by Karen Rose
‘Okay,’ Michael said, his heart slowing. Not a normal rate, but he no longer felt faint. Something about Deacon’s manner calmed him. He was like Coach that way. ‘How did Stone call you guys if he didn’t have a phone?’
Deacon smiled approvingly. ‘Good question. You’re thinking now. Stone is a suspicious sort. He’s also a reporter, so he had sources that like to stay anonymous. Because of that, he always carries a burner phone. You know what that is?’
Michael nodded. ‘A throwaway phone. I watch TV.’
That made Deacon grin. ‘Okay. Well, he had a burner phone, but it was hidden in his damn boot, so he had to get to it and that took a while. He called his brother Marcus before he even called 911. He knew that this guy was looking for you. That he’d probably been following Dr Dani, thinking she’d lead him to you. He wanted to warn Marcus that the man was coming.’
Michael’s shoulders lowered as some of the tension seeped out of him. These people really did care. Marcus and his wife had guarded him and Joshua, sitting by the door. All Dani’s friends had gathered to protect them. And Delores’s boyfriend Stone had put Michael’s safety over his own. ‘Oh.’
Deacon’s smile was warm. ‘Yeah. Stone likes to pretend he’s a gruff badass, but he’s really a marshmallow inside.’
‘Like Coach.’
‘Exactly. There’s a good reason those two are friends. Anyway, Greg just told us that he’d noticed an SUV that shouldn’t have been parked in front of one of the neighbor’s houses. He’d been walking the dogs.’ Deacon rolled his eyes. ‘All seven of them. God. How did we get so many dogs?’
‘Greg said it was because of Delores and her shelter.’
‘It’s because we’re all saps,’ Deacon said, but he smiled, and Michael suspected the white-haired man was probably as big a marshmallow as the others. ‘Anyway, we believe he’s out there.’
‘Did you call the police?’ Michael asked.
‘Well, yes,’ Deacon said. ‘But we are the police. Scarlett’s a detective and Kate, Decker, and I are FBI agents. We will protect you.’
‘Why don’t you just go out and arrest the guy then?’
‘Another good question. See, we had no evidence that you’d killed your stepfather when we brought you in for questioning on Saturday, but we don’t have any evidence that he did either, except for your eyewitness account. Now, we believe you, but we can’t prove this guy has actually done anything. Nobody else has seen his face and it’s not a crime to sit outside on a street.’
Michael stared at the man. ‘You’re going to let him go free?’
Deacon looked offended. ‘Of course not. But right now he’d be stupid to break into this house. There are too many of us here. So we’re sending a few people away. Stone will be going to the hospital, so Delores, Jeremy, and Keith have gone to be with him.’
‘Who are Jeremy and Keith?’
‘Oh, they may have arrived after you went to sleep. Jeremy is Marcus and Stone’s dad. Keith is his husband.’ Deacon’s brow lifted, almost like he was challenging Michael to say something bad about that. But Michael wouldn’t. He was cool with it. One of his favorite male teachers at school had a husband.
‘Okay,’ Michael said. ‘That leaves the cops. And Marcus, Faith, and Greg.’
Deacon nodded. ‘Marcus is Stone’s brother. He needs to be at the hospital too. Scarlett will go with him. I’m telling her it’s because Marcus needs her, but it turns out that she’s pregnant and Marcus won’t leave if she stays.’
That made sense. Michael had seen the protective way Marcus had hovered over his wife. ‘What about Faith and Greg?’
‘Greg’s going with Marcus and Scarlett. Faith will stay here so that she can communicate with you if I’m busy. Outside of me, Dani, and Adam, Faith is the best signer of our group.’
‘Busy,’ Michael repeated. ‘That doesn’t mean “shot”, does it?’
Deacon laughed. ‘No. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. And the scars. Plus I’ve been out working on a case. I’m wearing a Kevlar vest.’
Working my case, Michael thought, but didn’t ask. Mentally he counted all the people who’d been in the house. ‘What about Kate and Decker?’
‘Ah. This is where our plan comes in. We want him to think I’m the only one here with you guys, so Kate and Decker are going to pretend to leave. They’re going to drive away and park on the next street, then come back here. We want to catch him trying to come in.’
