by Becky McGraw
Right as she reached for the latch to open the gate, she heard loud male voices arguing and then a gunshot. Cassie screamed and the operator asked her what was going on. She told the woman to send help fast, because someone might be shot then disconnected the phone and dropped it into her purse.
Hobbling as fast as she could back toward the front door, Cassie tripped on a rock right at the edge of the house and went down on her knees hard. She looked up and saw James run from the house with a gun in his hand, and her heart fell to her stomach. Luke was right behind him running out of the house and she saw him holding his side, his hand covered in blood.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cassie screamed at the top of her lungs and pushed back up to her feet, chasing after them. Although she thought he was injured, Luke didn't seem to be affected as he ran after James chasing him down the street. She'd just reached the sidewalk and looked down the block to see Luke tackle him then twist his arm up behind his back and hold the other over his head. She didn't know she could jog with a cast on her leg, but Cassie managed it somehow and reached them to see Luke slam James hand against the pavement several times until he dropped the gun and it skittered away.
She saw a few of her neighbors had seen the ruckus and were either on their porches or on the sidewalk gawking. She yelled, "Call 911 someone's been shot," and then went over to kick the gun out of James' reach. It slid along the pavement and came to a stop by the tire on a black sedan, evidently where James had been running.
Luke was breathing heavily and she saw blood dripping down the thigh of his blue jeans. She ran over to him, but he looked up at her with desolate eyes and said, "Stay back, baby," He was holding onto James tightly, while he wiggled underneath him. Luke put his knee in James' back. "Be still or I'm going to slam your head against this fucking pavement," he ground out and then flinched.
"Oh, god, Luke. Are you okay?" She felt tears pool up in her eyes and then trail down her cheeks. "I called the Police, they should be here any minute."
"Call them back darlin' and tell them to send an ambulance too," his voice was getting weaker and she was afraid he was going to pass out.
"I did, Luke...they're on their way." She looked down the street and saw a couple of big guys she didn't know standing on the sidewalk a few houses down. She ran toward them and yelled. "Can you come help? He's been shot and needs help."
The looked at each other and then ran toward her at a jog. When the burly men, who evidently worked out regularly, reached her she grabbed one's arm and said "Please help hold that guy down he shot my fiance'."
The two men went over to Luke and one took over holding James down and the other helped Luke to his feet. Luke wobbled and the guy slung Luke's arm over his shoulder and walked him over to the curb to sit down. Cassie went to him immediately and raised his shirt up to look at the wound. It was raw, ragged and bleeding profusely.
"Oh god, Luke...it's bad," she said weakly then dropped the shirt.
"Nah, it's okay, darlin'. Just a flesh wound," he said looking into her eyes, his eyes cloudy and somewhat disoriented. "Preppy Boy is an awful shot...couldn't hit the broad side of a barn."
"Don't feed me that bullshit, Luke," she grated and heard the blessed sound of sirens in the distance.
"Does anyone have a towel?" she yelled loudly to the crowd that had formed around them. She saw someone run back across the street to their house, and before long she had two or three towels in her hand. She put one on the ground and said, "Lay back, Luke."
He did and then closed his eyes. "Don't you dare die on me! Open your eyes and look at me," she demanded and lifted his shirt to place one of the other towels over his wound and press down firmly. He didn't open his eyes, and she whimpered and pressed down harder on the towel. God, please don't let him die. Please, don't let him die, she prayed and pressed her fingers to the weak thready pulse in his neck. "Wake up, Luke...look at me!"
He finally opened his pain-filled whiskey brown eyes and looked into hers then swallowed. "I love you, Cassie Bee," his voice was low and weak, but he finished with fierce determination, telling her, "I'm not going anywhere darlin' until you marry me,"
She felt a hand on her shoulder push her to the side, as two paramedics moved beside Luke and began working him. Gulping a deep breath, she took another step back to give them room to work. Luke had closed his eyes again and they cut his shirt off and started an IV in his arm.
Cassie looked around her and saw that two police officers had handcuffed James and were hauling him up to his feet. She stomped over to him and without warning, balled up her fist and punched him in the gut as hard as she could. It must've been hard enough, because James doubled over with an oomph. One of the cops dropped James' arm and grabbed her and shook her. "Ma'am you can't do that," he said sternly.
"That piece of thieving crap shot my fiance'," she wailed. "He stole my money, and ruined my business...not to mention broke into my home," She pulled away from the officer to put her hands on her hips. "I'd say I can do that. I'd sure like to do more!"
"What's your name?" the officer asked.
"Cassie Bellamy. You can talk to Officer Melton, I met with him earlier at my office. He was looking for James to arrest him."
