You’ll be in surgery by the time we arrive, but I’ll be there. I’ll see you as soon as they let me.”
He smiled. “Good.”
“Can I do anything for you? Anyone you want me to call?”
“Phone . . . in pocket. Call Kelly.”
“Kelly.” She repeated the name to make sure she understood.
“Right.” He grimaced. His breaths were shallow, and his lips had thinned to a narrow line as he dealt with pain.
“I’ll call as soon as I get your phone. You hang on.”
He nodded. “Not . . . first . . . rodeo.”
“You’re a fine cowboy. Being from Brooklyn and all.”
He tried to smile.
The paramedic returned. “Christus Spohn Memorial. Off the Crosstown between Morgan and Buford.”
Dan nodded.
She touched the paramedic’s arm. “Will you find his phone for me?”
The paramedic patted Jake down and pulled the phone from his pants pocket.
“Thanks.” She looked back at Jake. “I have your phone. Hear the helo? It’s dropping down now.”
He nodded again, not opening his eyes.
Fear lashed her heart and left huge gaping wounds, much worse than when she faced Zia’s gun. Then it had been only her. This was Jake, and she’d only just found him. She bent to his ear. “Listen to me, Jake Solomon. You’re fit and you’re smart and you’ve survived a hell of a lot worse than this. Don’t you dare die on me. I’m just getting to know you, and I need lots of time to do the job right. You understand?”
His lips twitched in what she thought was a smile.
She kissed his cheek, not wanting to let go. “The Airedales are coming. I’ll see you in a few hours.” She backed away to allow the flight crew to do their work.
Dan draped his arm across her shoulders, and she leaned against him, thankful he stood beside her. Tears ran down her cheeks. After the helo took off, she turned and hugged him. That’s when the sobs came.
He held her and sheltered her while she cried. All the emotion of the past two weeks gushed out. Uncle Randy. Jake. Will. Trinh. A.J. Dan. Nate. Zia. All the fear and love, hurt and sadness poured from deep within, from a place she hadn’t realized existed.
Waves of sorrow crashed over her. She couldn’t breathe. Time stopped, and she indulged herself in her own miserable pit of despair, drowning in feelings that were completely new. She wanted to scream at the pain to go away, leave her alone, but it took over and crushed her.
Even when she returned to the Susquehanna and her old life, she would never be the same. Her life would be forever different because she hadn’t had a real life before. Now she knew love, and with love came the passion Dan and A.J. had talked about. She ached—her body, her heart, her soul—to touch and to be touched, to love and to be loved by the most fabulous man in the world. Whose body had just been pierced by two bullets.
Jake had to live or her heart would die. She prayed for Jake’s life and mourned for what might have been. For all of them. For all the Compass Points, but for that fateful night in Bangkok.
Time vanished until nothing remained but emptiness. Dan rubbed her back, and she snuffled. He’d steadied her through all this, even now as she pulled herself together piece by piece, and he held out a
handkerchief.
“Thanks.” Only it came out sounding more like hrnkx. She blew her nose and tried again. “Thanks.”
His usually lively face was pale and filled with concern. “Are you okay?”
She nodded while dabbing at her eyes. “Thank you for being here. For holding on to me. For not letting me fall. For the handkerchief. I’ll wash it and mail it back.”
Some of the concern vanished, but he didn’t release her. “Don’t be silly. I buy them by the dozen.”
Her fingers still clutched Jake’s phone. “Jake wants me to call someone named Kelly.”
Dan loosened his arms, and she stepped out of their protectiveness. She found several calls to and from Kelly Wetmore, so she steeled herself and pressed the number.
Kelly answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Jake, my man?” Her voice sounded strong and sassy.
“Jake asked me to call you. My name is Taylor Campbell.”
“Is he all right?”
“There’s not an easy way to say this.” Why was this so different from similar calls she’d made in an official Coast Guard capacity? “He’s been shot.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Thank God.”
