Page 3 of When the Smoke Clears

“Mmhmm.” Her face maintains the same shielded expression.

Sirens wail from the main road.

Two police cruisers pull into the driveway, followed by an ambulance. Slamming doors and voices mingle from what seems like too far away. Flashlights bob in our direction. More vehicles flood the narrow driveway.

Will an ambulance even be able to leave?

Nick meets the first officer and leads them our way. Thankfully, the paramedics have a little more pep in their steps and overtake the officers quickly.

One drops down in the grass. “What happened here?” Her voice is questioning, not accusatory, and I’m thankful for that. I can guess there will be a ton of questions thrown at Maci, along with a full investigation, and I will do my damndest to keep myself in check while that process takes place. But if anyone so much as looks at her wrong, I may lose my shit.

“I have a stab wound.” Maci’s face is tight, her tone formal.

The chatter from the officers gets louder. Movement of people in the yard increases. A second paramedic pushes in near me, cueing me to move out of the way.

Releasing Maci is physically painful. “I’m right here, Firecracker,” I say for her benefit as much as mine, as I stand and move behind the paramedics.

“Were you here when this took place?” One of the officers speaks to me from next to Nick.

I shake my head. “No. I showed up after.”

He looks pointedly at my bloody shirt. My hands are also covered in drying blood. “I probably have both of their DNA on me. He was on top of her when I got to them, and I pushed him off.” My breathing shallows and my gaze falls to Maci’s firearm in the grass again. “I think he was already dead. Or close.”

The officer nods. “Have you washed your hands?”

“Does it look like I’ve washed my hands?”

He presses his lips together and his nostrils flare.

Nick gives me a look from next to him.

“No. I haven’t washed my hands,” I say more calmly.

The officer bobs his head again. “What about her?” His chin jerks toward Maci.

I’m tempted to ask if this is his first day out of the academy, but I check myself. “No. Like I said, he was on top of her when I got here.”

Newbie writes notes in a small spiral pad and peppers me with more basic information questions. “The medical examiner should be here shortly. And the detective. He’ll want to speak with both of you,” he says when he’s finished.

He closes his notepad and sticks it in a shirt pocket. “I need to do a swab on your hands. Hang tight.”

One of the paramedics jogs past. I lose sight of him and my focus turns to the officers beginning to tape off the backyard. This whole situation is completely surreal.

Newbie goes through the process of swabbing my hands and then Maci’s. I may live on a ranch, but I’ve seen enough prime time TV to know he’s looking for gunshot residue.

A gurney rattles through the yard, and I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m the asshole standing around doing nothing while the woman I love is bleeding out on the ground.

Nick side steps closer to me. “She’s in good hands, man.”

I want to respond to him. He’s my best friend and has the connections that got a fast response here tonight. But I feel sick to my stomach with guilt and fear. Somehow, I think he gets it when all I manage is, “Thanks.”

He claps me on the shoulder.

Once Maci’s secure on the gurney, the first paramedic turns to me. “Are you family?”

“Yep,” I say, without question, and nod for them to lead the way to the ambulance. No one is separating me from Maci again. At this point, I’d consider drastic surgical procedures to adhere her to my damn body.

Chapter 2

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