The officer walked away from her and talked into the microphone on his shoulder. A few minutes later, he came back to her. "I spoke with Melton and he filled me in on what was going on. We're taking Barton down to the station for booking. We'll need you and your fiance' to come down there for a statement."
Cassie whimpered, "Sure if he's still alive, we'll be sure to do that," then turned on her heel and ran back over to where Luke was now being loaded on a stretcher.
She grabbed one medic's arm and asked, "Please tell me he's gonna be ok...please."
"I can't do that ma'am. You'll have to talk to his doctor, but his vital signs are stable for right now. Do you want to ride with us?"
She walked alongside the stretcher, then stopped when they lifted Luke inside the ambulance. "I need to check on my house and bring the truck in case they release him."
The medic's eyes told her he didn't think that was going to happen, but he nodded and then hopped up inside. He told her what hospital they were taking him to, then closed the door.
Oh, god, she needed to call her daddy...and Cole to let them know what had happened too. Panicked and numb, Cassie went back to the house and gasped in horror at the mess James had made of it. Things were strewn all around, and a lot was broken. The whole house had been ransacked.
There were police personnel inside and she felt violated and out of control, as she picked her way through the mess to find the man in a suit who looked to be in charge of the other people. "Excuse, me...I'm Cassie Bellamy and I own this house. How long will you be here?"
She swallowed down the sick feeling that surged through her as she saw a woman with blue gloves squatting down over a small blood stain taking photos, and another with a knife and baggie digging a bullet out of the wall near her kitchen.
"A few more hours probably..." he told her, a closed expression on his face.
Cassie nodded and asked, "Can I go change in my bedroom?"
"Sure, just don't move anything, if you can avoid it."
Ignoring the mass destruction around her, Cassie went into her bedroom and found a pair of yoga pants and a top, then quickly changed and put on one running shoe on her uninjured foot. She hobbled over and grabbed her purse off the bed, then a thought occurred to her and her stomach sank to her toes. Luke probably had the keys to the truck in his pocket. She was stranded...and Luke was dying. A sob tore from her gut and she ran back through the chaos in her living room, then out the front door, slamming it behind her.
A vision of the black sedan parked down the street, the one that James had been trying to escape to, flitted through her mind. Maybe that idiot had left the keys inside. He would have if he wanted to make a quick getaway, she thought, and he obviously had. She took quick loping steps across her yard
and then down the sidewalk until she reached the vehicle. Quickly, she pulled the door handle and it opened. Sliding inside, she leaned over and saw that he had indeed left the keys there.
Cassie twisted the key in the ignition, releasing the breath she'd been holding, and the car roared to life. She threw it in drive and slammed her foot on the accelerator. A few minutes later, she slid to a stop in a parking spot near the emergency room. Throwing open the door, she went to get out and the edge of a metal box that had slid out from under the seat poked her in the ankle.
She reached down beside her leg and brought it up to the seat, then tried the latch and it opened easily. What she saw inside made her heart stop beating, and hope to fill her. Money, lots and lots of banded money was stacked in neat rows inside.
Shutting the latch securely, she grabbed the box and stuffed it back under the seat then got out and locked the door. Luke was more important than any amount of money, so what she'd found was not her first priority. But it thrilled her nonetheless. It looked like James and Diana weren't going to get away with robbing her blind after all, she thought as she made her way through the sliding glass doors and moved quickly to the admitting desk. "Luke Matthews...where is he?"
"Are you a relative?"
"I'm his fiancé....his next of kin. He doesn't have any other relatives." Her statement drove home the point to her that Luke really was alone in this world, except for her.
The nurse's eyes filled with sympathy, and she walked around from behind the desk to stand beside Cassie. Cassie whimpered and prayed, God, don't let her tell me he's dead. "He's in room seven, I'll show you where it is."
Deep resounding relief flooded through her as the woman led her to Luke's room. When Cassie walked inside and saw the number of people working on him, that relief fled. He had a tube in his nose and wires stuck all over his body. Cassie's stomach lurched, as fear roiled there in a tight knot.
A doctor leaned over him examining the wound, while several nurses worked with him, all of them functioning as a well-oiled machine. That gave her comfort at least. He had good people caring for him. The nurse that had led her here, took her arm gently and said, "There's a family waiting room down the hall. I'll let them know to keep you informed of his status."
Cassie nodded at the kind woman and followed her to the waiting room. Once she was there, she sat in a plastic chair and stared at the TV mounted on the wall, not really seeing it. After a moment, she took her cell phone out of her purse and dialed Cole's number.
