by T. G. Ayer
The second man narrowed his eyes. “Check for the ambulance and the cops.” The sirens were painfully close now, and from what my panther hearing told me they were seconds away from drawing up in front of the house and mere minutes away from storming the room.
I closed my eyes and lay my head on the floor, watching the room spin around me. I was sure now that something was bleeding internally. I cleared my throat, about to tell the two assholes that I also needed medical attention when a voice hailed us from outside on a loudspeaker.
“Is everyone okay in there?” The cop appeared to be wanting to confirm this wasn’t a hostage situation.
The gunman snorted and headed for the window. He leaned out and waved. “Get the ambulance up here. We have one dead and one wounded, severe blood loss.”
Chapter 24
Metal clanked, and feet shuffled outside as a contingent prepared to enter the house. I forced myself to open my eyes. Without the fear of danger, two paramedics rushed into the room. One went to Marsden, the other checked Stella for a pulse, then closed her eyes and moved over toward me.
“Don’t touch her,” Stavros snapped.
The paramedic glanced up at him, her blue eyes narrowing. “One look at her tells me she’s probably got a fractured cheekbone, likely needs stitches to her scalp, and I won’t be surprised if her arm is fractured.”
I cleared my throat. “I have a broken rib. Internal bleeding too, I think.”
The paramedic hadn’t stopped staring at Stavros. “Do you need more reasons?”
“I said don’t fucking touch her.” He bit the words out.
The paramedic opened her mouth to respond but didn’t get a chance. Three of Chicago’s finest rushed into the room, weapons drawn as they scanned the place. One of them, Clarke according to his lapel badge, used the radio attached to his lapel to call in a confirmation of one dead, one bleeding out and one injured.
Clarke holstered his weapon, and the other two cops followed suit. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Don’t take your eyes or your weapons off her until you cuff her.” Stavros pointed his gun at me for added emphasis.
Clarke, who appeared to be in charge of the tactical team, took a step toward the gunman. “Who are you?”
With his free hand, Stavros withdrew a card from his back pants pocket and handed it to the cop without looking. With their tactical gear that included helmets, I was unable to see the cop’s expression as he read the card, but his body language implied the details meant little to nothing to him.
Clarke glanced over at me. “Explain why I’m supposed to be cuffing her? What exactly happened here?”
“She shot the woman over there to death. Marsden tried to wrestle the gun from her, but she pushed him off and shot him when he tried to run. We got here just in time to stop her from escaping.”
“That’s a bunch of lies,” I muttered loud enough for the room to hear.
“Shut the fuck up,” Stavros yelled, spit flying from his mouth. “You don’t get to speak.”
I had no strength to even raise an eyebrow.
The paramedic gave an irritated grunt. “You can cuff her, but I need to attend to her. You’re going to end up with a dead suspect if I don’t see to her internal bleeding. Someone used her as a punching bag and went a little too far.” Though she didn’t look at Stavros, it was clear that she knew he’d administered my injuries personally.
Clarke jerked a chin at one of his men who hurried over and clamped a pair of handcuffs around my injured hand. I hissed with pain, and the paramedic rushed forward. “Stop that. Her hand is hurt. If it’s sprained and you break it would you like me to put that in the report? That the cop broke the suspect’s arm during the arrest?”
The cuffs were removed without comment.
“Stand there with your gun aimed at her head for all I care. She’s not going anywhere.”
The paramedic ignored him and sank down beside me, close enough for me to make out her name tag: Donna Lombardi. Nice name, I thought, my head spinning.
Donna pulled on a pair of latex gloves and proceeded to check my scalp, murmuring softly when I winced. She studied the cut and grunted, then manipulated my cheek and eye bones to check for breakages. Her expression didn’t get any more comforting.
She spent a few seconds checking my arm and then lifted my shirt to study my abdomen. Her gasp of shock was enough to draw the attention of the whole room, and I watched as all three cops, Justin, and the two paramedics turned to look at the gunman. None were impressed.
