“Okay,” I replied and started to lift her head gently off my lap.
“No!” Charly said with surprising strength. Her eyes sought mine. “Promise me. She…she’ll need you.”
I didn’t want to accept what she was trying to tell me. “I promise, Charly. Now, please, save your strength. We’ll talk later when you’re stronger. I promise I’ll be there. We have so much to catch up on. We’ll do like we did when I was really little and we’d splurge on one of those big candy bars from the dollar store and curl up in bed together and tell each other about our day. I’ll even give you the bigger half of the candy bar,” I pleaded with her. I couldn’t lose her now, not like this. My nose ran and blended with the tears on my face, but I couldn’t let go long enough to wipe my face.
She smiled sadly at me and released my hand. “I love you,” she whispered. “Always h…have. Go…go f…find your m…m…man. Be happy, brat. It’s your t…turn. W…way p…p…past t…time.”
The paramedics wasted no time transferring her to the gurney and carefully moved her down the steps to a waiting ambulance. I remained by her side the whole way, but her eyes had closed. I could tell she’d lost consciousness, and I’d only be in the way in the ambulance. Plus, I needed to find Holt. I hurried to a second ambulance where they were already loading Holt. I tapped the paramedic on the shoulder. “I need to see him.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, you’ll have to meet us there.”
Like hell. “Now you listen to me,” I said tersely pointing my finger at him. “I’ve had a gun held to my head, watched the love of my life, who happens to be your patient, get shot, seen my sister appear out of nowhere and get shot, and my head is splitting, so you could say I’ve had a bad day. Not to mention I think I have PMS, so unless you want me to knock your teeth so far down your throat you’ll have to shove food up your ass to eat, I suggest you get out of my way.” I stood with my hands on my hips and glared at him.
He blinked at me, a stunned expression on his face.
“I think you better do as she says,” an amused voice called from inside the ambulance. “She loves me, and even I know better than to cross her when she pulls out her grannyisms.”
Mr. Paramedic moved out of my way still staring at me and giving me a wide berth. I nodded, smiled sweetly at him, and scampered up, sliding along the bench until I was close enough to lean into Holt’s face. They had his back elevated and he was pale, but grinning.
“As I said, always willing to stand up to others for those you care about. Remind me to never block your way, sweetheart!” He winked at the paramedic who was still looking at me like I was crazy.
The adrenaline rush faded, and I burst into full blown tears. “Oh, baby. I was so scared for you. Are you in much pain? Are you okay? What can I do?” My sentences all ran together in one breath.
His face grew serious. “Won’t lie, my shoulder hurts like a motherfucker, but I’ll live. And you weren’t nearly as scared as I was. I knew I couldn’t lose you. All I could think of was if something happened to you, I hoped the next bullet was true because I wouldn’t survive without you.”
The ambulance hit a pothole and Holt grimaced. “How’s the other woman? I swear, she just came out of nowhere in a blur and knocked me down.”
“She’s not in good shape,” I sniffled. “But Holt, that woman is my sister. Charly saved your life.”
The ambulance slowed to a halt, and the doors were whipped open before Holt could respond. Moments later he was in an exam room which was a flurry of activity. One of the nurses tried to get me to leave his side stating I needed to be checked out myself. She promised me she’d keep me posted on Holt. Now that I’d seen him, I didn’t have the energy to fight her like I had the paramedic. I reluctantly nodded, but not before I leaned in to kiss him. “We missed our date at the courthouse,” I murmured against his lips. “I think you owe me, Mr. Andrews.”
“Gladly.” He used his good arm to pull me down where he didn’t hold back on his kiss, immediately parting my lips with his tongue and staking his claim.
“Ahem,” one of the doctors cleared his throat. “We need to see to his shoulder now.” His smile was sympathetic but firm, and I was kindly but forcibly sent to another cubicle to be examined.
A thorough but brief exam later, I was left alone while the nurse left to get me some medicine for my headache. She came back a moment later saying the police wanted to interview me, but another man claiming to be my lawyer was also there. Seconds later, Mr. McCloskey stuck his head through the curtain.
“Madelyn, darling?”
I jumped off the bed and flew into his arms. I lost it once again. All the fear, all the grief came crashing down on me. He let me cry until the tears finally began to slow. He hugged and patted my shoulders while he dug in a pocket for a handkerchief and handed it to me. It smelled like a combination of sunshine and starch. I didn’t know men still carried them, but then again I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since Mr. M was the good old-fashioned kind, and they didn’t make many like him anymore.
“Ms. Stone?”
A uniformed policeman stepped through the curtain. “I’m sorry, I know you’re upset, but I need to ask you a few questions.”
I didn’t want to, but knew it was necessary, and I hoped to get it over with so I could focus on Holt and Charly, so I nodded. I felt better having Mr. M with me. The officer was followed by two men in suits with badges attached to their belt. I repeated everything that happened that day, along with answering a bunch of questions. They knew about my incarceration and the fire. Obviously, they’d done their homework. Mr. M made sure they stuck to relevant questions, reminding them I was a victim twice now and they needed to get to the bottom of this. I promised to be available if they needed me and they finally left me alone.