“They’re Halo Flighting him to Corpus Christi. Memorial Hospital, I think.” She rubbed her forehead. “It has a name in front of Memorial, but I don’t remember what. A lot was going on.”
“No worries. I’ll be there as soon as possible, however long it takes. At least three or four hours flight time. I’m in New York. If he wakes up before I arrive, tell him not to die before I get there or I’ll kick his ass.”
Taylor laughed, but Kelly had already hung up. Who was Kelly Wetmore? And how did she figure in Jake’s life?
Officers milled around everywhere, and a small crowd had gathered. Will and Trinh stood in the driveway. She hadn’t seen anyone before, but they had to have been standing there while she talked to Kelly. It must’ve been a mix of shock and adrenaline that caused her to notice things in increments.
She faced Dan. “Whoever Kelly is, she sounds as tough as Jake. She’s flying in from New York.”
“Good. Having someone he knows at his side will help him recover quicker.”
Her heart sank. Someone he knew. How well? Well enough he wanted her here. Taylor’s shoulders drooped.
Glen walked up. “Better?”
The shock had abated, and she lifted her chin. “Yes.”
“You’ll need to come to the station and give a statement.”
“Not now. I promised Jake I’d be at the hospital.”
“Stop by in the morning. Be prepared to stay a few hours. We’ll do a video statement, ask any questions needed for clarification, and have you sign an affidavit.”
“I leave Thursday morning.”
He nodded. “Not a problem. Eight o’clock. By the way, when you talk to Jake, tell him we picked up Nate Brady. His lawyer’s already working a plea deal for him rolling on Zia. Claims Brady was a victim.”
Dan covered Taylor’s hand with his. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay.”
He drove her car. A.J. would meet them at the hospital. When she’d seen Jake lying in his own blood, everything she felt for him slammed home. She kept playing those few moments over and over. Much like Ham Norberg must have done with the events that happened in Bangkok.
“He’ll be all right.” Dan patted her knee. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Are you bothered that he’s older?”
She hadn’t fully understood the necessity of the charade until she saw Zia in action. Jake’s dad was right. She would have killed Jake without a backward glance and then gone after his father.
Taylor sighed. She couldn’t share with Dan that Jake wasn’t older. “What I feel for Jake goes beyond any emotion I’ve ever experienced. If we’re together for one day, it’s better than never being together at all. I’ll be happy for whatever we have. Nothing in life is guaranteed.”
“I’m happy for you. It’s exactly how I feel about A.J.”
They rode in silence the rest of the way. Dan dropped her at the emergency room and said he’d meet her inside. The triage nurse told her Jake had already gone to surgery and gave her directions to the waiting room. Ten minutes later, Dan and A.J. walked in carrying three large containers of coffee.
“You’re a godsend. Both of you.”
A.J. handed her a container. “Friends help friends.”
A small group of people waited at the other end of the room. A.J. plugged in earbuds and picked up a magazine. Taylor and Dan sat in silence.
Several minutes passed before a woman in blue scrubs, her surgical mask hanging down, stopped in the doorway. The last rays of sunshine spotlighted her fuchsia Crocs. “Solomon? Campbell?”
Taylor jumped up. “Here. Taylor Campbell.”
The woman met them halfway. “Mr. Solomon is in surgery. He made sure to inform us that we could tell you what was going on. He insisted on it, in fact.”
Taylor smiled. “He’s like that.”
“They’ll be a while, but everything looks good. One bullet nicked a vein, and he lost a bit of blood. They patched it first and transfused him, now they’re working on the rest of the damage. The vein was the big concern, and it’s back in service. He’s stable. I don’t have more details for you yet.”
“When will we be able to see him?”
“Sometime after midnight.”
Where was he? Jake heard voices. Far away. Padded footsteps. His nose twitched. Ah, hospital. Antiseptic. All the memories flooded back.
He was alive. What else? Jake moved his toes, fingers. Things were looking up. He cranked open an eyelid. Tubes ran from everywhere, but none down his throat. The bullet must have missed his lung.
“There you are. Welcome back to the living, Mr. Solomon.” He smelled flowers.