Of course, to them I looked like a fragile female, the general opinion being that pretty girls couldn’t fight. In this instance, I’d not fought back for a reason, but now I was regretting it.
Stavros snorted. “Don’t look at me. She was trying to get away after killing two people. I’m not about to let her escape just because she looks all helpless damsel.”
Justin let out a hard laugh. I noted he suppressed his cougar growl taking into consideration the human presence in the room. “That’s not what I saw happen, and I’ll be happy to make a statement to that effect.”
Stavros rounded on him. “Whose side are you on anyway? And aren’t you here as an observer?”
Justin lifted an eyebrow. “I’m on the side of justice. And I am an observer, but that doesn’t mean I agreed to watch while you beat up a prominent member of our community who also happens to be a close friend.”
“So why did you let him? Doesn’t look like you did much to help,” said Clarke.
I cleared my throat, but Justin spoke over me. “He threatened to kill her if I moved. I thought it was better she get beaten up rather than shot in the head. I think she’d agree.”
I nodded when all eyes turned to me for corroboration.
But Stavros spoke. “This is fucking bullshit. I work for Mr Marsden. Once he regains consciousness, he’ll confirm everything I say.”
“That’s fine,” said Donna, her tone still cold. “But we need to get her to the ambulance so I can at least stitch her up and put her arm in a sling. She’s going to need the hospital for the internal bleeding.” The paramedic spoke coldly, her eyes flashing as she glanced over her shoulder at the gunman.
Clarke nodded, and the two paramedics left the room. Moments later they returned with two stretchers. Every bone in my body ached as one of the cops helped Donna slide a backboard beneath me. They lifted me off the ground and onto the stretcher, then strapped me in.
The cop with the handcuffs stepped closer, and Donna glared at him. “Not required, she’s not going anywhere.” He stepped away but kept a firm eye on me as they trundled me out into the hall and carried the gurney down the stairs.
I winced at the sunlight as they pushed the gurney out of the house and toward the waiting ambulances. Marsden had been loaded onto the second ambulance a few yards away and looked like he was slowly regaining consciousness despite the dire chest wound.
Justin hurried out of the house and closed in on me. He looked intent on remaining at my side, but I stared at him, widening my eyes then looking pointedly at the window to the upstairs room.
He slowed in his stride and came to a stop, then stared at me a tiny bit longer. He seemed to understand what I’d meant. All I could see in my mind’s eye was the gun that had killed first Stella and then Marsden. It had lain at Marsden’s side, apparently forgotten in the back and forth of the paramedics and the cops.
A little bit inefficient on the part of the cops if you asked me. But I wasn’t against taking advantage of their lapse in judgment.
I watched Justin disappear into the house as Donna and a second paramedic, whose name tag identified him as Tim Sykes, bustled around me, threading an IV and starting a drip, then setting my hand in a temporary cast. I wasn’t sure who had done the stitching up of my scalp, and I hoped it hadn’t been Donna because she would have been surprised to see that the wound was already healing.
Walkers healed so much faster than humans, that cuts could sometimes close up w
ithin hours. I’d have told her that there was no need for the stitches, but I didn’t want to raise any further suspicion with either the cops or the paramedics.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied movement in the upstairs room window and caught the nod that Justin gave me. Then he disappeared and just before Donna lifted my shirt again to probe my ribs I caught sight of Justin disappearing out of the door and into the woods to the left of the house. From where Marsden’s men hovered around their boss they were unable to see Justin.
Still, I kept an eye on the two men as they stared at the councilman, clearly expecting him to awaken at any moment.
Justin was just returning to the gravel drive when another car skidded into the yard and came to a sudden stop inches before hitting the ambulance I was sitting in.
Two council members alighted and stared at the mayhem around them. Trapper and Wade both stared at me, expression hard and suspicious, before hurrying over to Marsden’s men. Seconds later they strode inside the house.
