Page 5 of Wyoming Bodyguard
“Don’t encourage him.” Madden stretched to his feet and swiped his hat from the bar.
Bang!
The all-too-familiar sound of gunfire blasted through the bar, followed by the shattering of glass and shrieks of fear.
Bang! Bang!
Two more shots.
Madden’s gut tightened, and he whirled toward the broken window, catching a glimpse of a black truck speeding around the corner. Harsh light streamed inside. Customers fell to the floor while outside people ran for cover.
And one piercing scream raised the hairs on the back of his neck.
Instinct kicking in, Madden sprinted toward the door and rushed outside. “Someone call 911. We need police here now.”
“Police are on the way,” someone yelled from behind him.
Lily sat on the sidewalk with her father’s head cradled in her lap. Blood covered her hands and splattered her blue shirt. Tears streamed down her face, and the haunting scream that had drawn him outside continued to pour from her mouth.
“Lily. Lily, are you hurt?” Crouching beside her, he searched for signs of injury. “Lily!”
Her screams quieted and she blinked up at him. The fear in her eyes tore at his chest like talons. “He’s shot. Dad’s shot. There’s so much blood.”
Shock made her words choppy and faint, and her skin was almost as pale as the motionless man on the ground.
Madden wanted to reach for her, to comfort her any way he could, but he knew his touch wouldn’t be welcomed. “Help’s coming, okay?”
Hurried footsteps and panicked mumblings surrounded him, but he kept his focus on Lily.
Reid rushed to his side. “Truck’s gone. People are scared, but sheriff’s deputies are coming.”
As if summoned by Reid’s words, the sounds of a siren split the afternoon air. Neighbors and friends cluttered the sidewalk, concern drawing them to their own, one fallen and frail—another scared and paralyzed with fear.
Madden rose and turned his head to speak to Reid so no one else could hear. “Try to steer everyone away from Lily and her dad. Paramedics will need some space, but the deputies will also want to talk to anyone who saw the shooting.”
Eve picked her way through broken glass and inhaled a shaky breath. “People can come inside Tilly’s. It’s a mess, but at least they can get out of the heat.”
“Thanks, Eve. That’s a great plan. I’ll stay with Lily.” He glanced down at the woman who drove him crazy, but her attention was locked on her father.
“I’ll help you,” Reid said to Eve.
Madden stood guard beside Lily while Reid and Eve ushered frightened witnesses into the bar. His body was rigid, nerves stretched tight, as the sirens wailed louder and louder. A deputy’s cruiser finally arrived, followed by an ambulance.
Deputy Sanders, a seasoned officer who still played poker with Madden’s dad once a week, climbed out of his patrol car and made a beeline for Madden. A quick glance down at Mr. Tremont tightened his jaw, and he snapped his fingers high in the air. “Medical help here now,” he shouted toward the EMTs. “Gunshot victim.”
Lily stayed frozen, tears continuing their twin tracks down her puffy face.
“Anyone else hurt?” Sanders asked Madden.
“Doesn’t look like it.”
Two paramedics jogged to the sidewalk, wheeling a gurney with medical equipment piled high. A middle-aged woman and younger man knelt beside Lily and her father, their hands moving between the injured man and the medical supplies they needed to help him.
“Ma’am,” the woman with serious, hazel eyes and a tight frown said to Lily, “if you aren’t hurt, I need you to move.”
Lily shook her head. “I can’t leave him. I’m all he has.”
“We’ll do everything we can to help him, but you have to step back and give us space.”
