by Renee George
Ryan Petry pulled up in his sports car. Ouch, my gravel road probably gave that fancy little thing a beating. He popped the trunk, ran around to the back, and grabbed a bag and a small tank. He didn’t stop to check on me. Instead, he made directly for Smooshie, and I swear I never liked the man more. After Ryan went to work on my dog, who really didn’t seem worse for wear, Parker joined me at the ambulance.
I pushed the mask away. “What’s Ryan say? Is Smooshie going to be all right?”
“I’m about to glue that thing to your face. You’re going to look really funny walking around with a rubber mask as a permanent fixture,” Robyn said.
I snapped it back into place and gave her a quick salute before pressing Parker for information with a “hurry up and tell me” stare.
“You’ve got about a minute to wrap this up before I take you to the hospital,” Robyn added. “So make it quick.”
After she walked around to the front of her rig, Parker blew out a breath. “She’s a hard taskmaster.”
I nodded. My headache was almost gone now, and the nausea had disappeared shortly after she’d put me on straight oxygen. I took Parker’s hand. “Will you keep Smooshie?” I asked.
“I’ll go with Ryan and stay with her until we get the blood test results to see if she still has carbon monoxide in her blood.” He laced his fingers with mine. “Every part of me wants to be with you tonight, but I know you won’t be able to sit still and let the doctors do what they have to do to check you out if I don’t take care of Smooshie first.”
Smart man. I smiled, though I’m not sure he could see it through the mask. I squeezed his hand.
“How does this work, with, you know, your special condition?”
By condition, he meant the fact that I turned into a cougar sometimes. I’d read somewhere that animals are even more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning, so I’m not sure if it would be worse for me than a normal human. I guess I was about to find out.
Robyn rounded the corner with her driver, a paramedic named Steve. “Time to go, lovebirds.” She and Steve pushed the gurney into the back of the ambulance, and the wheels folded up as I slid inside. Robyn got in beside me. I picked my head up and gave Parker one last look before Steve closed the doors behind us.
Why would someone try to poison me? It made zero sense. I didn’t have the drive anymore. It was already with the cops, so what did killing me accomplish?
Then another thought occurred to me. What if this incident had nothing to do with my involvement in Donnie Doyle’s case?
I shared the emergency room with a crying baby, an elderly woman who kept shouting, “help me,” and a college student suffering from alcohol poisoning. A lab technician came in and took several vials of my blood. She got into my vein quick and with hardly any pain. My lucky night, except for the attempt on my life, of course.
A lanky man with a white lab coat, a stethoscope sticking out of his front pocket, and holding a chart, presumably mine, walked into my room. “I’m Dr. Wilkens,” he said. “What seems to be the trouble tonight?”
I wanted to point out that he was holding all my information in his hot little hands, but I played nice. “I inhaled a bunch of carbon monoxide.”
“How do you feel right now?”
“A little light-headed, which is probably due to all the oxygen they’ve been pumping into me tonight…” I tapped the plastic oxygen tube poking in my nose, “…but otherwise, not bad.”
He pulled the stethoscope from his pocket and placed it in his ears. “Lean forward,” he directed. He placed the cold disc end against my chest. “Take a deep breath for me?” I did. He moved it around and made the same request five more times. He stood up straight, nodding his head as he put the stethoscope back in his pocket. “Nice and clear. Yep, I think you’re gonna be just fine.” He smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be back when the test results are in, but I think you’ll get to go home tonight.”
“Thanks, Doc. Do you think I could get my robe? The nurse put it somewhere when she made me put on this gown.” My cell phone was in my robe pocket, and I wanted to call Parker.
“I’ll send in Judy to help you out.” He exited the room, while I played the game of hurry up and wait.
The baby finally stopped crying, poor thing. The elderly woman still occasionally belted out, “help me.”
Then I heard a familiar voice say, “Buzz Mason, what are you doing here?”
“I’m visiting my cousin. She was brought in here tonight. What are you doing here, Opal? Everything all right?”
