Family Under Fire

by Jane Godman

  The figure doubled back, knife hand extended once more. Everett took a moment to consider his options. He could grab the outstretched arm and break it, but the offender might still be able to escape. And he really wanted to get a look at that covered face.

  This time, as the assailant lunged forward, Everett backed away and pretended to fall down. Facing the attacker, he propped himself on his elbows and waited for his opponent to move in close. When the moment was right, he slammed his right foot hard into the antagonist’s leg.

  With a grunt, his foe staggered and went down on one knee. Everett seized the assailant’s knife arm, intending to smash it into the ground. With an agility that amazed him, the other person rolled to one side, driving the blade deep into Everett’s forearm and breaking free at the same time. Warm stickiness trickled over his palm as he watched the hooded figure run off.

  Staggering to his feet, he headed toward the apartment building. Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he forced one foot in front the other. As he reached the first stair, his vision blurred and he dropped to his knees.

  * * *

  When Everett walked out, Alyssa’s first reaction—kicking in alongside the hurt she was already feeling—was anger. Why must he be so determined to avoid his feelings? Whenever emotional issues were discussed, his coping mechanism was to lighten the mood or change the topic. If that didn’t work, he physically left the scene. Exactly as he’d just done.

  Why should she care any longer if he thought being strong and unfeeling was the “masculine” thing to do? Even though they were co-parenting a child, they weren’t together. His insecurities were not her problem anymore.

  Except... She still cared about him. Just because Everett could pretend to turn off his feelings, it didn’t mean it was easy for Alyssa to do the same. Even though he had chosen not to open up to her, she sensed he was fighting the same inner battle he always had.

  She bowed her head, gripping the countertop. This was all wrong. They were both hurting. Why did it have to be this way? Surely they could talk it over.

  But how was she supposed to go after him with the baby asleep in the apartment? At least she could go out onto the top of the steps, see if he was still around and ask him to come back.

  After grabbing her cell phone in one hand and the portable baby monitor in the other, she opened the front door and stepped outside. A scan of the parking lot revealed no sign of Everett, and the night was cold enough to drive her straight back inside. She was taking one final look around when a faint sound caught her attention.

  Hesitantly, she leaned over the rail to get a clear view of where the noise was coming from. There, at the base of the steps, a man was lying on his side in the snow. She paused, wondering if it might be a trap, then he moaned and she threw caution to the wind.

  “Everett!” She darted to the top of the steps.

  “Stay there.” Faint and rasping, the voice was barely recognizable as his own.

  Alyssa watched in growing dread as he crawled up the steps on his hands and knees. When he reached the top, the full horror of his appearance became apparent. A large knife protruded from the muscle of his right forearm and the flesh around it was shiny with blood. His clothes were covered with dark crimson splatters. His face was drained of color, with even his lips appearing white. Using the handrail, he pulled himself upright. As Alyssa ran to him, he swayed and leaned against the wall.

  “I’ll call 911.”

  As she made the call, Everett slumped into a sitting position. Alyssa finished speaking to the emergency dispatcher and squatted next to him. “The paramedics are on their way. What happened?”

  “Guy...” His teeth chattered. “Came out of nowhere.”

  “You’re freezing. I’ll get something to wrap around you.”

  She ran back inside and went into her bedroom. Thankfully, Kennedy was still sound asleep as Alyssa pulled on a warm sweater and grabbed a fleece blanket from the closet. She hurried into the bathroom to snatch a hand towel from the shelf and locate the first-aid kit, then dashed back to Everett.

  As she draped the blanket around him, he leaned his head briefly on her shoulder. “Call Casey. Tell him the guy was wearing sneakers with a pattern just like a row of alligator teeth. Could still be around.”

  “He’ll know from the 911 call what’s happened. I’ll message him now and call him from the hospital.”

  “What about Kennedy?”

  “She can come with us in the ambulance. Stop worrying, Everett. Let me take care of the practical stuff.” The knife sticking out of his arm looked gruesome, but she remembered from mandatory training courses she’d attended that impaled objects should not be removed. Instead, she wrapped the towel around his arm below the stab wound, using a bandage from the first-aid kit to tie it in place. “It should stop the bleeding until the paramedics get here.”

  “He was waiting in the shadows.” He leaned his head back against the wall.

  “For what? Someone to rob?”

  He shook his head. “For me.”

  The chill that swept over Alyssa had nothing to do with the night air. Right here, right now, she was living her worst nightmare. Ever since her father’s death, fear had controlled her like a battery-operated toy. Yet now that she was here—plunged into the scene she had dreaded—her rational self took over. All that mattered was that Everett was okay. And she could play her part in that.

  “Painkillers.” She found the bottle in the first-aid kit and shook a couple out. “You could probably use some of them.”

  As she held them out, he gripped her hand. “Lyss, what I said... What I should have said—”

  She shook her head. “We don’t have to do this now.”

  He mumbled something under his breath that she didn’t quite catch. Never a right time? She wasn’t quite sure, and as the sound of an approaching siren brought a welcome rush of relief, she shifted her focus back to the practicalities.

