Page 67 of Heartless

Me.

“Reagan, stop!” Cass is yelling more than just that, but I can’t hear him over the ringing in my ears. My heart pounds, thrumming through my whole body once.

Twice.

Reagan grins, her lips parting so she can mouth the wordsorryinto the air between us. I see her fingers shift and I shove to my feet, my body immediately entering flight-or-faster flightmode. “Don’t,” I whisper, knowing she can’t hear me.

Is this how my dad felt, I wonder, in those few seconds while he faced down the muzzle of the gun I held?

Did every possibility in the universe flicker through his head between one heartbeat and the next as his brain screamed at him to dosomething?

Was he too shocked to be truly afraid, just like I am?

The gun goes off and my stomach jolts, just as something knocks Reagan off her feet. My ears ring, and I hold my breath, expecting to feel some kind of burning pain at any microsecond.

But I don’t.

The gun clatters to the ground and is scooped up by Trudeau. When I blink, I see Cass has wrestled Reagan to the ground while she screams and writhes like a feral animal. Then he leans in closer to her, his lips moving rapidly near her ear and a savage smile on his lips that’s in no way friendly or compassionate.

Whatever he says to her makes Reagan scream. She screams and screams, the sound becoming a wail as the officers drag her up and clip cuffs on her without waiting for Trudeau’s permission.

They escort her to the police car and I see Virgil standing next to Trudeau, his eyes are bright and he’s speaking conversationally, though I can’t hear the words.

The detective’s eyes flick to me, and he opens his mouth, only for my sight to be obscured when Cass grabs me, crushing me to his chest.

“Fuck, Winnie,” he chokes out, his voice raw and hoarse as I struggle for air.

“She got a gun,” I murmur, and when I remember it went off, I jerk back, looking at him. “Holy shit, did she shoot you? Did she?—?”

“No. She didn’t hit anyone. I’m okay, you’re okay.” He cradles my face in his hands, eyes never leaving mine. “Fuck, you’re okay.” He repeats it a few more times, until I drag him closer to me and press our foreheads together.

“Holy shit,” I breathe, unable to say anything else. “Like…” An ambulance rolls up into the driveway, separating us from the crowd of gawkers on the sidewalk. “Holyshit,Cass. How did she even get his gun?”

When he doesn’t reply, I look up, surprised to see his eyes like shards of ice. Though the look isn’t directed at me. Again he pulls me to his body, encircling me with his arms, as footsteps approach from around the ambulance.

“I am so sorry, Miss Campbell.” Trudeau’s voice shakes on the words, and for the first time he sounds like he means what he’s saying. “She got away from me and…Well, I never thought she’d point the gun at you.”

“Because you thought she’d shoot me instead.” Cass’s words are soft and almost inaudible, but I know Trudeau can hear him. I jerk back to look up, then glance over my shoulder at the detective.

He isn’t denying it.

Before I can say anything, though, paramedics are between us, asking for details. Within seconds, I’m scooped up by my psychotic boyfriend and laid down on a stretcher. “I’m fine,” I tell them, trying to sit up only for the female paramedic to push me back down.

“You’ve got a nasty bump on your head, miss,” she informs me, not unkindly. “And I’d like to get you checked out.”

“Don’t argue, please? For my peace of mind?” Cass chuckles, giving me a small grin.

“Sure, I’ll go. As long as you’re there suffering with me. I at least get to…” I trail off when he looks away, a flicker of guilt on his face that makes my heart twist. “Please come with me.”

“I can’t yet. Trust me though, okay? You won’t even have time to miss me, I promise.” I don’t know how to reply to that. I also can’t figure out what could be so important that he won’t come with me, so I just nod jerkily, able to see the look of guilt he can’t chase off his expression.

“Just close your eyes and I’ll be there before you know it, okay princess?” Cass reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I swear.”

Again I just nod, opening my eyes when the paramedics lift the stretcher into the ambulance. A smaller shape follows, and Sophie sits down on the bench near me, not caring that the female paramedic was definitely about to sit there. “Don’t worry, Winnie,” she says, tucking her stuffed elephant into the crook of my arm. “I’ll hold your hand while you get any shots.”

“If there are shots involved, I’m rioting.” I sigh, leaning back against the head of the stretcher as the ambulance starts moving, crawling out of the driveway. “I hate needles.” But I don’t hear Sophie’s answering reply, or whatever the paramedic says to her. I’m too busy staring through the small windows at where Cass and Virgil are standing on either side of Trudeau with looks on their faces I hope to never see again.

Cass doesn’t showup at the hospital, but in his defense, I’m only there for a couple of hours. Lou comes to pick me up, asking questions and worrying over me enough that I don’t get to go home. Instead, she demands I spend the night with her, and even goes so far as to make me the same hot cocoa she used to make when we were kids while I text Sophie’s parents to make sure she’s all right.

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