Page 27 of Reclaiming his Honor
“No. They’re going to find out you killed the woman in the bay.”
“That isn’t possible. I was at the prison for Godak’s execution.”
“That isn’t true. You know how I know? BecauseIwas at Godak’s execution, and you weren’t there.”
He needed Turner to get the gun off Lewis, and the only way he could do that was to get Turner to put it on him.
“Everyone signs in and out. As soon as I tell the police you weren’t there, they’ll find out your alibi doesn’t hold water. And when I tell them what happened here… well, it won’t take them long to put all the pieces together.”
Turner’s eyes widened. He moved the gun away from Lewis and fired at Mac.
“Run!” yelled Mac, the flash of gunpowder blinding him as Turner squeezed the trigger again and again.
Lewis sprang into action, freeing himself from Turner and sprinting toward Mac just as Mac fell to the ground.
He was aware of someone returning gunfire, unsure if it was Sloan and Moto or if the police had arrived. He thought of Ellie and hoped she’d be okay. He was glad at least he’d gotten to find her again. He was suddenly so very tired.
“He’s been hit!” Sloan’s voice echoed through the complex, and Mac wanted to ask who’d been hit, if it was Lewis, but his eyelids were so heavy he could barely stay awake.
“Dad!”
Mac forced his eyes open at the sound of Lewis’s voice. The lights were on now, glaringly bright, and his son leaned over him, blood spurting onto his shirt. Was he hurt? He tried to sit up but couldn’t move. Lewis’s hand came around Mac’s neck, slipping against his skin.
My blood.
His hand is slipping in my blood.
Lewis was trying to hold a wound in Mac’s neck closed with his bare hand. He was talking, and Mac made every effort to focus on his words. “I’ve got you, Dad. Hang in there. The ambulance is on its way.”
Then Sloan was there, too, but Mac was drifting away. He wondered where Ellie was, unable to recall where they were or exactly why he was concerned.
“Tighter,” a voice said, from farther and farther away. “Like this. Don’t let up on the pressure.”
He was in a field of tall green grass, daisies, and wildflowers. Ellie stood across the way, a knowing smile on that gorgeous face as images of their lives together flashed before his eyes. The voices that had been hovering over him were gone. No Lewis. No Sloan. No Moto.
Joy burst from his heart as he headed toward his love. “I missed you so much, baby.”
He moved to envelop her in his arms, but she disappeared, and he was left alone, in the dark and cold.
“Wake up, baby.”
It was Ellie’s voice, but Ellie was gone. He looked from side to side, the sensation of fiery pain searing the side of his neck.
“Open your eyes.”
The field was gone. He was surrounded by darkness and the fiery pain.
“Can you open your eyes for me?”
The task had never been so difficult in his life. But it was Ellie asking, Ellie begging, and Mac opened them to find her by one side of his hospital bed, Lewis asleep on the other, with his head beside Mac’s thigh.
Mac opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Ellie held up her hand. “Don’t try to talk. You were shot in the neck. You need time to heal.”
He reached up, with some effort, and stroked her face from temple to chin. She threaded her fingers with his, then bent down to kiss him on the mouth. When she straightened, Mac drew the letter “T” in the air and looked at her questioningly.
“Turner is dead. We’re not sure yet if he killed himself or if Sloan got to him first.”
Mac nodded, then pointed to Lewis.
