Page 42 of Holding On to a Hero
Brian carefully set the spoon into the glass and set the glass back on the table. I tensed and started to reach for him, possibly to grab him by the throat, but my shoulder reminded me why that was a bad idea. I may or may not have made a sound like a small animal dying. I forced myself to relax back into the bed.
Brian looked at me in sympathy. “You were lucky. The bullet only nicked your shoulder blade as it passed through. The entry and exit wounds were clean but you’ve got some significant muscle damage. It could have been a lot worse.”
“I don’t care about me. Tell me about Cole!” I was so going to kill him as soon as I could get upright.
He sat back down in the chair. Seriously? Why was he delaying?
And then of course the door to the room opened. Ally came in carrying two coffee cups. “Oh, you’re awake!”
I looked at Brian and he made a frustrated face at me. Ally handed him one of the coffee cups and sat down on the side of my bed.
“How are you feeling?” She grasped my hand and squeezed.
“Uh, I’m okay. I think the drugs are doing their job. But Brian was about to tell me what happened to Cole.” I met his eyes. “You can tell Ally whatever you tell me. She won’t say anything to the press.”
Ally wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, no way.”
Brian looked pleased. I guess Ally looked trustworthy to him. Or he’d already done a background check on her. “Right, okay. So, Will, what do you remember after you got to the ranch?”
Did I have a headache? I was about to for sure. Or an aneurysm. “Well, I was about to drive around back when Cole came out of the front of the house. I stopped the truck and then by the time I got out Cole was standing right there. I yelled at him about the gunman and then we ran up onto the porch. We were almost to the door when I was shot.” I took a breath at the memory of the pain. Ally squeezed my hand again.
“When I get you home you and I are going to have a serious discussion about your hero complex, mister.”
I snorted. “It’s not a hero complex when you just do what needs to be done when shit goes down. Anyway, then I remember thinking that I wasn’t going to be able to keep running but if I went down Cole would be exposed. So I reached out with my good arm and grabbed him? I think I tried at least?” I looked to Brian for confirmation.
“You did. Jason copied the front porch’s security camera footage for the police. After you were shot you grabbed Cole’s shoulder and pulled him down with you.” He rubbed his hand over his face. “Will, you saved his life. On the video you can clearly see a bullet hitting the door where Cole’s head had just been.”
“Oh, wow. Good, I mean.” Then I thought it through. “But if the bullet didn’t hit him in the head, why is he in a coma?”
At first Brian wouldn’t meet my eyes. “Shit,” he said. “Jason doesn’t want me to tell you that part.”
I tensed. Ally’s grip was crushing my hand. “Just say it.”
Finally he raised his eyes to mine. “When you pulled Cole down, the bullet missed him. And that definitely saved his life. Please remember that. But when he went down, both of you were still moving forward. The door was shut. Cole’s head hit the door handle on the way down.”
I sucked in a breath. Oh, no.
“That impact actually helped keep both of you safe though. His head hit the tongue of the door handle just right, so the door opened and the two of you fell mostly inside. The gunman was still shooting but he missed Cole completely. Arturo came in from the back door a minute or so later and dragged you both the rest of the way in. That was right before the police got there.”
I was in a daze. I had caused Cole to be in a coma. Holy hell. Guilt, my old friend, wrapped me in its embrace. Tears welled in my eyes.
“No, no, Will! You are not taking responsibility for Cole being in a coma!” Ally was crushing my hand again. She stood up and set her coffee on the side table.
“Ally, if it hadn’t been for me grabbing him….” I trailed off and stared at the floor.
Ally slapped me on the top of my head.
“Ow!” Brian barked a laugh but managed to look contrite when I glared at him.
Ally shook her finger in my face. “You saved Cole’s life. He might be in a coma, but that’s better than being in a coffin. Right?”
“I guess? Yes, I mean, of course.”
“When Cole gets out of the hospital, what is he going to remember? That you knocked him into the door handle or that you saved him from a bullet to the head.”
I really hated it when she was right.
“You suck.”
