Page 80 of Knot Innocent

Cooper, having heard everything, rushes through the door less than a minute later, followed by a swarm of SWAT team members and medics. The seasoned detective takes in mine and Birdie’s appearances and calls forward the paramedics. “Check him out and get them to a hospital. No one else leaves until I know exactly what happened. There seems to have been some radio interference over the last three minutes.”

My eyes shoot over to Knot, who gives me a barely perceptible head shake.

The female medic touches Birdie’s arm. “It’s all right now. Let’s get you out of here.”

Birdie burrows tighter against me, not wanting to let go. Chelsea approaches and smooths a hand over Birdie’s shoulder. “Birdie, I need you to let go of Bash. He’s been shot and needs to get looked at.”

She jumps away from me, remembering the blood, and cups my face. Her damaged whisper is firm. “You’re going to be alright.”

I nod and swallow the lump in my throat. “So will you.”

My heart splinters in two, not knowing how anyone can help her after what this sick mother fucker put her through. The medic tugs Birdie’s arm, but she refuses to leave my side. “Come on, Birdie,” I plead. “Let them… help you.”

Birdie’s sob is a strangled, damaged sound. She moves to the side and whispers in my ear, “You stopped him before he could. Please don’t let them take me.”

I kiss the top of her head, silently thanking whatever deity intervened. “She stays with me.”

One medic gives Birdie a blanket, and the other kneels to inspect the wound in my side. “The bullet went through. Shallow, though. It only got muscle. You’ll need stitches, but you’ll be alright.”

“The bullet went through the other guy first,” Chelsea tells him.

The medic’s eyes widen, and he says, “We’ll take a sample of his blood for testing. At the minimum, you’ll need something to ward off infection.”

He tightly bandages my middle while another medic inspects Birdie’s throat. Everyone else waits around until the pair are done with their assessments. No one seems to care about the other crew drawing blood from the dead man.

“What’s the story on these two?” Cooper asks the crew when they’re finished.

“These two,” pointing to us, “are okay. The gunshot needs to get sewn up, but he’ll be fine. The woman will heal on her own. It’ll just take a while. Besides the strangulation and welts, she maintains there was no… other trauma.”

“I’ve got a doctor on staff. He’ll handle Laurent,” Knot announces. “We’ll need those blood results, though.”

Cooper nods and sends the paramedics away with only a blood sample. With a confirmed dead-on-arrival, the body will remain for the medical examiner to deal with. He releases the SWAT crew, and the small-town sheriff dismisses most of the other officers.

With the place mostly clear, Cooper braces his feet apart and crosses his arms. “Now, somebody tell me what the fuck happened here.”

Knot leads the discussion, encouraging Birdie to start by walking us through what happened after she woke up this morning. Talking is painful and difficult, making me wish she would have gone to the hospital.

One of Cooper’s men gives Birdie a bottle of water, but it doesn’t help. Despite the obvious strain on her voice, she’s determined to get through this. “Dolion told me he killed Amelia and several others. I don’t have any other names for you.”

Cooper cuts his eyes to me, and I know what he’s thinking. This is why he wanted Savile alive. He can’t say so because he was the one who ordered Kai to fire, not knowing if he was set for a kill shot or not. “Don’t worry. We’re running through every area of his life. If Savile is a serial as he claimed, he’ll have kept records of some kind.”

Knot speaks up to finish the report, and this is where I get worried. I don’t know how Birdie will avoid leaving here in handcuffs after killing the incapacitated Savile. I don’t think she deserves to, but these cops wouldn’t be interested in my brand of justice.

“After the shot to Savile’s shoulder, he still held onto the chain around Birdie’s neck but was weak enough that Birdie wrestled the knife away. She knocked him back and stabbed him, allowing us to free her.”

The local sheriff bends down, inspecting Savile’s neck, and sniffs. “The way I see it, you wasted the effort. The shot should have gone between his eyes.”

Tucking Birdie’s head to my chest, I nod in thanks to my boss, who maintains his stony expression. His report explains why he didn’t disclose that we had to resuscitate Birdie. Cooper’s face suggests he expected a different story, but for whatever reason, he accepts Knot’s explanation at face value. “You guys get Birdie out of here. I’d still like her to get checked out. Wounds or no wounds, this isn’t over for her.”

Birdie finally lets go of me to approach Cooper. After stretching her sore throat, she struggles through saying, “If you find proof that he killed Amelia, please let me know. Her parents never got closure.”

“I promise. Now, get out of here.”

Knot calls the chopper pilot, who lands in the grassy field by the house a few minutes later. I carry Birdie past the screaming goats and set her inside the cabin, straightening her blanket. From the moment I sit beside her, Birdie’s hand doesn’t let go of mine.

The flight back to the compound is short, with Frank waiting by the helipad to drive us to headquarters. Considering the crowd of operatives and security waiting around the building’s main entrance, Knot orders him to drive to the back.

Spatch holds open the gym door when we arrive, revealing an anxious Sadie waiting on the other side. Chelsea explains that Sadie’s team arrived a short time ago, and the senior operative has been going batshit waiting for word.

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