Page 40 of Mine To Break
He’d been carrying his suit coat. Feeling around on the floor, she found it, quickly folded it into a pillow, and pressed it against his stomach, clutching the phone against her ear with her shoulder.
“Harder,” Elias said. “I didn’t hear him groan. Don’t be afraid to hurt him. It’ll take a lot of force to stem internal bleeding.”
She did as he said, pushing more of her weight on her hands, braced over Colby’s stomach, but he didn’t groan. Not her tough soldier cop. Though his eyes tightened and he sucked in his breath, his lips twisting in a grimace. “How much longer?”
As if on cue, she heard the roar of an engine outside and a distant siren. Elias raced down the basement steps and crouched down beside her. He immediately checked Colby’s pulse in his throat.
“Hey, partner.” Colby’s voice was weaker, but he managed a ghost of a smile. “Black Suburban, no license plate, tinted windows. The shooter had a black stocking hat pulled down over his face, white T-shirt, tats on the backs of his hands. Nice rifle. Real fancy, silver stock, custom piece. I returned fire. Got him in the chest. Might have got the driver too.”
“Good work, buddy. I’ll put out an alert to the hospitals to watch for them. Ambulance is almost here.” Elias took his hand and squeezed. “You did real good.”
“Mal.”
“She’s fine,” Elias said, at the same time that Mal said, “I’m here.”
“Sorry.” Colby’s voice caught and he closed his eyes a moment. “Didn’t want you to see this side.”
Elias gave her a slight shake of his head, his eyes tight. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to warn her off from saying, and she refused to consider that he might be trying to warn her that Colby’s condition was bad. No way. No how.
She made herself laugh, a low, wicked threat of all the terrible things she wanted to do to him. His eyes flickered back open and locked onto her face. “You’re not scaring me away so easily, detective. I’ve got plans for you.”
“Yeah?”
“Promise.”
Elias stood and went to the door, calling the EMTs. Two men and a woman were suddenly there, competent, calm hands sliding over hers and taking over. They didn’t have to tell her to make way so they could take better care of him. The woman already had an IV in, and in seconds, they had him on the stretcher and already taking him out the door. She went up the short flight after them but immediately froze.
Baby Jesus in a manger. Every cop in Dallas had raced toward Colby’s apartment, or so it looked. The street was crammed with police cars, whirling lights, uniformed officers. Elias took her arm and lead her toward his truck. “I’ll drive you. We’ll follow the ambulance. That’ll give them more room to work.”
Her ears buzzed and the sirens and lights created an eerie landscape that didn’t even seem real. Colby couldn’t be hurt. He couldn’t—
“He’s going to be okay,” she said aloud. The volume and harsh tone of her own voice made her jump.
“Yeah,” Elias replied grimly as he started the truck and pulled out after the ambulance.
“He is,” she said again, firmer and calmer.I will it to be so. I won’t accept any other alternative. Colby’s fine. He’s fine, and he’s mine.
