I lunged, grabbing for the pistol. His grip was loose, and I easily disarmed him. Jabbing the hard steel into his temple, I said, “Hands out in front of you where I can see them.”
After he complied, I took in the scene in front of him. Mercy was lying on her side. The gun hadn’t been discharged, so I knew she wasn’t shot. There was no blood, and her chest was rising and falling. She was out cold, but she was alive.
Still, it took everything in me not to shoot the bastard for whatever he’d done to her. Sirens sounded in the distance, closing in on us. I wanted to go to Mercy and check her out, but I knew better than to take my eyes, or weapon, off the threat.
“Mercy!” I shouted.
She didn’t so much as stir.
“What did you do to her?” I asked the asshole.
“I don’t fuckin’ know. I can’t see shit.”
“It was an accident,” Sheila said, swiping at her eyes. “Damn. This shit is like hovering in the air.”
I couldn’t care less about her affliction. “What did he do to her?” I roared.
“Hit her. With the gun. He didn’t mean to.”
A teacher and my mom were rushing down the hall. Mom zeroed in on Mercy’s prone form and her hands went to her mouth. “Is she okay?” she asked, looking at me.
“She’s breathing,” I assured her. “I need you to check her out.”
“What are you going to do with Larry?” Sheila asked, watching me. “It was just an accident.”
I needed Sheila to stop talking so I could focus on making sure Mercy was okay. “He’s not my priority right now.”
Larry started to say something, but I refused to hear anything he had to say.
“I’m two seconds from knocking your ass out, Larry, so you might want to shut your mouth and wait for the police. Trust me, you’re gonna want them to take you into custody and get you away from me.”
Tears flooded Sheila’s eyes. “Can’t you let him go? He’s on parole and he didn’t mean anything by it. He was just trying to help me get my son back for Christmas.”
If she was looking for sympathy, she was barking up the wrong damn tree, because I had none to give her. Especially with Mercy lying unconscious in front of us. “He brought a gun into a preschool and assaulted the director. His ass is gonna do hard time for this. I suggest you find another boyfriend. Maybe one who doesn’t beat the shit out of you. You want your son back? You should probably start making better life choices, Sheila. Now shut the hell up and let me work.”
She paled and snapped her mouth closed.
Mom kneeled beside Mercy. Looking up at me, she asked, “What do I do?”
“Try to wake her. She probably has a concussion and we need her conscious.”
“Mercy,” Mom put her hand on Mercy’s face. “Wake up, dear.”
Nothing happened.
Mom grabbed a hold of Mercy’s shoulders and gently tugged her. “Mercy. Get up.”
Surprisingly enough, that did the trick. Mercy’s eyes opened, and she stared at Mom in shock before focusing on me. Her gaze went to the gun in my hand. “Landon. What are you doing?” She tried to jerk away from Mom.
“Easy,” I warned. “Sit up slowly. Mom, help her.”
I hated having my hands tied, but the sirens sounded like they were on top of us. Knowing the cops would take over soon, I directed Mom as she got Mercy to her feet. “What do you remember?” I asked.
Mercy’s brow furrowed, which caused her to wince. Her hand flew to the side of her head and her fingers probed beneath her hair. Her gaze shot back to Larry. “You! You brought a gun into a preschool, and you hit me with it!”
When the cops arrived, I handed over Larry’s gun and Mercy gave them her statement before they took Larry and Sheila away. By the time we got the school locked up, it was almost two p.m. and six bikers and a couple of women had shown up. They’d stopped in long enough to check out the scene and tell Mercy they were heading over to set up. To set up what, I had no idea.
“We should take you to urgent care and get you checked out,” I told Mercy, not for the first time.
