Page 78 of Hesi-Dating
When I opened my eyes, Nosh lay on the ground. Blood dribbled from his mouth, but he still breathed.
He raised his gun toward me. I should run, but shock paralyzed me.
Seth appeared, who knew from where, and kicked the gun out of his hand.
I scrambled away to run toward where Junior had gone, ignoring my own pain. Wheezing, I collapsed to my knees at the edge of the woods. I rasped out, "Junior?"
A glance back saw people surrounding Nosh. Seth directed people who wore a mixture of FBI shirts, police uniforms, and sheriff outfits.
This had been a set up? Too many people had gotten here too fast for this to be anything else.
"Junior!" I tried to call out.
Out of the woods came Isiah, carrying Junior.
Everything crystallized in my mind as I stared up at him. "You set this up?"
"I'm sorry," Isiah said. "I didn't think he'd try to kill you. I knew he'd gone crazy, but…"
"Junior?"
"He's fine. You did good keeping my boy safe." He put down Junior to kneel next to me. Junior took my hand.
Isiah shook me to get my attention. "Stay awake. Help's coming. Keep breathing."
"Feel dizzy. Nosh said he had people threatening Marino and Bruno. Have to make sure they're safe." My mind shuddered in warning. I wasn't going to be alert much longer. I could barely talk. I lifted my phone to text them but was too weak to do it. "Help me make sure they're okay."
"We got it. Stay with me." Isiah took my hand.
"I can't…"I can't go to a hospital. I'm not wearing matching underwear.
ChapterThirty-One
SETH
"Joley?" I said her name out loud—at least I thought I did. I didn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything. There was so much blood all over her. I felt underwater, like I was drowning as I struggled to make it to where she lay on the ground by Isiah.
I touched her arm, hesitant but desperate to confirm she lived. She didn't react. "Is she…"
"She passed out," Isiah said. "Breathing. She's alive. Did you call an ambulance?"
I relayed orders automatically into my radio. My attention was on her. I felt the pulse in her wrist, which was strong. "We need to stop the bleeding. Do you have a belt? Mine's got too much shit on it to get off easily."
"No belt. But here, you can use my t-shirt." He whipped his off.
I tied it around the area on her upper arm that was bleeding.She's breathing.I said it again in my head. She'd lost a lot of blood.
"She's not shot in the chest or stomach. Pressure should slow it." Isiah said it cool as a cucumber. "She's going to make it through this."
"We shouldn't have put her in this situation." It was my fault she was lying here, possibly dying. Our plan had been to apprehend Nosh before he got her alone. I knew it'd draw him out to know she was going to see me speaking. "Fuck, we shouldn't have?—"
"She's free of him. So, it worked." Isiah nodded toward Nosh. "He is dead, right? You confirmed it?" Something scary transformed his face. "He threatened my son so the motherfucker better be gone."
"He's dead." Deputies, FBI, and local police swarmed around the body and kept bystanders away. Yellow tape was going up. There would be hell to pay to the commissioner over jurisdiction, not to mention questions about why I shot him. I'd gotten approval from the police chief to provide backup for this operation. But we hadn't suspected he'd shoot anyone.
"She said something about Nosh having a gun on her brothers. You need to make sure they're okay," Isiah said.
"I've had someone watching everyone in her family today. They're fine." I didn't let go of Joley after wrapping her arm. "She's?—"
