Page 103 of A First Sight

“That shows how little you paid attention to anything I told you,” she said, stepping forward. “My brother Eoin taught me how to shoot.”

“You wouldn’t.”

The gunshot was deafening, leaving my ears ringing. Dale’s face went white. I wasn’t sure where the bullet went, but Dale’s reaction told me the shot was close enough to get Maggie’s point across.

“The next one goes into your leg. I mean it, Dale,” she said. “Get the hell out.”

The door closed without me seeing Dale leave.

I was on the floor, bleeding. I didn’t remember sitting down.

Everything was fuzzy.

“Drake.” Maggie crouched next to me. “Fuck. What happened to you? What did he do?”

“He had a knife,” I said.

“Shit.” She pulled at my shirt. “How badly are you hurt?”

I winced, but leaned to the side so she could get a look at my side.

“Dammit, Drake!” Maggie jumped up and rushed into the kitchen. I heard drawers opening, and then she was back. She pressed a towel to my side, making a face when I groaned.

“There’s a first aid kit in the bathroom.”

“I don’t think bandages are going to work,” Maggie said as she helped me to my feet. “You need stitches. We have to get you to a hospital.”

I shook my head. “It’s too dark, and the rain hasn’t stopped. The road could be blocked. There could be power lines down on it. Or Dale could wait somewhere out there to ambush us.”

“You’re bleeding all over the place,” she said.

“I have glue in the first aid kit. That’ll stop the bleeding.”

She didn’t like it, but I could see in her eyes that she knew I was right. It wasn’t the best solution, but it was the only one that worked. We had a gun, and once she helped me get that cut sealed, we’d barricade the door. Neither one of us would get much sleep, but it was still a hell of a lot safer than trying to drive out tonight.

One thing was for sure, as soon as we got back to the city, I’d file for every single possible thing Dale could be charged with, and if anyone in the police department or the DA’s office even hinted at offering him a plea deal, I’d go straight to the press.

SEVENTY-FIVE

MAGGIE

The thoughtof sewing Drake’s flesh closed would have made me nauseous, but using superglue while he held the edges of the wound together was almost as bad.

While we waited for morning and a break in the storm, we laid out a plan. With the landline and cell phone towers down, we couldn’t place a call to the local police to report the attack. I wanted to take Drake to the closest hospital, and he wanted us to go to the police station. I wanted him cared for, and he wanted me safe. In the end, we decided to drive home in the morning, if it was safe.

Neither of us slept much, but I felt rested enough to drive when morning came.

And, thankfully, the storm was over.

I went to Drake’s side and placed my hand on his arm, not because he needed my help, but because I just wanted to touch him. From the way he leaned into me, I knew he felt the same.

“I think we’ve taken enough pictures,” I said as Drake finished collecting evidence of Dale’s destruction. “We need to get you looked at.”

“We should go,” he agreed.

The sun had thawed the ice on the roads, making downed branches the only obstacles I needed to work around.

The rest of the trip back was fairly quiet as I concentrated on driving, and Drake dozed on and off.

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