Tim patted me on the shoulder. “Hang in there. We’re taking you straight to the emergency department. They’ll see to the bleeding as soon as we get there.” Then he disappeared into the front seat and started the engine.
Donna hurried to get things stowed as she too prepared to get us underway. She hadn’t locked the doors, which was the only reason I hadn’t missed the yelling from the upstairs room.
Trapper stuck his head out of the window. “Stavros! Where the hell is the gun?”
Chapter 25
Stavros stared, his face going red. Then he raced across the drive and disappeared inside the house. Seconds later there was a rumble of loud voices, a high-pitched female shrieking adding to the compilation.
Then Stavros hung out of the window and yelled, “Stop that ambulance. We need to search that woman. She has the murder weapon.”
Donna was leaning out of the back of the ambulance, about to close the double doors. “Ugh, not that asshole again,” she mumbled. She did, however, refrain from closing the doors.
She hurried to the front of the van and spoke to Tim who shut the engine off and came to sit beside me. “What do they want?” he asked her.
“Something about needing to search Ms Odel over here for the gun.”
Tim frowned. “Tell them it’s a waste of time. Where the hell is she supposed to have hidden anything?”
“Tell that blockhead when he gets here then,” she grumbled as she unhooked the straps in preparation for the search.
Two cops were hurrying over to the ambulance, and one of them spoke as they drew closer. “Sarge, the gun was on the floor when the paramedics put the girl on the stretcher. She had no possible way of touching the weapon. There’s no point in searching her. We’re probably just going to end up hurting her.”
The sergeant seemed to agree and paused at the foot of the stretcher. “I’m sorry Miss, but we do need to do a search. Lombardi, could you help us out here?” She nodded and leaned over, opening my shirt so they could see I had nothing strapped to my torso. She raised each of my arms, then laid them carefully at my side. Then she ran her hands down my thighs making it clear nothing hid beneath the tight leather pants. At my ankles, she lifted the hem of my pants revealing my ankle boot and the knives in the sides of each of them.
There was a grin on her face when she removed them and placed them both inside a ziplock bag. She handed the weapons over to the cops who both looked amused. “Clearly Stavros over there is a little incompetent in his security role. Keep that safe for our…killer over here, okay boys?”
It was clear from her tone and from the cops’ expressions that none of them considered me a potential killer, and that all of them thought Stavros was suspect.
The sergeant stuffed my knives into his jacket pocket and then turned to yell at Stavros in the upstairs window only to find him racing out the front door. Before the cop could say a word, the man skidded to a stop in front of him and said, “Give it to me.”
The cop’s back was facing me, and I was disappointed not to be able to see his expression. Spine straight he said, “Give you what? She had no gun on her.”
“What did you put in your pocket?” he yelled, stepping closer to the cop. The sergeant took a step back, but Stavros was determined. “What? Are you a dirty cop? Hiding evidence now?”
By now Trapper, Wade, and Justin had drawn closer and were staring at Stavros whose neck bulged and whose face had turned red.
The cop sighed and held up the bag containing my two daggers. “These were on the victim’s person. I’m retaining them in evidence until such time as I can determine if they match the wounds on the female deceased and Mr Marsden over there.”
“You think that’s funny?” Stavros swiped the bag aside and sent it flying from the cop’s hand. “What the fuck did you do with the gun?”
“Sir, I suggest you refrain from profanity while in the company of these ladies.” He waved a hand around indicating Wade, myself, and Donna. Then he looked over at Trapper and Wade. “I’m not sure who this man is and how he is connected to Mr Marsden, but he has no jurisdiction over this case. I’ll be taking the victims over to the hospital, and we’ll provide them both with the necessary security while undergoing treatment. I’ll have my men search the house again to find the gun.”
“How the hell did it go missing?” asked Wade, her thin nose twitching as she glared at Stavros and then at the cop.