“Pearl’s taken a turn. This is the second time in the past year.” I’d never heard the bold, elderly woman ever sound so…defeated.
“She’ll bounce back,” my uncle said. “She always does.”
“Until she doesn’t,” Opal said. “You better go find Lily.”
Then I heard another familiar voice. “Hey, Buzz.” The sultry sounds came from none other than Lacy Evans. I just couldn’t get away from that girl. “How you doing?”
“Is Freda sick?” Buzz asked.
“No. It’s Paulie. He started running a fever tonight, high enough that he had a seizure. They got it down to something manageable now, but they want to keep him for a while for observation.”
“Do you want me to call Freda?”
“No,” Lacy said. “I’ve got this.”
The conversation trailed off from there. Was Lacy really getting her life together? I mean, I still saw her out drinking on Tuesday nights, but she had sat for the GED just like me, and she hadn’t made her mom handle her kid’s crisis. Hell, she’d even thanked me for stepping in when Jock had been coming on strong. Maybe a leopard really could change its spots.
Judy, the nurse, came back into my room and handed me a plastic sack with my robe in it. “Buzz Mason is here to see you. He says he’s family, so I let him come back, but if you want me to send him out to the waiting room, I will.”
I gave her a half smile. “It’s okay to let him in.”
She poked her head out of the doorway. “Come on back!”
Buzz arrived and stood next to my bed, his gaze filled with concern.
“I’ll give you two a little privacy while we’re waiting for your results,” said Judy. She closed the door behind her.
Buzz held out a plastic shopping sack. “Nadine got these from your place after the fire department said it was safe to go inside. It’s some jeans, a shirt, and some undergarments. She said you’d need them.”
“That girl of yours is super smart.” I gratefully took the sack from him. “I don’t suppose she put a toothbrush and some toothpaste in there?” I must have puked after I stumbled out of the trailer because my mouth tasted disgusting.
“It’s in there. Along with a hairbrush.”
I grinned. “She’s a keeper.”
“For as long as she’ll have me,” Buzz replied. “Now, what in the hell happened out there?”
I knew Nadine had probably given him the official version, but I broke it down with theatrics and all. I told him how heroic Smooshie had been. “She saved my life, Buzz.” Tears blurred my vision. “She saved me.”
My uncle sat on the side of my bed and put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. “She’s earned herself a free beef patty every day for the rest of her life.”
“She’s on a diet,” I sniffled.
Buzz chuckled. “Fine, then I’ll give her grilled chicken breast instead.”
“Perfect.”
A loud commotion out in the hall got our attention. Buzz went to the door and opened it.
We heard Lacy screaming then a man yelled, “You’re fired! Don’t bother picking up your last paycheck, you blackmailing bitch.”
And then we heard a gunshot.
Chapter 16
Buzz slammed the door.
I scrambled from the bed.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Buzz asked.
“Getting dressed so we can go kick butt.” I gave him a side
-eyed glance as I dumped the contents of Nadine’s bag on the bed and dressed. “We have skills that normal humans don’t. We have a responsibility to help.”
“We have a responsibility to keep Shifters secret, and that ain’t going to happen if we go all furry every time there’s trouble.”
Buzz didn’t seem to believe his own words. I could see his troubled expression. Like my dad, he wasn’t the kind of person who could let bad things happen to good people.
“Opal, Pearl, and Lacy are out there. And a bunch of innocent people.”
“We’re not superheroes,” he protested.
“Yes, we are.” I pushed past him to my room’s door and cracked it open. It had gone mostly quiet out there. I could hear a few whispers, but even with my Shifter hearing, I couldn’t make out the words.
I peeked out and scanned the nurses’ station then looked down the short hallway toward the security door that led to the waiting room. Dr. Wilkens, Nurse Judy, and some other people in peach and blue scrubs were all on the ground. Lacy was flattened against the wall.