The nurse who promised me she’d keep me posted on Holt came in to let me know that he had been wheeled in for surgery to repair some minor damage that occurred when the bullet ripped through his shoulder.
“Can you find out what happened to another woman brought in? Charly Stone? She was shot, too. She’s my sister.”
She patted my shoulder sympathetically. “I’ll let the doctors know, hon.” She left me with a bag of Holt’s belongings, including his watch and phone, and then we were dismissed to the waiting room. I was surprised to see Mr. Barnes and Misty sitting in chairs there. Misty was being comforted by her uncle as she cried silently. I didn’t understand. Was she crying for Holt? Was she seriously that infatuated with him?
Mr. Barnes smiled sympathetically at me and rose to speak to Mr. M. I sat on the other side of the waiting room and ignored them. I punched in Holt’s password on his phone and scrolled until I found his mother’s name. One more very teary eyed conversation, and I finally drew an exhausted breath. Mr. M sat next to me and put his arm around me. I rested my head on his shoulder and watched the hands on the clock move forward with painstaking slowness.
“Andrews family?” A doctor searched the waiting room. I stood.
“Mrs. Andrews?” looked to see if Holt’s mom had gotten there, but I didn’t see her. Mr. M nudged me.
Oh. I cleared my throat. “Yes, that’s me.”
He smiled reassuringly. “Your husband is out of surgery. We removed the bullet and repaired some minimal damage. He may need some physical therapy, but he should be fine. We’re going to keep him here overnight just as a precaution against infection. He’s a lucky man. A couple inches lower, and we might be having a different conversation. We’ll be wheeling him back to a room in just a few minutes, and I’ll have a nurse bring you back. Your husband was much more concerned about you than he was himself. He made us promise to bring his wife back to him ASAP because you were the only medicine that would work.” He winked at me. “He really made the nurses swoon.”
More tears fell, this time from gratitude. I thanked him profusely. “Is there any word on Charly Stone? She’s my sister.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t part of her team
, but I know they were brought in around the same time from the same scene. I’ll see what I can find out and send someone to find you.”
I collapsed into the nearest available chair. “He’ll be fine,” I told Mr. M and the others who’d moved over to us.
“What about Charly?” whispered Misty.
I looked up in surprise. “How do you know about her?”
“It’s a long story,” she sniffled.
“And one I think you better start telling me,” I snapped.
Misty wiped tears away and said, “Yes, I will. You need to know.”
A nurse interrupted. “Mrs. Andrews?” I heard Misty gasp, and I shot her a nasty look to keep her mouth shut. “I’m here to take you to your husband.”
Mr. M squeezed my shoulders. “We’ll be right here. I’d like to see him when he’s ready. I promise I’ll keep it short. I just want to see him for myself. Just so you know there are a slew of reporters here outside the hospital. The police are doing their best to keep them out, but you know how sneaky they can be.”
I nodded and followed the nurse down several halls lined with rooms until we stopped in front of one.
“He’s still groggy,” she warned as she knocked and pushed the door open. I hurried past her and entered Holt’s room. Some color had returned to his face, which I assumed was because he wasn’t in as much pain. There were bandages covering his left shoulder under a sling. Holt’s eyes were closed but opened slightly as soon as I sat on the edge of his bed and picked up his hand from where it rested on his stomach.
“Hi,” he said hoarsely.
“Hi, yourself.” I smiled back at him, biting my lip to keep from crying.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, except I’m worried about you. But the doctor says you’re going to be just fine.”
“Been through worse,” he chuckled, grimacing as it jarred his shoulder. “At least this time I know I’ll have a good nurse to wait on me.” He tried to wink, but since his eyes were only half open, it looked more like a one-eyed squint.
Another knock sounded at the door, and a different doctor stepped in and introduced himself as Dr. Zadar. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I understand your family of Ms. Stone?”
I stood. “I’m her sister.”
“Would you like to talk in the hallway?”
There was no way I was leaving Holt. “It’s okay. You can tell me here. Is she okay? Can I see her?” Holt’s hand tightened on mine as we waited for the news.
Dr. Zadar pulled a chair from the corner of the room and placed it in front of me. He straddled it backward. “As you may know, your sister was shot in the abdominal area. Unfortunately, it perforated her liver. We did everything we could, but we weren’t able to save her. I’m very, very sorry.”
38
Holt
“You’re…you’re saying she…died?” Maddy choked.
The doctor nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid the damage was too extensive.”
My heart broke at her expression. I tried to squeeze her hand, but she jerked it from me to slap both hands across her mouth. I knew she was about to be sick as she scanned the room frantically before bolting for a bathroom door. The doctor seemed to grasp what was happening and left to check on her as vomiting sounds echoed from the bathroom.
“Maddy?” I called as she continued to be sick. “Maddy, if you don’t answer me, I’m coming in there.”
Dr. Zadar came out. He assured me Maddy was alright, just in some shock and she’d be out soon. He expressed his apologies for our loss once more and left. The only sounds coming from the bathroom were some sniffles I could hear over running water. Damn it; she needed me. I hurt like a sonofabitch, and I was still woozy from the surgery, but I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and was wrestling with the IV pole when she came out of the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “Get back in that bed.”
