Page 67 of Wyoming Bodyguard
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway. Nausea swam in the pit of her stomach, and she pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from getting sick. She stared at the door handle, wanting the door to swing open and Madden to come sweeping inside.
More voices spoke at rapid speed on the radio. Lily held her breath and listened for anything she could understand. Anything to tell her what the hell had happened.
The deputy nodded then crossed to her and extended a palm. “You’re safe. You can get up.”
Accepting his hand, she rose on shaky legs. “Can you please tell me what happened?” Her question came out as more of a command, but she didn’t care if the snap of her words offended him.
“There was a shooting in the parking lot. The shooter fled the scene and civilians gave chase. The shooter and a civilian are being transported to the hospital to be treated for injuries.”
Madden.
She squeezed her eyes shut against the crushing certainty that Madden was involved in this new disaster. Needing answers, she found her phone and called him. The line rang in her ear, spiking her blood pressure with each passing second. When his voice message played, she disconnected, and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. Fear lined her lungs, stealing her breath and smothering her heart.
“Hey, it’s okay,” the young man she’d all but forgotten about said. “You and your father are fine.”
Unable to speak, she shook her head. She wasn’t fine. Not without Madden. Not without the hope he brought into her life for a different future filled with beautiful dreams and the promise of love.
She choked out a sob. She loved Madden. She may not understand how it was possible to fall so hard and so fast for a man she’d despised for so long, but she couldn’t deny it. Didn’t want to. But if she’d lost him before she’d had a chance to tell him where her heart lay, she’d never get over the devastation.
The soul-crushing desire to see Madden set her feet in motion. She ran for the door.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t waste a second to respond and hurried into the chaos of the wide hallway. Doctors and nurses spoke with panicked patients and their loved ones. People in hospital gowns and street clothes huddled on the floor, fear clear on their faces.
Lily maneuvered through the throngs of people toward the waiting room. That’s where Madden had gone. Maybe he’d still be there. Hope quickened her pace until she spied the waiting room—upturned chairs scattered around the empty space, the television droned in the corner, and no Madden.
Disappointment crushed her windpipe. An overwhelming sense of hopelessness threatened to take her out at the knees, but she couldn’t succumb to her emotions. She had to find Madden. He’d been strong for her countless times. Now she needed to stand strong for him.
The shriek of sirens shifted her toward the emergency room doors. An ambulance screeched to a halt, and she darted outside. Fear tripled her heart rate as the sun hit her in the face.
An emergency responder with her blond hair pulled into a stubby ponytail jumped from the cab and hurried to the back of the ambulance.
“Who’s hurt?” Lily asked, her voice distant in her own ears.
A male medical responder hurried from the passenger side and brushed her aside. “Sorry, ma’am. I can’t give you that information. Please stay back.”
A doctor emerged from the hospital. “What do you got?”
The woman yanked open the back door and jumped inside. “Large gashes on side of the head as well as injuries from a car accident. Another unit is en route with a second victim. More serious injuries.”
Oh God. Each word slammed against Lily like an arrow, sharp and right on target. She moved from side to side, lifting onto her toes to see inside the tall vehicle.
A deputy’s cruiser sped into the lot and came to an abrupt halt behind the ambulance. The sound of doors opening and closing penetrated the fog engulfing Lily, but she kept her focus on the gurney being lowered by the medical professions.
A light touch on her shoulder jolted her senses. She spun around and gasped. “Madden!” Joy exploded inside her, and she threw herself into his arms.
Burying his head in the crook of her neck, he held her tight.
She waited a beat before pulling back just enough to see his face. A trickle of blood on his forehead told her he hadn’t walked away completely unscathed, but it could have been so much worse. “Are you okay? What happened? I was so scared you were hurt.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed hard. “I’m fine but Reid…he’s hurt.”
The thump of the gurney hitting the pavement echoed in her ears. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see Reid being wheeled into the hospital, doctors and nurses already at work to save his life.
“He has to be all right.” Madden’s voice cracked. “I should have gotten him help first. I shouldn’t have taken off before I knew he was okay.”
She flattened a palm on his cheek, trying to make sense of his words but not wanting to ask when he was spiraling. “He’s strong and stubborn like you. He’s going to be fine. I know it.”
