“Medics and backup are on the way,” Fitz said. “We don’t have a lot of time until they get here. What the hell happened? Why is Wolf here? Is he okay?”
“Let’s talk to Jude. I don’t know how or why Wolf is here, but something tells me Jude knows.” Cope sized up his husband as he got closer to him. Dried blood was caked to the side of Jude’s face, while a lump had risen on the side of his head. Cope hoped the obvious blow to the head hadn’t set his recovery back. “Jude, are you okay?” Cope took the seat beside his husband and reached for his hand.
“My head hurts. I thought I saw Tennyson with Wolf. Is he okay?” Jude gripped Cope’s hand tighter. “I didn’t know this would happen. I swear to God. He just asked to go to the bathroom.”
“Who, Wolf?” Cope asked. “The last I knew, he was home with Jace and the other kids. How the hell did he get here?”
“That phone call I got when we got out of Fitz’s SUV was from Carson. He asked to see me before we went into the theater. When I got to his car, Wolf was sitting in the backseat with Everly. He’d begged Carson to take him along so that he could protect Everly. Carson said he figured that if Ronan thought it was okay for his daughter to be in the parking lot, that it would be okay for Wolf to come along.”
“Jesus Christ. Carson brought Wolf and never told us?” Cope felt his head start to spin. With three kids of his own, Cope assumed Carson would be smarter than that.
“Carson asking me to come see him was his version of telling me. To be honest, I wasn’t that upset because the kids were going to simply stay in the car. Carson had orders to drive away if things went crazy. I didn’t want to tell you because you had your hands full with Alistair.” Jude shook his head and grimaced. “Wolf told me he had to use the bathroom for a number two and I brought him inside. I had to go too. Wolf finished before me and I heard him washing his hands. I reminded him to stay in the bathroom to wait for me and he agreed. A few seconds later, the restroom door opened and closed. I called out for Wolf, but he didn’t answer. When I left the stall, Wolf was gone. The last thing I remember was running for the door when I saw something black out of the corner of my eye and felt my head explode in pain. The next thing I knew, Greeley was trying to wake me up. What happened to Wolf?”
“Alistair came on stage with Amity, who had Wolf under her control.” If Cope lived to be one hundred, he’d never forget the scared look on Wolf’s face.
“Amity? That’s who Little Red Riding Hood is?” Jude asked.
“You can see her?” Cope asked, not really surprised given how powerful Amity was.
“Clear as day,” Jude agreed.
“Alistair shoved Wolf to the stage, where he bumped his head. He threatened to hurt him worse if I didn’t cooperate with his plan to regain everything he’d lost when he was debunked the other night. I remembered what you said about getting a confession, so I started asking him about his dead wives, which made Amity upset. Alistair admitted to killing them all and Amity used the death spell on him. It must have been a different or slower version because he didn’t die, he was being tortured.” Cope couldn’t care less about Alistair. He deserved to pay for killing eight women and hurting Wolf. “Did you see Ten out in the hallway with Wolf?”
“I did. He looked a little woozy,” Jude said. “I think we both need to go to the hospital.” As Jude spoke, the paramedics rushed into the room with Salem Police Officers behind them.
“No argument there. I’ll go find him.” Cope got out of his seat leaving Jude with Fitz. He could see Ronan speaking to an officer, while the medics attended to Alistair. Everly stood to the left of the stage speaking with Amity. Cope couldn’t help but wonder if the cops and medics could see her too.
Under other circumstances, Cope would have loved to have been part of that conversation. Looking around the theater, he didn’t see Ten, so he walked into the lobby, where he found Wolf sittingbeside Ten at a table near the snack bar. A can of ginger ale sat in front of Wolf.
“Dad!” Wolf called, waving his arms in the air.
Cope ran to his son and took the seat next to him. “Hey, buddy. How do you feel?”
“I don’t feel so good. My head hurts from hitting the stage, but I don’t care about me, where’s Daddy! Did the man hurt him? I kept waiting for him to find me, and when he didn’t I tried to save myself, just like Daddy does all the time.” Wolf took a sip from his can of soda.
Cope’s heart broke for his son. “Daddy’s got a bump on his head, but he’ll be okay. Based on the fact that you’re drinking something, does that mean you’re feeling better?”
“My head hurts and I’m dizzy. Uncle Ten thought ginger ale might help.”
“Good plan,” Cope said as more paramedics came into the theater. He waved them over to take a look at Wolf.
Taking a step back, Cope watched as the paramedics examined Wolf. As they did, Ronan and Everly ran out of the theater and went to Wolf’s side. Moments later, Alistair was wheeled out of the theater on a gurney. He looked barely conscious. Cope wondered if his reign of terror was over or if Alistair had more tricks up his sleeve.
Jude came out of the theater with Greeley and Fitz. Both men were holding him up, while exasperated-looking medics walked behind them. He went to Wolf, who was being helped onto a gurney of his own.
Cope hugged Tennyson. “Thank you for taking care of my son.” Following behind the gurney, he spotted Carson, who had beensitting a few tables away. His attention had been focused on Wolf and hadn’t noticed his friend.
“I’m so sorry,” Carson said. “I should have known better to let Wolf talk me into coming, but he was so worried about Everly.”
Cope gave Carson a quick hug. He knew how persuasive his son could be. “It’s okay. He’ll be just fine and raising hell soon enough. Same goes for Jude.” With a quick squeeze, Cope hurried after Wolf and Jude.
His family was a little banged up but safe. Cope needed to have his own Come to Jesus meeting with himself over the way he’d acted to get everyone into this mess in the first place, but that could wait until Wolf and Jude were back on their feet.
13
Jude
An hour later, Jude was lying on a gurney inside an emergency department cubical. He’d had a CT Scan on his aching head. Cope was with Wolf as he had his own head injury assessed. He wished he could have been with his son, but at the moment, he couldn’t get the room to stop spinning.