She hurried to my side and tucked me back into bed. I didn’t miss the slight trembling of her hands or her pale and clammy face. “Maddy, tell me what the hell’s going on?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, it was a shock to see her. We had a few minutes together where she said she was sorry and that she was protecting Lily, her daughter. I didn’t even know she’d had a baby.” Watery eyes stared across the room. “I’ve always imagined what I’d say to her if I ever saw her again, but it was never under these types of circumstances. This time, I only wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be alright. I had so much to say to her, to ask her, and now I…I can’t. I wanted to hate her, Holt, but seeing her, knowing she threw herself at you to save you, I…I don’t know what I feel except sadness for all that could have been.”
“Come here, baby.” I lifted my good arm, and she lay down on the side of the bed. There wasn’t a lot of room, but turned on her side and rested her head on my chest.
I tried to choose my words carefully, knowing the history between the sisters. “Whatever else you know about your sister, she saved my life tonight. That’s what I’ll be focused on, because if it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I’d be laying here tonight, holding you in my arms. And I’ll forever owe her a debt.”
I felt her head nod against my chest. “Charly made me promise to look after Lily. I don’t even know where to find her. And I’m a stranger to her, although Charly said Lily knows about me. I have no idea what to say or what to do.”
“Don’t worry about all the details, sweetheart. When the time comes, you’ll know what to do.”
A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. My mom’s head poked inside, and she rushed to my free side followed by my dad and brother. My mom didn’t bat an eye at seeing Maddy curled up intimately by my side, but my brother shot me a raised eyebrow as well as a grin. My dad’s face remained neutral.
“Oh, my sweet children,” my mother gushed. “Are you okay? Let me see both of you.”
Maddy had shot up from the bed as soon as they walked in. Reluctantly, I had let her, but only so my mom could fuss over me like a mom needs to do. “Just a shoulder wound, Mom. I’m sore, but I’ll be fine.”
“Holten Andrews, you’re cheating me out of a full life. This is the second time you’ve scared years off it.” She turned to Maddy and wrapped her in a huge hug before stepping back and using her sharp eyes to inspect every inch of Maddy. “And you, young lady, are you okay?”
“A little shaken, but I’ll be okay.”
“What happened, Son?” my dad finally asked once he and Cal had hugged us and expressed their concern. We recounted most of the details, but Maddy held back on sharing that the woman who pushed me out of the way was her sister. I knew she was struggling to come to terms that Charly had come back in her life just to be lost forever immediately.
Another knock and John McCloskey stepped inside the room. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I wanted to see for myself that you’re okay.” My family cleared a path so he could shake my hand.
I was surprised to see one of the other partners, Barnes, follow in his path. I’d been around Barnes, of course, but most of my direct interaction had been with McCloskey. Much to my displeasure, his niece Misty trailed behind. Her eyes were red as if she’d been crying. Shit. This infatuation of hers has to stop.
“I’m glad you’ll be okay,” she said softly. She looked at Maddy, who was curled back up against my side. “Both of you.”
John cleared his throat. “We’ve held them off as long as possible, but the police are here to interview you, Holt. I’ve already represented Maddy, not that there was a problem, but Vic is going to act as your counsel.”
I started to protest, but John held up his hand. “I don’t anticipate any trouble, but we’re not taking any chances.” He gestured to Maddy that she should follow him, and after glancing at my family gave me a shy kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll be back soon,” she promised.
“Maddy,” Misty called. Her voice sounded strained. “I need to talk to you.
”
I couldn’t imagine what Misty might need to say to Maddy, but Maddy seemed to think otherwise.
She nodded. “Yes, I believe we do,” she answered, some of the old snark back in her voice. “I’ll meet you in the waiting room.”
Misty and all the others except for Vic and Maddy left.
She glanced nervously at Vic, who smiled in return. “Go ahead,” he said. “I think the cat was let out of the bag several days ago.”
She grinned and leaned over and gave me a proper kiss this time on the lips. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised.
I settled in to get the interview over and wait for Maddy to return, and once she did, I was never letting her go.
39
Maddy
It didn’t take me long to find Misty in a quiet corner of the waiting room, looking distinctly nervous.
She ought to be, I thought as I sat in a chair near her.
“Okay, Misty. I’m here. But I’m going to warn you I’m not up for taking any crap from you. And if you have any questions about Holt and me, I’m not answering them except to say, yes, we’re together, and by together I mean in every way. We love each other, and that’s all you need to know.”
She flinched slightly, either from my tone or my open claim of Holt, I wasn’t sure, but she nodded and bowed her head to stare at her laced fingers in her lap. This humble side of Misty caught me by surprise since it was a far cry from any other behavior I’d seen from her, but I wasn’t yet ready to lower my guard around her.
“First, I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch to you,” she started. I had to strain to hear her. She took a deep breath and continued in a stronger voice. “I was jealous of you before I even met you, and then when I saw how everyone at the firm spoke so well of you, and I saw how Holt looked at you, it just cinched it. It felt like you had everything I ever wanted.”
Yesterday's Tomorrows Page 26