“She’s lost a lot of blood, Sage.”It was Cloe behind her who said it, she thought.
But it was Ransom Weatherby who just swooped her right off her feet as the world went dark around her.
“I just want to find my family and make sure everyone is okay.And Cal…I need him to beokay,”she whispered the words against his neck.“I want this to be over and I want us all to beokay.”
“Then let me get you there.I think you’ve been through enough.”
69
Claudia was still fillingout the reports and was waiting on the WHP to arrive with Kameron’s dad.Someone would need to talk to him, to find out what he knew about who could have possibly done this.Kameron was well liked, and did a lot of charity work around town, as well.Kameron was constantly saying he was going to steal Rhea Talley from Gerald if he got the chance.They were often together brainstorming how to help the community.
Kameron knew how to flirt.And he was one of those genuinely kind, good men.She was still shaking from what she’d seen tonight.In a small town, she was bound to see friends in horrible situations.It was the price she paid for the job she did.
She was talking to Shane, Sage’s brother, when the doors slid open.And a large crowd of people came running in.
Ransom Weatherby was there at the front, carrying Auggie in his arms.And there…on a gurney— “Cal!”
Claudia went running.She’d kicked her heels off earlier.Now she just ran.Toward her blood covered brother, with Cloe walking right beside him.“What happened?”
Cal wasn’t moving, and Auggie…she looked almost unconscious.“What happened?Somebody tell me!”
“Your brother was shot,” Weatherby said.“His girlfriend was hit in the crossfire.We’ll fill you in when we can.”
There was a second gurney.She recognized the man there.Kameron’s younger brother.
Then Sage was there.“Claudia, Cadell—come with me.I’ll fill you in.But first, how is Kameron Neilson?”
“Holding on, Sage.He’s in surgery now.But…I just don’t know.”That was her big brother there.Claudia forced herself not to fall apart.“What happened?”
“Jacob shot Cal, after breaking into Cal’s house.We don’t know the details yet.But he also confessed to shooting his brother.We’ll have to get details from Auggie when we can.”
She looked closer.There was blood on Auggie again.
Auggie had been shot again.
Terror filled her.She just barely managed to keep it back and do what she had to do.
70
She was goingto be okay.Auggie had stitches in her arm and orders to take it easy on her weak leg for the next week.She’d have bruises—she’d hit the loveseat hard when Cal had shoved her out of the way.If he hadn’t, she was under no illusions.That bullet would have hit her, too.Far more directly than it had.He’d protected her.
She needed to get out there and find out how he was doing.She looked at the nurses blocking the door.“I need to be with him.I need to know if he is okay.”
Perci just nodded.“I get it.We all do.But let’s get you taken care of first, before the girls get here.”
She was right.The girls were on their way.She didn’t want the kids to see her like this.Not with blood all over her.“I need clean clothes and to hide the blood in my hair.”
She almost vomited thinking about the blood that was drying in her hair now.She had to focus on Cal, and on the girls.On just getting them allthrough.And while she was at it, she was going to make sure Claudia and her sisters were okay, too.
“I have clothes.We’ll get you changed.I’ll grab them from my locker,” Perci told her.
“I’ll do something about your hair, sweetheart.”
Auggie just looked at her aunt Pam and that was when the tears came.
Pam just wrapped her up like she’d done when Auggie was a child.“It’ll all be okay now.He’s a strong, healthy young man, honey.And Dr.Peterson is one of the best.”
But Cal was still hurt.And she couldn’t get to him now.