He picked up on the second ring, and said, "Cassie?"
"Oh, god Cole, Luke's been shot," she told him in a shaky voice then groaned.
"What?" Cole yelled across the line, and Cassie flinched.
"James shot Luke...we're in the emergency room in Phoenix."
The line was silent for a long time, and she almost thought he'd hung up when he finally said, "What's his condition...where was he shot?"
"In the side, and I don't know, they haven't told me anything yet."
"Call me back when they tell you something," he said then she heard computer keys tapping. "I'm going to try and find a flight."
"Cole, wait! Let's see what they say first. I just wanted to call and let you know."
"Thanks for calling me, Cassie. I appreciate it."
"I know you love him too," and she knew in her heart that was true. He and Cole were more like brothers than best friends. They'd been together through thick and thin since before Cassie had even met Luke. And she'd know them since she was ten.
Cole didn't say anything for a second, then he said. "Where's James?"
"In jail...Luke caught him. He broke into my house, and was there when we got there."
"I knew I shouldn't have let that bastard go. I just had this feeling in my gut he was going to do something stupid."
Cassie heard the guilt in his tone and quickly said, "It's not your fault, Cole. James is crazy, and you had no reason to keep holding him."
"Yeah, you and your daddy dropped the charges because I asked you to, so we could get Luke off the hook."
"It. Is. Not. Your. Fault." Cassie repeated trying to make Luke's bullheaded friend understand.
"If you say so," the stubborn man persisted.
"Luke would not want you blaming yourself, Cole. You are his best damned friend in the world. He loves you too."
Cole growled in her ear, "I'm not waiting. I'll be there on the next flight...I'll call you when I get there." He hung up the phone in her ear and she stabbed the end button.
Cassie called her dad and filled him in on what had happened and he was madder than a bear, and threatened to come to Phoenix and fill James' ass with buckshot. She managed to calm him down after a while, and told him she'd keep him updated on Luke's condition. She didn't tell him that she and Luke were engaged, or about Titan. That, she wanted to tell him in person.
Just when she'd ended the call, a nurse came in and walked over to her. "Cassie Bellamy?"
She moved to sit on the edge of the chair, swallowed down her fear then said, "Yes?"
"Mr. Matthews wants to see you...now. He's awake now and yelling the place down for you. Please come with me."
Cassie gave her a teary chuckle. "Yep, that's Luke."
"We've moved him to a regular room on the fifth floor, and they allow you to stay with him there, so that should make him happy," she grinned at Cassie.
When Cassie walked into the room, she saw Luke's face was bright red and his fists were clenched on top of the covers. Wires were taped to his broad, firmly muscled chest, and the IV was still in his arm, but the tube in his nose had been removed. Progress, or so she hoped. She ran over to him, kissed his cheek and then laid across his chest to hug him. "Oh, Luke..."
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away a little flinching.
"Oh shit, did I hurt you..." she backed away from the bed her hand flying to her mouth. "Are you in pain, I'll get the nurse..." she spun toward the door.
"Come back here, darlin'," he said weakly and opened his arms to her. "Just be careful, the bullet glanced off a rib over here. He pointed at the spot and she flinched.
Sucking in a sob, she went back to him and laid over his chest gently this time and kissed him. "What did the doctor say?"
"They gave me twelve stitches and said I have a cracked rib. The bullet just grazed me darlin',,,like I said." His words were slightly slurred, and he gave her a wobbly smile then kissed her head. "But they're going to make me stay in this damned hospital tonight to watch me."
"I've got to call Cole, before he books that flight..." Cassie dug around in her purse and pulled out her cell, quickly dialing Cole's number. He didn't answer, and she sighed and left a message for him.
She'd barely ended her message, when her phone rang in her hand. Looking at the display, she saw it was Cole. "Hello--Cole?"
"Is Luke ok?" There was an wary edge to his voice.
"Yes...twelve stitches and a cracked rib. The bullet just grazed his side."
She heard Cole inhale deeply then exhale. "Thank, god," he said, his voice shaky with relief.
The relief in Cole's voice made guilt flood Cassie. She'd gotten Luke into trouble yet again...this was her fault for bringing him here. In a voice much higher-pitch than usual, Cassie asked him, "You want to talk to him?"
Cole said he did and she handed the phone to Luke without looking at him, then stepped out into the hall, as relief and numerous other emotions threatened to overwhelm her. They swirled inside of her head like clothes in the spin cycle of a washing machine, guilt, anger, fear, relief and resignation. Back and forth they went, taunting her, torturing her, making her think about what could have happened to the man she loved if James had been a better shot.