He turned his head to the other side. A nurse with red hair and a smile beamed down at him.
“You gave them a wee scare in the OR, but our docs are good. You got no more worries. They patched you up better than new, and it all works. Would you like some ice?”
He nodded. His throat burned, and his cracked lips stung.
“Got it for you right here. You’re hooked up to our auto-vitals system, so I don’t even have to make you wait while I take your temp. Here you go.”
He sucked on half a spoon of crushed ice. Nothing had ever tasted so good.
“You’re in recovery. You’ll be mine for a while then I gotta send you on your way. Those wicked bitches in SICU got the winning ticket, so they’ll get their way with you for a day or so. Think you can handle them?”
He thought he smiled, but couldn’t be sure.
“I’m going to be about six feet away, propping up my feet and wishing for a tequila shot. But I’m keeping my good eye on you. You’ll probably drift in and out for a while. Enjoy those sweet dreams. I’m here to keep the zombies away. You need me and I’m not right here, just breathe hard. All the alarms will sound.”
Jake liked her. She liked her job.
“More ice?”
He’d dozed. “Yeah.” It came out a croak.
“You’re perking right up. I may have to give you over to those evil Jezebels before I’m ready to lose your smiling face, you keep up this progress.” An alarm sounded. “Be right back.”
He remembered everything. Zia. Ham Bone’s daughter. Taylor, fighting for him, coming to him after Zia walked past and spit on him. Taylor’s fingers in his hair. Her kiss on his cheek.
“You’re a regular sleepyhead, but your naps are getting shorter. Have some more ice. All your vitals are strong. I’ll be waving bye to you before long.”
Jake closed his eyes and thought about Taylor.
“Taylor Campbell?”
Taylor looked up. In the doorway stood a woman her age or a little younger. Reddish hair framed her face. Tall and slim, straight nose, wide mouth, and
a beautiful creamy complexion. Deep blue eyes, the color of the sky at dusk. She wore orange capris dotted with green dragonflies, an orange knit top, and chartreuse sandals.
“I’m Taylor. Kelly?” She stood up, feeling like the eighth dwarf.
“That’s me.” Kelly joined them, pulling her bag. “Love your shirt. Do you have the whole set? I’ve almost worn mine out. Simon loves them.”
Taylor liked her—whoever she was. She introduced everyone, and Dan and A.J. went to find more coffee.
Kelly dropped into the adjoining chair. “I’m pooped, and I’m sick to death of hospitals. How’s Jake?”
Did he make a habit of landing in hospitals? “In recovery. He’s having a hard time coming out of the anesthesia, but his vitals are strong. They won’t let us see him until they move him to SICU. The nurse said he’ll be there for at least twenty-four hours. Two bullets. One did some damage, but they repaired everything. He lost quite a bit of blood.”
“But he’s going to be okay, right?”
“Yes. They said recovery will be slow—”
“A crock of shit. They don’t know Jake. He’ll be jogging in two weeks. Mark my word. Three max.”
Taylor smiled. “He is amazing. If I’d been half a second faster, Zia wouldn’t have shot him.”
“I’ll tell you what Jake would, and that’s don’t guilt yourself out. Things happen. Sometimes even when we are half a second faster.” Her eyes took on a faraway expression.
“I know. It’s hard not to blame ourselves when something goes wrong.” Taylor rubbed her forehead.
Kelly came back to the present and really looked at her for the first time. “So . . . you and Jake, huh?”
She didn’t know how to respond. Might as well get it out there. “Yeah. At least I think so.”
Kelly grinned. “Good. He thinks so, too, or he wouldn’t have risked so much for you. Dad will go berserk when he hears, but only because Jake spilled the big secret. And Jake will, too, when he learns I knew before he told me.”
Taylor hadn’t followed all of that. “Dad? Secret?”
“Yeah. We’re a competitive bunch. He would’ve come down, too, except—oh, shit.” She grabbed Taylor’s arms. “You don’t know who I am. I’m Jake’s sister.”
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