  * * *

  As kids, Everett and Casey had spent more than their fair share of time in the Sur County Hospital. For some reason, twin life had seemed to bring double the quantity of bruises, sprains and fractures for each of them.

  “This place hasn’t changed much,” Everett commented to Alyssa as he was wheeled from the ambulance into the emergency department. The stronger painkillers he’d been given by the paramedics were kicking in and he was able to talk normally.

  He studied her face, looking for signs of panic. So far, there were none. Although she was pale, she seemed to be in complete control. With a sleeping Kennedy wrapped in a blanket in her arms, her composure had been remarkable. She’d calmly answered the paramedics’ questions about what had happened and in detail. No one watching her would ever guess how difficult this sort of situation was for her.

  Not that it would have been easy for anyone. His arm looked like a poster for a slasher movie.

  A nurse led Alyssa to a seat at one side of the small cubicle as the emergency team got to work.

  “Once we start any procedure, I’ll have to ask you to leave,” the nurse told her. “But you can wait here while we do an initial assessment.”

  “Thank you.” For the first time, there was a quiver in her voice.

  Everett didn’t know why, but it helped to know that, if he craned his neck, he could just about see the toe of one of Alyssa’s boots.

  “Okay.” A doctor started examining him. “We have an adult male patient with a piercing injury to his right forearm. He reports that he was assaulted and stabbed about a half hour ago. I take it the sheriff’s office has been informed?” There was a murmured confirmation. “There is a knife blade penetrating approximately four centimeters into the front and midline—the anteromedial aspect. Vital signs?”

  “Blood pressure, pulse rate and body temperature are all within normal limits.” He could tell by the voice it was one of the pa
ramedics who had treated Everett at the scene that responded.

  As the doctor gently moved his hand and arm, Everett gritted his teeth. Fingers of fire licked through his damaged nerve endings.

  “There is movement in the right wrist and elbow, but the patient finds the examination painful.”

  You don’t say. Maybe that has something to do with the blade sticking out of my flesh?

  “Tetanus vaccination and antibiotics will be required to counter the effects of this foreign body penetration. Removal will be made under general anesthesia.” He spoke directly to Everett for the first time. “With such a deep-seated injury, the only way we can be sure we don’t injure the surrounding tissues as we take the blade out will be to knock you out.”

  Everett frowned. His mental processes were clear, thanks to the painkillers, and, while he understood what the doctor was saying, he didn’t like the idea of Alyssa and Kennedy being alone and vulnerable when he was on the operating table. He needed Casey to get down here. Fast.

  And there were other things worrying him... “Will there be any lasting damage to my arm?”

  “This sort of injury is difficult to manage because the associated potential vascular and nerve injuries can be extremely serious. That’s why I’m not going to attempt to remove the knife here. In the operating room, I can perform the procedure while scanning your arm to see exactly where the blade is in relation to any vital structures. I can’t make you any promises at this stage, but I’ll do my best to limit any permanent harm.”

  “Thank you.” There was a flurry of activity, and he sensed the medical team were getting ready to move him. “Alyssa?”

  “I’m here.”

  “I need to see you.”

  She stepped into his line of sight, cradling Kennedy against her shoulder. Although she was pale and the fine lines around her eyes were etched a little deeper, she still had the power to take his breath away.

  “You okay?” When he spoke, his throat felt like he’d swallowed a cup of sand.

  “Yeah. Neither of my arms have knives sticking out of them.” Although she smiled, her eyes were a little too bright.

  “Call Casey,” he told her. “He’ll know what to do. He’ll also know the best way to tell my mom and dad about this.”

  “Calling him is the first job on my list.” She lightly touched his left hand. “You focus on letting the doctors make you well.”

  “Sorry, but we have to go,” a nurse said.

  “I’ll see you soon.” Alyssa kissed the hand she was holding.

  “Yeah.” As the gurney started to move, he turned his head. “And, Lyss?”

  “Yes?” She craned her head to watch him.

  “You do know that divorce comment was a trick? Just my way of giving you a get-out so you’d say ‘yes’ to the whole marriage plan...”

  Her soft laugh was the last sound he heard as they wheeled him out of the room.

  Chapter 11

  “Alyssa!” Half an hour later, Melody dashed into the waiting room with Casey close behind her. “Oh, my stars. Are you okay? How is Everett? What can we do to help?”

  “Maybe we could start by asking one question at a time?” Casey suggested. “Beginning with, can we get you anything?”

  “Some water would be good.” Alyssa gestured to the machine in the corner of the room. “I worry about disturbing Kennedy if I try to move.”

  Although she was happy to see them, their arrival triggered a change in Alyssa. It was like a dam had burst inside her. Until now, she’d been numb, able to function because of a curious lack of feeling. Now the old fear found her, pouncing on her with glee. Its cackling voice whispered in her ear, telling her knees to go weak, her stomach to lurch and her heart to pound. In response, she bowed her head.

  “Hey.” Melody came to sit next to her, then rubbed her back with a circular movement. “He’ll be okay.”

  “You didn’t see it.” Her throat felt like she was trying to swallow dry breadcrumbs. She waited until Casey handed her a glass of water. After taking a long slug, she started again. “There was a knife...” She gestured to her own arm. “Sticking out of his skin.”