But the big surprise was Opal, holding a small gun over a terrified Jock Simmons as dust from a damaged ceiling tile fell down around her head. How in the heck had he gotten past the security door?
I stepped out of the room. “Opal,” I said. “I’m coming over to you. Okay?”
She kept her fixed gaze on Jock. “Someone needs to take out this piece of trash.”
“It shouldn’t be you, though. Pearl needs you. You’re no good to her in jail.”
I was only ten feet away now. She kept the gun pointed at Jock with her right hand and gently touched her cheek with her left. Her fingers trembled. “No man should ever hit a woman.”
“You’re right,” I told her. I looked at Lacy again. She had a red mark rising on her cheek. Jock must have punched her, and that action had triggered a reaction in Opal that the man might not live to regret. I’d suspected for a while that Jock beat his wife, and him hitting Lacy confirmed he was capable of being that kind of monster. As far as I was concerned, Jock’s demise would be a service to womankind everywhere.
“The police will arrest him for assault,” Buzz said as he finally joined me. “You can’t take the law into your own hands. Lily’s right. Pearl needs her sister.”
I looked around the room of cowering people. “You’re frightening the doctors and nurses, Opal. They can’t take care of your sister if they’re scared.”
Jock whimpered. “You’re crazy, lady!” This close, I could smell the bourbon weeping from his pores.
I saw the look in Opal’s eyes. It was one that I’d seen before back home. This was a woman who was prepared to take action.
“I’d shut my mouth if I were you,” I told him. “I don’t think Opal will hesitate to shoot you given the right motivation.”
Her finger hugged the trigger. “Just give me a reason,” she told him. “I would love to blow your head off.”
The emergency room doors opened. Sheriff Avery walked in with Deputy Larimore at his hip. He had his weapon drawn. “Put the gun down, Ms. Dixon.”
“Jock came in looking for a fight,” I said. “Opal was just defending Lacy Evans.”
“I’ll handle this, Ms. Mason. When you get involved, people die.”
Ouch. My heart actually skipped a beat.
“That’s not fair, Sheriff,” Buzz said. “Lily hasn’t done anything wrong. Hell, she’s kept Opal from killing the son-of-a-bitch. You should be thanking her, not blaming her.”
The sheriff ignored Buzz, his gun still trained on the elderly spinster. Naomi Wells appeared from down the hall. I groaned. Goddess, I couldn’t get away from this woman!
“Senior Citizen Gunned Down by County Sheriff for Defending Young Woman from Drunk,” she said, using her hands to emphasize each word. “It’ll make a great headline, don’t you think?”
The sheriff hesitated then lowered his gun. “Now, there is no need for this to escalate.” He pointed to Jock. “If you put your gun down, Ms. Dixon, I can let my deputy arrest Jock.”
“There’s only one way to fix a man this broken,” Opal said, but she dropped her hand to her side, the gun now pointing at the tiled floor. “But I suppose it isn’t my job to take on.” She stared at Jock. “I see you. The whole town sees you. You better smarten up.”
Avery slowly walked to Opal and took her pistol while Larimore picked Jock up from the floor and put him in handcuffs. “I’m going to have to take you down to the station, Ms. Dixon. You discharged a firearm inside a hospital, and I’m sorry, but I have to do it.”
Opal nodded. “Let me just say goodbye to Pearl.”
I rushed over the Lacy. He cheek was starting to puff up. “Let’s get you checked out. You might have a fracture. You’ll need an X-ray to make certain.”
“I’m okay,” she said.
“What happened? Why did Jock attack you?”
“It’s so stupid. I got mad. You know how he’s been harassing me. So, I told him I was going to report him to the state bar association if he didn’t give me a raise and stop messing with me.” She touched her swollen face. “I didn’t think he’d do this. Thanks, Lily. Thank you.” A choking noise emanated from her throat and tears streamed down her cheeks.
“What, no thanks for me?” Naomi asked. “Nothing like a little threat to put the sheriff in his place.” She smiled as if I should be happy she showed up. I wasn’t.