“We’re unsure about that, Ma’am. When the patients were removed from the room, the weapon was still on the ground where it had been since we arrived. Nobody touched the gun that I saw.”
“And you left the crime scene unattended? You let someone take the gun?”
Clarke turned to face Wade. “We’ve cordoned off the area, no one in or out. We’ll do a search of all the personnel here as well as yourselves and Stavros and his team.”
“Are you trying to accuse us of stealing evidence?” Stavros and Wade said in unison, both sounding equally furious at his gall.
Clarke shook his head. “We’re merely doing our jobs.” He waved two cops over and instructed them to search everyone.
“How do we know you’re not dirty. How do we know you or one of your men haven’t stolen the gun?”
“You’re welcome to conduct a search of myself and all my men, Mr Stavros. We have nothing to hide. All our vehicles are here too, awaiting your perusal.”
The cop’s calm tone only seemed to agitate the man, and he took a step forward, chin high, eyes flashing as if he was about to punch Clarke’s lights out.
“Stavros.” Trapper’s voice was hard and cold, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise at the sound of it. Though the man wasn’t an alpha, he certainly bore the power of one in his voice.
Stavros stilled, his left eye giving an odd twitch, as if he was struggling with himself, not wanting to obey but forced to.
Trapper said nothing further to him. Stavros stepped aside in silence. Then Trapper faced the cops. “Please forgive Stavros here. He’s a little on the passionate side when it comes to his employers. We’ll be following the ambulances to the hospital, so perhaps you can update us there as to any progress in your investigation?”
Clarke nodded and strode off, Trapper and Wade accompanying him. I could no longer hear what was being said, and to be honest, I was too exhausted to care. The paramedics had administered pain medication, but it was nowhere near enough to even take the edge of my pain. I’d need special, high-dose animal grade painkillers to get any kind of relief. Not that I was about to inform the pair, who even now seemed only concerned with my welfare.
The cops split up, leaving Trapper and Wade alone. They leaned close and seemed to come to some agreement. I amped up my hearing in the hopes of catching something, and a glance at Justin confirmed he was doing the same.
The two paramedics bustled about, strapping me in and preparing again to leave. I concentrated and watched as the two council members strode over to the other ambulance to talk
to Stavros who now stood stiff-spined beside Marsden who appeared to have finally come to.
I was unsurprised to find Marsden staring at me, his eyes filled with hatred.
Chapter 26
From my vantage point in the back of the ambulance, I could see right into the other vehicle, but with Trapper, Wade and Stavros crowded around him I only caught glimpses of Marsden’s face.
Tim settled into the driver’s seat while Donna jumped out to talk to Justin. I concentrated on Marsden who was glaring at Trapper. “Took you long enough to get here.”
Trapper grunted. “This course of action was a little reckless, don’t you think?” he snapped, his tone hard and not as respectful as he should be to the most senior council member. Marsden swallowed and appeared to attempt an answer, but Trapper waved a hand. “You should have been more careful. We told you this was a risk, but you went ahead anyway. We’ve been working on this slowly, and now you get impatient and jeopardize the whole thing?”
Wade clicked her tongue. “And from the looks of it, you’re going to pay the price of your life all to put that Odel girl in her place.” The woman didn’t sound all that unhappy at the prospect of the older man’s death. I wasn’t surprised as Delia Wade had always been ambitious. Likely she saw herself as the next in line to the senior post.
I glanced at Justin over Donna’s shoulder. His expression was dark, and he frowned, anger flashing in his eyes. Donna nodded and turned to head back to the ambulance, apparently oblivious to Justin’s fury at Trapper and Wade’s conversation.
The paramedic was just about to close the door when again, we were disturbed by the sound of a bike racing onto the gravel and skidding to a stop beside Trapper’s sedan. Iain had driven here, heedless of his own safety having foregone the need for a helmet. He looked a little windblown as he swung his leg over the seat and hurried over to Justin.