  Casey closed one fist and smacked it into his other palm. In that moment, Alyssa could see her own feelings reflected in his eyes. They both wanted to shout, have a tantrum and beat their hands on the ground like a toddler. They also wanted to run away and hide.

  It occurred to her that this could all be a nightmare. So far, she had been playing along with the bad dream. What if she refused to comply from now on? Would it be over faster? Or would it get worse...?

  “The doctors know they need to preserve the knife for evidence, right?”

  “I think they are more concerned about saving your brother’s arm.”

  Casey swung away, every line of his body rippling with tension. “They may be able to do both. I need to speak to someone.”

  He stalked from the room and Melody placed an arm around Alyssa’s shoulders, drawing her close. “He doesn’t mean to be insensitive. He’s worried about his brother and is dealing with it the only way he knows how. And he had to call his parents with the news. That was hard.”

  “It’s okay.” Alyssa said. “Everett and I were together for four years. His default setting in a crisis was law enforcement as well.”

  “Everett is in the hands of a medical team, but I’m worried about you right now.” Melody’s kind voice almost tipped Alyssa over the edge into tears. “You’ve had a terrible shock.”

  Those words set the scene for the next three hours. The time they spent in that waiting room took on the quality of water. Sometimes, it passed slowly, a drop at a time. Now and then, it rushed past with the speed of a river in flood. Once or twice, it froze and refused to move. Yet the clock on the wall showed it was constant, moving with a regular, unfailing tick-tock.

  No matter how the time passed, Alyssa’s insides grew increasingly hollow, and her skin became colder. A nurse wheeled in a portable crib and blankets. Placing Kennedy in it relieved the ache in Alyssa’s shoulder muscles but did nothing for her heart. Casey paced up and down like a caged tiger and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to join him or throw something at him.

  “He should be out of the OR by now.” Casey checked the time on his cell-phone screen, clearly mistrusting the clock. “I’m going to see if I can find out what’s going on.”

  As he marched from the room, Kennedy gave a soft whimper in her sleep.

  “She’ll wake up soon and be hungry.” Alyssa bit her lip. “When I dashed out, I didn’t think to bring her nighttime bottle with me.”

  Melody patted her hand. “Let me see what I can do. The staff here must be used to dealing with families in every kind of emergency.”

  As she went in search of a nurse, Alyssa leaned over the crib. Family. The word had the power to ground her.

  “We’re his, and he’s ours,” she whispered, watching Kennedy’s rosebud lips puff in and out. “It’s scary but true.”

  A movement caught her attention, and she looked up, thinking Melody or Casey had returned. Instead, there was a hooded figure standing just within the room. Alyssa’s gaze dropped to the distinctive sneakers.

  Just like a row of alligator teeth...

  Instinct replaced rational thought. Acting fast, she snatched up her water glass and threw it. Although the intruder ducked, the glass shattered against the wall at the side of his head. At the same time, Alyssa screamed for help with all the power she had in her lungs. The stranger spun around and sprinted from the room.

  Seconds later, Casey and a security guard almost collided in the doorway.

  “What happened?” Casey was in uniform, but he still showed the other guy his badge to establish his seniority.

  “He was here.” Alyssa was trembling so hard she could barely get the words out through her strained airwa
y. “The guy who attacked Everett was right here in this room.”

  Casey didn’t waste time questioning how she knew it was the same person. “Get someone on the security cameras, then start a search,” he told the guard. “He may still be on the premises.”

  The guard set off to follow his instructions while Casey made a call to the sheriff’s department and got someone to clean up the glass. Kennedy, disturbed by the loud noises, started to cry. Alyssa lifted her from the crib, then rocked the little girl in her arms.

  Inside her stomach a snowball was building, gaining layers in time with the machine-gun fire that was her heartbeat.

  “Why did he come here?” she demanded when Casey finished his call.

  “Isn’t it obvious? He came to the hospital in search of Everett.” Casey gave a short bark of laughter. “The knife is already on its way for processing, but the guy either wants it back, or he’s planning to finish the job he started back in the parking lot.”

  “No.” The negative thoughts were coming hard and fast, like waves pounding on rock. She started pacing, holding Kennedy with the baby’s head tucked into her shoulder. “If that was the case, he had no reason to come to this room.”

  Casey stifled a curse. “You’re right. There’s a good chance he came looking for you and Kennedy.”

  Luckily for Alyssa’s overwrought brain cells, Melody returned carrying a bottle of Kennedy’s usual formula. As the baby drank, she gazed up at Alyssa with trusting blue eyes. Determinedly, Alyssa channeled all her concentration into making sure her little girl was okay. Kennedy was going to grow up strong and confident. Alyssa was not going to pass her own fears onto her. Kennedy would know she was loved, no matter what had happened in her parents’ lives. This night would become a horrible memory, not a defining moment.

  Having finished drinking, Kennedy sat up and gazed around her with interest. Clearly having decided that Melody and Casey had come to this new place to see her, she entertained them with wide, new-tooth smiles and chuckles.