“All set?” I asked him as I grabbed Bullet’s leash. I was on the dog’s left side and Jamie’s sister was on his right. She was resting her casted arm on Bullet’s neck and her right hand was clutching Jamie’s hand.
Seth nodded and I felt the emotion clog my throat at the sight of the smile that spread across his lips. Zane was behind us talking tothe woman who’d been assigned to oversee the kids’ case. I glanced over my shoulder at him and saw him nod and then he was taking a folder from the woman and he began leading the way out the door. He held the door for us and we filed out one by one.
The group home was actually a very large house in a small neighborhood on the city’s south side. The neighborhood wasn’t terrible, but it was pretty run down and we’d ended up having to park in the small lot next to the house. Seth led the way down the steps, mindful of the kids as they navigated them while I made sure Bullet didn’t inadvertently bump into the little girl holding on to him.
So none of us noticed the figure until it was too late.
Bullet’s snarl was what caused me to snap my head up just in time to see a gun aimed directly at me. “Don’t move!” the person shouted in a high-pitched voice. The register was too high for an adult man’s voice, but I couldn’t tell if the assailant was a young man or woman because the hoodie was covering most of their face.
We’d just reached the bottom of the step when the order had been called out and I saw Seth instantly step in front of Jamie. I sensed Zane’s presence behind me and hoped to God he was able to reach his phone without alerting our assailant.
“If you want money, I’ve got some,” I said as I subtly stepped around Bullet so I could block the little girl. But before I could take another step, Jamie’s sister cried out and pulled free of Jamie and began running forward. My instincts kicked in and I grabbed her by the waist to stop her. I’d managed to hang on to Bullet at the same time since I didn’t want to risk him getting shot if I could diffuse the situation with words. I’d long ago stopped carrying a gun, so I knew the dog would be our only hope if I couldn’t talk the assailant down.
“Let her go!” the figure shouted as the little girl struggled in my grasp.
“Willow!” I heard Jamie shout and I saw him trying to pull free of Seth’s hold.
“I said let her go!” the figure shouted again and the little girl in my grasp began crying out to the figure. I realized the girl was saying the same name Jamie had said and it hit me then that theassailant was in fact a girl and that she clearly knew Jamie and his sister.
Between Bullet’s snarls and wanting to use my body to block Seth and Jamie, I lost my hold on Jamie’s sister and she flew down the rest of the walkway into the young woman’s arms. The impact knocked the girl’s hoodie loose to reveal short blonde hair that fell just below her chin. My heart stopped as I realized she wasn’t even a young woman…she couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old. My eyes fell to her gun and I struggled to get a better look at it as she waved it wildly around.
“Let him go!” she yelled as she held on to the little girl with her free hand. She pointed the gun at Seth, but her eyes were on Jamie.
“Willow!” Jamie screamed again and then all hell broke loose and I was powerless to stop it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the group home’s security guard returning from his cigarette break. As soon as he drew his gun I yelled, “Don’t! Her gun is a fake!” but it was too late and the man pulled the trigger just as Willow turned in his direction. The sound of the gun was deafening and I watched in horror as the impact sent her flying backwards. The little girl went down with her and I screamed in denial as I saw blood spray against the side of the white car just behind both girls.
I frantically hurried to them and dropped down next to them. Jamie’s sister was crying as she tried to right herself to a sitting position and I grabbed her and scanned her quickly. As much as I wanted to comfort her, I knew she wasn’t the one who’d been hit so I yelled, “Zane! Take her!”
Zane appeared at my side a second later and his big hands closed around the girl’s waist and he was lifting her in his arms and pulling her away. I ignored her and Jamie’s cries as I focused on Willow.
Blood was quickly turning her hoodie and the light blue shirt beneath it bright red. The bullet had hit her on her right side and while she was still conscious, the young girl was gasping for air. I dropped my head to her chest to listen and felt a sliver of relief that neither of her lungs appeared to be collapsing and I realizedshe’d likely just had the wind knocked out of her when she’d fallen.
“You’re gonna be okay Willow,” I said as I gently rolled her to her side so I could see if the bullet had exited her body.
Tears were flowing down her face. “Jamie…Nicole,” she gasped.
“They’re fine,” I said as I eased her on her back again. “Not hurt.”
“Sir, I need you to step back.”
I barely spared the security guard a glance. “I’m a doctor,” I bit out as I began ripping Willow’s clothes so I could see the wound.
“I need to secure the suspect,” the guy said. “Please step away.”
I ignored the man so I could focus, but when he leaned down with a pair of zip tie cuffs, intent on restraining the girl, I snagged him by the shirt and said, “If you lay one fucking hand on her, I’m going to rip it off.”
The man blanched, but he didn’t back off. “I need to secure-”
I didn’t even let him finish. Instead, I grabbed his gun from his holster and pointed it at him. “Back. The. Fuck. Off,” I snarled and he instantly put his hands up and backed away. I lowered the gun and quickly released the clip and emptied the chamber and threw both the clip and the bullet in the bushes behind me. I snatched up the girl’s fake gun which was still lying next to her and slid it and the security guard’s empty gun under the car next to us and then continued working on Willow. She was still awake, but her eyes were starting to glaze over.
“Hang in there, Willow,” I said as I finished ripping her shirt. I heard sirens in the distance and hoped like hell it was the paramedics.
“I…I promised them,” Willow whispered as her eyes began to drift shut.
“Willow, honey, open your eyes,” I demanded as I gave her a little shake. She opened them again and then turned her head slightly so she could see both kids who I could hear frantically crying behind me.
“What did you promise them?” I asked as I tried to keep her awake. The wound was bleeding heavily and I was helpless to doanything but apply pressure to it. “Willow, what did you promise them?” I asked the girl again.
