I step in front of Declan and Autumn, shielding them as much as I can, and put my hands in the air.
“We’re just making sure she’s okay,” I calmly say, taking a step towards him.
“Don’t touch her! I want my money first.” His pupils are blown out, and the hand that’s holding the gun is shaking.
“Penny, stay back,” Declan whispers from behind me.
I take another step towards Brad, trying to make sure his focus is solely on me. I know Declan said to stay behind him when we were in the car, but I have to protect my family, no matter what.
“Bradley!” the senator yells again. “Stop. Please,” she begs.
The sound of sirens in the distance fills the air, and my heart starts beating erratically.
“Just shut up!” he says, waving the gun at me but looking back at his mother. “I want my money. I have to have it.”
“Okay. We’ll get you your money. Just give Declan a second,” I say to him.
His eyes find mine, and the police sirens sound like their right on top of us.
“This isn’t how it was supposed to go. I said no cops.”
I can tell exactly what he’s thinking as his eyes find Autumn.
I don’t hesitate.
I rush him as he aims his gun and pulls the trigger.
Chapter 34
Declan
Inever thought I would be in this situation, rushing to the hospital in an ambulance with Autumn while we follow another ambulance that has my wife inside.
But here we are.
As soon as Brad had that look in his eye after hearing the sirens, I knew what Penny was going to do. And I can’t exactly blame her, but at the same time, I can. For her to risk her life like that is reckless, but I understand why she did it. I would have done the same thing if I weren’t holdingAutumn.
The ambulance takes us to the nearest emergency room, which is twenty minutes away in Temecula, and as soon as we pull up to the emergency doors, chaos ensues as nurses and doctors surround us.
My ears start to buzz, and the only things I can make out from their voices are: ‘gunshot wound to the shoulder’ and ‘kidnap victim.’
I catch sight of Penny as she’s being wheeled through the doors of the hospital, and I run to catch up to her.
“Sir, you can’t follow us into the O.R.,” a nurse tells me as we jog down the corridor.
“She’s my wife,” I growl out.
Penny has an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, but her eyes are open. “I’m here. Autumn’s okay,” I tell her before the nurse has a chance to push me away.
Penny closes her eyes, and she disappears through the double doors before I can say anything else. I take a deep breath before heading back to where Autumn is. If I know one thing, Penny will want me to stay with her.
So that’s what I do. Luckily, Autumn stayed asleep through the chaos after calming her from her night terror. She didn’t wake when the EMTs put her in the ambulance or through the whole ride to the hospital.
“We’re going to check her vitals and do a physical while she’s still asleep,” a female doctor tells me once we get into a room. “Can you tell me what happened?”
I relay everything about Autumn’s kidnapping, including the fact that I’m pretty sure Brad was on drugs.
“We’ll do a full workup to make sure he didn’t drug her or do her any physical harm,” she tells me. “Are you her father?”
