Page 33 of Crewe
Penny and Quinton headed toward the doors, and Ry stopped Crewe.
“I’ve got to stop here first before we go home,” she said.
“Sure. Crap. I just realized Quinton and I didn’t switch keys.”
“Here, the girls can come in the family bathroom with me,” Ry said, taking both carriers and going into the bathroom, locking the door since the room didn’t have a stall.
“Okay, sweeties, let’s stay quiet so I can pee, then we’ll take you home.”
Ry quickly did her business, washed her hands, and picked up the girls. She opened the door and saw Crewe walking back up to the glass doors of the courthouse.
The quiet afternoon was filled with the sound of what she at first thought were firecrackers, but as Crewe motioned for her to stay inside and dove for the ground, she realized it was gunfire. She grabbed the girls’ carriers and ran back toward the bathroom, putting their carriers inside the door but staying in the doorway. The sheriff’s deputy at the desk had called someone on his radio, then run toward the glass doors.
“Ma’am, stay down,” he yelled. He looked out the window and was updating people through the radio. She couldn’t see where Crewe had crawled to. Had Quinton and Penny already driven away before the gunfire started? And who was being shot at?
Gunfire filled the air again and then the sound of sirens. She waited to see if Crewe would come back inside. Then silence. Her heart was pounding,waiting to see Crewe and confirm with her own eyes that he was okay.
Her phone rang, and she relaxed at seeing Crewe’s name.
“Ry, I’m okay. Quinton was injured. An officer is going to take you and the babies to the hospital to be there with Quinton until I can get there. I have to give my statement,” he said.
“Penny?” Ry asked.
“Her parents and brother ambushed her and Quinton. She didn’t survive,” he said.
Ry couldn’t even think of the implications. All she could think of was Quinton was hurt and what kind of parents hurt their own daughter.
“What about her parents and brother?” she asked.
“Three SWAT officers were eating at the pizza place across the street. They neutralized all three of them,” Crewe said. “Baby, the officer is coming in to get you and the girls. Take care of them until I can get there. Once you know something about Quinton, call and let me know. I love you.”
“I love you too, Crewe. I’ll call when I know something,” Ry said.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Crewe finished up the appetizers for tonight and glanced around his kitchen. It felt good to be back in the bar and back at work. It had been a rough two weeks getting used to two babies in the apartment, along with adding in a very grumpy lawyer.
Vivi, Ellie, and Ry had forced Quinton to move into the apartment so they could help him. Schaefer had given him his bed and taken the couch he had in his room. Quinton had been hit in thethigh and also in his arm. His arm was doing great, but his thigh had become infected about five days in. He was allowed to come home after the infection was better, but he was still on antibiotics for a couple more days.
Crewe was just glad he was better physically. Mentally, he was blaming himself for not protecting Penny better. With the amount of bullets her family pumped into his car and the surrounding area, Crewe didn’t see any way that Penny could have survived.
Due to Penny’s death and the death of her family, Quinton was made the executor of their estate as he had been Penny’s lawyer. Since Quinton had been laid up, Crewe and Halligan had gone over to secure her parents’ house and make sure there wasn’t anything that needed to be done.
The house hadn’t been in great shape, and there hadn’t been anything in the refrigerator. They’d turned off the air conditioner, double-checked that there weren’t any faucets on, and grabbed anything they could think of that looked like paperwork and brought it back to Quinton. Quintonstopped taking his pain pills yesterday because he said they made him too loopy to think.
Despite all that, Crewe and Ry were doing great. They were getting married this next weekend. They’d invited all their friends from Bluff Creek and Saint’s Outlaws who could make it. It was short notice, but he and Ry had four little ones and needed to be married.
He grabbed the dessert he’d made for Ry. He’d take it upstairs after he delivered the appetizers to the table. He picked up the tray and walked out into the bar. He chuckled because they’d obviously carried Quinton downstairs to get him out of the apartment. They’d also brought down the recliner from the family room upstairs. Quinton was in the recliner, and they had him at the end of the table so he could still participate.
“How’s the patient doing?” Crewe asked.
“I absolutely adore the women of our family, but I’m worried the longer I stay up there, the more chance I have of them trying to find me a woman,” Quinton said.
Whiskey sipped his drink, “Don’t you want a woman? I mean, you wait too late, you may not be able to satisfy her.”
“Don’t tease me, or I’ll tell your wife you made me feel bad,” Quinton threatened.
“Tell her all you want. I’ll tell her you were saying that you don’t think labor could be as bad as women think. I heard them talking about ordering that machine that simulates labor pains. You know you’ll be the one testing it if I rat on you,” Whiskey replied.