Fuck no. No way in hell. Michael lifted his chin. ‘And if he manages to?’
‘We’ll take him down. But he won’t get in. Dani’s house is as secure as my own. I designed the security system myself.’
‘And if he continues to just sit out there and be a creeper?’
‘Then we’ll have one of our undercover agents follow him when he finally decides to leave. We’ve got the neighborhood surrounded.’
Michael thought about it. ‘Why don’t you just move Joshua and me, too?’
‘We’re going to. We’re securing a safe house for you both as we speak. If we can get you out without compromising your safety, we will. Otherwise, we’re going to sit tight until we can.’
‘You could drive one of the cars into the garage and smuggle us out that way.’
Deacon grimaced ruefully. ‘Have you been in Dani’s garage?’
Michael shook his head. ‘No. What’s in it?’
‘What’s not is a better question. So many boxes. She gets donations for the clinic and the shelter downtown and keeps them in there. Clothing, toys, you name it. So unless we want to move it all out – which would basically be a neon sign that we’re moving you out – we need to do it a different way. You ready to pretend you’re camping?’
Michael took a deep breath. ‘Yeah. Thanks, Deacon.’
Deacon gave him a hard nod. ‘You’re welcome.’
Cincinnati, Ohio
Monday, 18 March, 2.40 A.M.
Oh my God. Finally. Cade rolled his eyes as the SUVs began to pull away from Dani’s house. The Hummer was the first to leave, with two of the men who’d arrived in it. The third man had left earlier. This time it also carried a small blond woman leaning heavily on the arm of the more slender of the two men. The man kissed her cheek, then helped her up into the backseat before getting into the front passenger seat. The heavier man already had the Hummer started, and they drove away.
They’d been just as quiet as the dog-walkers had been. Were they all deaf?
The red Subaru was the next to leave. One of the adult dog-walkers along with a woman and Greg Novak, Dani’s brother. The Subaru’s license plate had been hidden by the vehicles parked behind it, but Cade would be able to see it once they’d driven past him. Hunkered low enough that they couldn’t see him, he waited until they passed, then lifted his phone to snap a photo of the plate, hoping he’d get a decent picture.
He checked his phone and nodded. It was blurry and off center, but he could make out the numbers and guess at the letters. It wouldn’t take him long to do a look-up. Greg being Dani’s brother, she might be open to a trade.
One of the Jeeps was the next to go. This was a big blond guy and a redhead. The man kissed her lightly before helping her into the car. Cade rolled his eyes.
He got a photo of their plate as well. One never knew what might be helpful information later. Hopefully there would be no later. Hopefully Michael would be taken care of before the sun rose. But it was wise to have contingencies, especially since nothing had gone to plan since he’d killed that motherfucker Brewer.
There were only three vehicles left – the Chevy Suburban that Deacon Novak had shown up in, a smaller-model Jeep than the one that had just left, and a sedan he hadn’t been able to see earlier because it had been surrounded by behemoth SUVs. He noted all the license plates.
A quick search showed that the sedan belonged to Dani a
nd the smaller Jeep belonged to Faith Novak, who was the Fed’s wife, according to the article Cade had read. Her presence didn’t matter to him. He could disable a woman if he needed to. He hoped he wouldn’t need to. All he really needed to do was sit and wait for Deacon and his wife to go to sleep. Then the house would be quiet. And I can take care of Michael.
Bridgetown, Ohio
Monday, 18 March, 2:45 A.M.
‘I’ll go to Stone,’ Dani said, stopping Diesel at his front door. ‘You go get some clean towels and a pair of scissors or a sharp knife.’ She was digging in her purse and brought out a sealed plastic bag filled with disposable gloves. ‘I’ll also need a flashlight, unless you have outdoor floodlights.’ She gave him a slight shove when he stood there, staring at her. ‘Go.’
Diesel stared. ‘You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you go out there alone.’
‘Scott King is not out there. Stone is, and he’s been there for over an hour, dammit. He’s been unconscious and he’s got to have lost a lot of blood. Bring a blanket, too.’ She opened the door and glared at him. ‘Go!’
