We all panicked.
“Oh my God!”
“Jesus!”
“Carl!!”
I ran over and knelt beside Priest. I noticed the gun in his hand and the way his chest rose and fell with hard, heavy breaths. I knew he’d been shooting at the robbers outside. And that did something to me. A wave of heat curled in my belly. It was completely inappropriate in the middle of this chaos. I forced myself to shove the feeling down and focused on Carl. He lay on the ground with his gun still in his hand. He had two shots to the chest. Blood flowed through his brown uniform.
Slowly, the other banking staff began to casually emerge from behind closed doors and cubicles.
We were all losing our minds as we closed in on Carl. We were people of different ages and backgrounds, but none of us were capable of saving Carl. We kneeled next to him, holding his hand. Priest put pressure on the wound. Carl moaned,groaned, and coughed up blood before he began to slowly lose consciousness.
“No, Carl! C’mon! Don’t you die on us,” Mrs. Johnson said to him as she started to pray.
Unfortunately, it was all to no avail. We watched him take his last breath just as we heard sirens approaching.
“I know you’ve been through a lot. But as soon as we ask you some questions, you can leave. Just please be patient with us,” the officer told us.
I inwardly blew a frustrated breath as I turned away from him and right into Priest’s watchful gaze.
“You don’t have to stay,” I told him. “I’m fine now.”
He cocked his head slightly, with that idle grin on his lips. “You don’t look fine to me.”
“I mean… I’ll be okay. You can go.”
Priest’s eyes swept over me before coming back to mine. “Nah, I’m not leaving you here. Not after what just happened. I’m staying ‘til I know for sure you’re good.”
Something about the way he said it, like it wasn’t a suggestion, sent a scolding shiver down my spine.
“I’m serious, Priest,” I tried again. “You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” he said simply. “Now quit trying to send me away, Solae. You know I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
I didn’t want him to see how much that affected me, so I glanced away, but I could feel his gaze still on me. And I swooned. It was sweet…Dangerous, but sweet.
I tried to shake it off and focus on something else, but my gaze slid past him to where Carl’s body now lay covered with a white sheet. Reluctantly, my eyes lingered on the still form.Priest stayed planted near me as the paramedics and police moved around us, emotionless, like there wasn’t a dead man in the room with us.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Priest as I forced myself to look away from Carl.
I couldn’t even think straight as I headed for my window to get my purse.
After taking my purse from the drawer, I got my phone out of it to call Rah. It was getting late, so I needed him to pick the kids up for me before the after-school program charged us a late fee. He didn’t answer, so I sent him a text, asking him to call me as soon as possible.
Rah and I had a good, loving relationship; he was just always so busy. He was a hustler, and he took care of our family well. I understood when he was out all night or too busy to answer. He paid all the bills, and that took hard work, so I respected that. I worked because my father taught me I should always have savings of my own, so I’d never have to fully depend on a man. Rah was also trying hard to get his cousin Moses’s rap career off the ground. Rah was managing him, so I knew his nights were often swallowed up by studio sessions, meetings, and networking events.
“You okay, Solae?”
I felt Kenyatta’s hand soothingly on my back. She was one of the tellers. I turned to look at her, and she still had the same fear in her eyes that I did.
My voice shook a little as I replied, “No. This is so sad. I can’t believe this happened. Poor Carl.”
Kenyatta nodded. Her eyes were still wide, like she was replaying everything in her head. “I swear, I thought I was going to die. I thought… I thought I would never see my kids again.”
“Me too. I couldn’t even move. My whole body froze.”
Kenyatta swallowed hard, glancing toward Carl. “And Carl… God. I still can’t believe it. I was just talking to him this morning about his wedding anniversary coming up. He couldn’t figure out what to get his wife.”
