Multiple sirens wailed in the air.
Nate held his gun in one hand and his cell to his ear. He shifted as Suarez joined him, and I saw who lay on the ground.
The full beard, his well-trimmed brown hair, and the shock of colorful ink on his outstretched arm.
Rafferty.
No.
No!
A guttural sound burst from my lips, and I charged forward, yelling. No, screaming, but I didn't sound anything like myself.
In the same moment, a police cruiser swung into the drive at an angle, lights flashing.
I felt stinging pain in my knees after I hit the ground at his side. My vision blurred with tears as I put my hands on top of Digit’s. His hands felt warm, abnormally so. Then I noticed the stickiness from the blood.
“Don’t you go anywhere, Tee. I’m not gonna lose you. No way,” I said.
A man crouched down next to Digit. When Digit tried to move, I held tight to his fingers.
Another man squatted next to me. He spoke in a low, firm voice. “Let go. We’re going to get him to the hospital.”
In some corner of my mind, I realized he was a firefighter/EMT. More tears rushed down my cheeks and I stood.
Someone pulled me back.
I resisted, then lips came to my ear. “It’s me. I’ll get you to him,” Nate whispered.
His words calmed me by the most minuscule degree. That degree made a world of difference, though. It brought me back from the brink of my darkest thoughts.
Looking around, I saw two more EMTs were tending to Porter. Half a dozen police officers were on the scene, and had Suarez, Digit, and two other men I hadn’t met in handcuffs.
Before Nate could take his arm from around my shoulders, I turned an insistent look at him. “Can I go with him? Please.”
Nate blinked for a second. “I wish I could say yes, but I had to shoot Porter. Now that dumbass has to go to the hospital, and they’re gonna take them both in the same ambulance.” He shifted me so I faced him. “I will get you to the hospital. I promise.”
The last forty-five minutes, I had sat in the ER waiting room, feeling forlorn, angry, and useless.
Nate had told me to grab my backpack from his car, then he had a patrol officer drop me off at the hospital. On the ride over, I’d called Blood to let him know what happened. I wanted to call Trixie, but I didn’t trust myself to keep it together while talking to her. And, I figured Blood would call Roll, who could handle Trixie far better.
My triple threat of feelings were a result of not being Rafferty’s next of kin. I hadn’t played my cards very well when I asked about his condition. If I’d been smarter, I’d have claimed to be his sister, cousin, anyone who was family. But I hadn’t been thinking straight, and I blurted out the truth. We were dating.
The nurse behind the desk suddenly went all stringent and strict. Now she wouldn’t tell me anything about Rafferty’s condition.
I hung my head and said a silent prayer.
He had to be okay.
He had tobe.
I couldn’t begin to fathom a world without him in it.
I stared out the window at the gathering dark clouds. It had to be almost five-thirty, which was when the summer thunderstorms rolled in this time of year.
“Alexandra!” Jasmine nearly yelled.
I turned and saw Rafferty’s sister rushing to me. By the time she reached me, I stood and hugged her. Over her shoulder, I saw Trixie and Roll go to the nurse’s desk.
