Page 131 of Stella
“I’m okay,” he says. “It’s a flesh wound.”
I glance at the paramedics, wishing Casey was here, but I figured she’d already be at the clubhouse.
“Are you in pain?” I start. “Can you give him something for the pain?” I beg the paramedics.
“We’ve got this,” one of them says.
“Don’t you die on me,Detective!Hang on, you hear me?” I can’t imagine my life without him in it. No. I won’t do that.
He squeezes my hand. “I’m gonna hang on, baby. I-I promise.”
“I love you, Cale,” I breathe. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, Princess.” His voice is so low, barely audible.
“Can I ride with him?” I wipe the tears as they go to close the doors.
“She’s family,” Brew adds. “And this is his service dog.”
Well, Calli is technically a working dog, but he’s trying to get us both in the ambulance.
Shooting him a grateful smile as the paramedic lets me on board, I climb up into the ambulance, squeezing his hands, but he’s already unconscious.
Calli whimpers, pushing her snout into Cale’s body, but he doesn’t respond.
“It’s okay,” I tell Calli. “He’s gonna be okay. He’ll pull through because he’s a fighter. He’s my hero, too. So you see, he has to be okay.”
Calli whimpers again, and I pet her, letting her rest her weight on my lap. She’s a heavy dog, but she needs this right now. And so do I.
The doors close, and I take Cale’s hands and hold them tightly while my life flashes before my eyes.Ourlife, together.
For the first time since I was a girl, I close my eyes, hold tight, and I pray.
“He’s in recovery,” the doc says as we all pounce on him the second he walks out of the double doors. “The retrieval went well. He’s gonna be out of action for a while, but he’s one lucky son of a gun.” I don’t know if that’s his attempt at dry humor, but there’s a pause.
I burst into tears, hugging him as he awkwardly one arm hugs me back. It’s really true about surgeons having no bedside manner. Kai pulls me off, and I turn and sob into his armsinstead. He soothes me, telling me it’s gonna be okay as the surgeon continues to talk.
Cale is going to live. He’s fine. He’s also a hero. And Calli. They both saved us, and Cale took a bullet for Cash. The man I thought was dead for an hour of my life. I later learned Cash made sure he got to D and Caprice, he and Priest taking out two rogue cops in the meantime, and they found my brother, armed in front of them, ready to shoot. It won’t be long before they ask Kai to prospect, too, I’m sure of it.
I feel Dad’s arms around the both of us. “Proud of you,” he tells me. “I was wrong, Stell. I’m sorry.”
I shake my head, the tears spilling freely. “It’s okay, Dad. I should have been upfront in the first place. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
“Shh,” he soothes. “None of this is your fault, you just got caught in the crossfire.”
“Is everyone okay?” I bleat. “Did we lose anyone?”
“Amazingly, we had no fatalities, but the injured are in the dozens,” Dad says. “JJ is critical. Brew, Haze and Logan got there soon after and found a couple more of Vanders’ men. The hard part is knowin’ who was crooked and who wasn’t.”
I cry harder than I ever have. “I want to see him.”
“Not yet,” Dad says. “They won’t let you in until he’s out of the woods for real.”
“But he’s okay, he just said.”
He kisses my forehead. “You love so hard, my little princess. That’s the one thing I’ve always admired about you; how big your heart is. Now, do your old man proud and listen for once. As soon as you can go in, you’ll be the first to know.”
“His grandparents,” I sniff. “Someone has to call them.”