Diesel cursed under his breath, but turned to do as he’d been told. It took him a full minute and a half to gather all the items she’d demanded. A minute and a half during which he cursed Scott King to hell.
‘Dani!’ he shouted as he left the house at a run, his arms full.
‘Over here,’ she called back. ‘To your left.’
Diesel found her kneeling at Stone’s side, stethoscope in her ears and holding a small penlight between her teeth. One of her gloved hands put pressure on his leg, the other held the bell of the stethoscope to his chest.
Dropping to Stone’s other side, he spread out one of the towels and dumped all the supplies on it. Then his breath caught. Even in the small light provided by the penlight, he could see that Stone looked bad. He was pale, sweaty, and trembling, teeth gritted against the pain. But conscious. Thank God.
‘What do you need first?’ Diesel choked out.
Dani glanced up at him. ‘Are you going to be okay?’ she asked.
‘Yeah.’ He gripped Stone’s hand in his and grunted when Stone squeezed hard.
‘Then I need you to shine the flashlight on the leg wound. It’s worse than the wound in his chest. That bullet hit closer to his side and it’s a through-and-through. He’s lost more blood from his leg, and he’s still bleeding.’ She glanced up again. ‘Keep holding his hand, because this is going to hurt like a bitch.’
‘Thanks, Doc,’ Stone gasped. ‘Such optimism.’
‘Would you rather be surprised when it hurts like a bitch?’ she asked, not sparing him a glance as she searched the stuff she’d emptied from her purse onto the ground. Coming up with a foil packet, she tore it open, and Diesel caught a whiff of alcohol. Leaning over Stone, she found the knife Diesel had brought out and cut Stone’s pants up the inside of his leg, slicing at the fabric at his upper thigh.
‘Guess not,’ Stone gasped. ‘What else you got in that bag, Doc Poppins?’
Dani snorted. ‘Only my emergency stash of M&Ms, but there’s no way I’m giving them to you, Detective Stone.’
Stone’s laugh turned into a moan as she swabbed the area around the wound with the alcohol wipe. ‘Mean. You’re so mean.’
Diesel looked between them, missing the joke. ‘Why did you call him that?’
‘Private joke,’ Stone said, then moaned again when Dani pressed a clean towel against the wound. He was squeezing Diesel’s hand so hard that Diesel swore he felt his bones pop.
‘I need your belt, Diesel,’ Dani said.
Without a word, he set down the light, pulled off his belt and handed it to her. He repositioned the light and took Stone’s hand again.
‘Stone, Scarlett said you called 911. When was that?’ Dani slid the belt around Stone’s thigh above the wound and tugged it, then tested to be sure the towel soaking up the blood was still in place.
God. Stone was still bleeding. And he wasn’t squeezing Diesel’s hand as hard. He’s getting tired. That couldn’t be good.
‘Few minutes before you came out,’ Stone ground out as Dani balled up the blanket, using it to elevate his legs. ‘Shitty signal out here, Diesel. You need to live closer to town.’
‘Sorry,’ Diesel said, because he didn’t know what else to say. ‘Where’s your phone?’
Stone pointed vaguely to the ground. It took Diesel a moment to find the phone, because it was black and turned on its back. It was a flip phone. Glancing at Stone’s foot, Diesel saw that his boot was gone. Somehow he had managed to kick his boot off and contort his body so that he could get his hands on the burner he always kept hidden there.
‘Did King take your phone?’ Diesel asked, and Stone nodded wordlessly. Diesel let go of his hand to pick up the phone and immediately heard a tinny voice urgently calling for someone to respond. ‘Hello?’
‘This is the operator. I asked Stone to stay on the phone. Who are you and what is his condition?’
‘I’m Elvis Kennedy and this is my property.’ Diesel glared at Stone, who was snorting and mouthing Elvis. ‘The patient is Montgomery O’Bannion. Stone’s a nickname. He’s conscious. A doctor’s with me and she’s providing first aid.’