A nurse came and took Lacy. I glared at Naomi. “What are you doing here? Did someone tell you I was here? And what? You thought you would come down and get the scoop?”
Naomi flushed guiltily. Calmly, she said, “That’s exactly why I’m here. Who tried to kill you, Lily? Why are you a target?”
“The only person who seems to have it out for me is you,” I hissed.
“Well, I can always run with my back-up story. You know, the one about the local medical examiner sleeping with the victim of a murder, a man half her age at that.”
“You promised.”
“I promised I wouldn’t run it if you let me interview you.”
“And I will, about the Tom Jones case, not about this one.”
“You’ll talk about whatever case I want to talk about, or your friend will have to learn to live with the public humiliation.”
“We had a deal, Naomi.”
Naomi smirked. “I’m changing the deal.”
“You really suck, you know that.”
She grinned, and it was more feral than a Shifter’s. “I do know it.”
Buzz interrupted us, and probably a good thing because I was about to go all fur and claws on Naomi. “The doctor wants to talk to you about your test results.”
“This isn’t over,” Naomi said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I replied. Buzz put his arm around my shoulder, and we went back to the room.
“Didn’t Jock call Lacy out for being a blackmailer before Opal stepped in?” I asked Buzz when we were safely away from my nemesis.
“Yep.” He shook his head. “That girl is going to be the death of her mom. Freda is at the end of her wits.”
I didn’t tell him about Lacy taking the GED exam. One, it wasn’t my news to share, and two, it seemed inappropriate given everything that had happened in the corridor. “Donnie Doyle was a blackmailer.”
“Was he?” Buzz acted disinterested.
“You don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you?”
“It’s not our concern. You asked me once how I managed to live among humans for so long, and I told you then like I’m telling you now—I mind my own business. That’s the only way we survive out here, away from our own kind.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I’ve lost my brother, you lost your dad, your mom, and your sibling. We are all we have left of Mason family. I can’t lose you, Lily.” He let me go and held me out at arm’s length. “But, you seem bound and determined to put yourself in harm’s way. I want to lock you in a cellar somewhere for your own good.”
“But you
wouldn’t, right?” Shifters could be literal sometimes, but I was pretty sure Buzz didn’t mean it.
“Keep putting yourself in danger, and you’ll find out.” The corner of his mouth tugged up in a half-smile.
“I thought the doctor was coming to give me lab results.”
“I lied,” he said. “I was worried you were going to eat a certain annoying reporter if I didn’t intervene.”
“Valid,” I told him. “Although, I probably would have to spit her out. I prefer my food less rotten.”
Buzz chuckled. “I find it hard to believe you’d spit any food out. I mean, I know we have a fast metabolism, but you eat even more than I do.”
“I’m a growing girl!” Speaking of growing girls. I pulled my robe from the bag the nurse had brought in and found my phone. “I need to make a quick call.”
Buzz sat in the visitor chair in the room. “Tell Parker hi for me.”
I rolled my eyes. I brought up my contacts and clicked to call. Parker answered on the first ring.
“Are you okay? What’s the doctor say? Are you going to be admitted? How are you feeling?”
“Uhm, how’s Smooshie?”
“She’s great. Ryan said her the carbon monoxide levels in her blood were low. She got lucky. He put her in an oxygen tent, and he wants to keep her in there for a few more hours.”
A rush of relief infused me. I had to fight not to cry. I don’t know what I would have done if Smooshie had been really hurt. Maybe Buzz was right, and I had brought this on myself. I could have stayed out of Doyle’s mess. I could have not gone to his house and found his body. And even though I told myself I would stay out the investigation, I had gone out of my way to investigate. “I’m so glad. Hug her for me, and tell Ryan thank you.” I sat on the bed. “And Parker, thank you. I don’t know if I could get through this without you.”
“Sure you would, Lils. You’re the strongest person I know.”
“Awww.” His praise made me feel warm and fuzzy. “Is Greer with Elvis? Do you need to be with Elvis?”