Page 104 of Free to Fall

He relaxes.

In my head, I’m counting, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine,

Our house phone rings again.

By the time the third ring happens, I’m rolling on top of Bailey as the front and back doors are kicked in by the SWAT team.

Olivia opens fire, her semi-automatic assault rifle spitting out bullets at a rapid pace. Realizing how fucked she must be, she makes a tactical error.

She turns her head away from the imminent threat and searches for a hostage—me.

I’m far enough away that it gives enough time for a laser to light up both her forehead and the center of her chest.

The glass shatters. The force of the bullets slams into her. I’d swear she isn’t dead by the way her feet keep moving if it wasn’t for the gray matter that explodes out of the back of her head.

I close my eyes and try not to vomit. Bailey, just think of Bailey. You have to get Bailey out of here safely.

Chapter

Fifty-Six

“Laura? Are you okay?” I hear the second most beloved voice in the world—my father’s. He spots me lying across Bailey and spits out, “Shit.” Rushing over, he calls out, “Tell RA to pull up immediately.”

“On it,” one of the SWAT guys repeats the order into his headset. Across our front yard I see the Darien Fire Department pull up with medical kits and an ambulance not far behind.

My father winces before he peels back the tape from my mouth. Immediately, I order, “Dad, Bailey. She’s been out too long. That bitch clocked her, and she went down hard.”

Quickly, he uses a knife to cut through the duct tape and peels back the piece covering her lips. As he takes care of her, another Hudson agent approaches. He lifts his mask before familiar blue eyes penetrate mine. Jon says, “Laura, turn over.”

I do, and with a few strikes of my brother’s blade, he removes the duct tape from me as well. I snap at him, “Get my stethoscope out of my bag. Hall closet.”

My brother frog leaps up to do my bidding even while I do a cursory examination of Bailey’s legs, praying I hadn’t caused any damage.

“Fuck all of you Lockwoods!” Al screams as Darien’s finest lead him out of my home. Olivia’s still splattered everywhere.

I’m not paying attention to anyone or anything but Bailey as I’ve just slipped the earbuds in so I can listen to her heart and lungs. My hands tremble as I feel for the knot on her head. Just as I’m about to check her pupils, the EMTs arrive. “We have it from here, Dr. Lockwood. You need to get checked out.”

Stubbornly, I refuse. “I’m staying with her.”

“Laura,” my brother argues.

“Jon, Bailey is my responsibility. Don’t even think about trying to separate me from her.”

My father struggles with his feelings for me and understanding my emotions for the little girl being threaded with an IV. Love. It’s a circle that begins and ends with love. “Let her go with Bailey, Jon.”

He doesn’t argue with me. Despite how much I want to hurl words of fury at my father, there’s something far more important to deal with right now and I need to get her to the hospital. Struggling to my feet, I snatch up my purse and place a hand on the board to jog with the EMTs as best as I can with legs that feel like the muscle and bone were removed in the last hour. “Where are we taking her?”

“We’re closest to Darien West,” the one EMT begins.

“Is she critical?” I demand.

“No, ma’am.”

I override the order. “Then take her to Greenwich ER.”

“Ma’am, that’s outside our district,” the other EMT says.

“But it’s not outside mine. That’s my ER. And it’s not ma’am, it’s Doctor. Dr. Laura Lockwood. I want her treated by the best. If she’s not critical, take me there and have your damn house send me the bill.”

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