‘Put it on speaker,’ Dani commanded, so Diesel did, holding it out so that Dani could talk to the operator. ‘This is Dr Novak. I’m a trauma doctor. The patient has two gunshot wounds, one to the right side of his chest and one to the upper thigh. He’s lost a significant amount of blood.’ She looked at Stone. ‘What’s your blood type?’
‘B,’ Stone told her, then managed a grim grin at Diesel. ‘You two talked?’
Diesel nodded as Dani continued to speak to the 911 operator, telling her the extent of Stone’s injuries and that his pulse was thready. ‘Yeah,’ he mouthed back. ‘Thank you, brother.’
Stone closed his eyes, lips curving in a soft smile. ‘Good.’
His grip abruptly slackened, and Diesel panicked. Stone looked suddenly way too peaceful. ‘Stone?’
Dani immediately gripped Stone’s wrist, then dropped it to put the stethoscope’s eartips in her ears and listen to his heart. She pulled the eartips out. ‘Operator, how far out is EMS?’
‘Less than five minutes.’
‘Tell them to pick up the speed,’ Dani said urgently, but somehow still calmly. ‘The patient has gone into cardiac arrest. Starting chest compressions.’
Diesel froze. Cardiac arrest? Chest compressions? ‘What?’
Dani placed her hands in the middle of Stone’s chest, one atop the other. She started pumping, her mouth moving as she silently counted. ‘Diesel, it’s better for Stone if one of us breathes for him. I can, but I’d prefer you do it.’ She looked up, meeting his eyes directly. ‘Do you know how?’
He nodded, focusing on her mismatched eyes because he felt like he was going to throw up. ‘CPR certification was required to coach.’ He propped the flashlight on Stone’s hip, aiming the light at Dani’s hands, then moved to Stone’s head and shoved the fear from his mind. He could do this. He had to do this.
He tilted Stone’s head back, gently closed his nose and began breathing into his mouth, conscious of Dani watching him.
‘That’s good, Diesel. Keep it up. Every fifteen compressions, you breathe for him once. I’ll count.’ She began to count quietly and Diesel held on to the sound, letting it ground him.
Don’t die, Stone. Don’t you dare die.
Together they worked on his friend, Diesel breathing into Stone’s mouth and Dani continuing chest compressions, her voice maintaining its calm, soothing tone as she counted. She must have been so damn good in the ER, Diesel thought, realizing for the first time what she’d lost when she was forced to quit her job at County Hospital.
It felt like they did CPR for an hour, but it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before Diesel hea
rd the sound of sirens in the distance. He’d breathed for Stone eight more times before the ambulance turned on to his property.
‘Diesel. Diesel, honey, you have to back away now.’
Diesel shook his head when someone tried to pull him away from Stone, then realized that Dani had stopped counting. She was gently pulling his arm.
‘Help’s here,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘Come on, honey. Come with me.’
Numbly he rose to his feet and let her guide him away from the two paramedics, who had already placed the paddles on Stone’s chest. He flinched when Stone’s body arched at the first jolt of electricity.
He could only watch as the medics repeated the process twice more, horror finally setting in.
‘Got a pulse,’ one of them declared. ‘Ready for transport.’
‘Where are you taking him?’ Dani asked.
‘Mercy West,’ the medic called over his shoulder as they lifted the stretcher into the ambulance.
‘Diesel.’ He blinked down at Dani when she put her hands on his cheeks and tugged his face down to look at her. She leaned up to whisper in his ear. ‘The police are here. They may ask to go inside. You should shut Ritz down.’
He blinked again, comprehension returning in a rush. Hands shaking, he took out his phone and opened the app he’d designed for just such an emergency. One tap of his screen, and all his computers shut down. Now the cops couldn’t search them without a warrant.
‘Done,’ he murmured.
She looked impressed. ‘Wow.’ She smiled up at him. ‘You did good tonight, Diesel. Kept your head. Kept Stone alive. I’m proud of you.’
He felt his face heating. ‘Your voice calmed me.’
‘I’m glad.’ She ran her thumbs across his cheeks, wiping at moisture there, and he realized he’d been crying at some point. ‘Call Marcus. Tell him what’s happening. Tell him that Mercy is a good hospital. One of the attendings is one of the finest cardiac surgeons in the area.’