Page 67 of His Virgin Vessel

Chapter Twenty-Five

Corinne

I had always hoped that I would be one of those people who did well in a crisis. It turned out that I wasn't. As I watched Asa convulse with each bullet hit, and fall, crumpled to the ground, all I did was just stand and stare, gaping like an idiot. I wanted to move, to go help him, to put myself between him and the bullets, but I was frozen. Truthfully, even had I been able to move, there was nothing I could have done. But that knowledge didn't make me feel any less useless and impotent.

I wasn't aware of anything else happening at that moment, although there was a hell of a lot going on - utter pandemonium, in fact. None of it got through to me. I couldn't see beyond Asa. He looked so small suddenly, this little body, bloody and unmoving on the ground. Let the rest of the world explode for all I cared. My whole world was right there.

Suddenly, I was grabbed by the arm and dragged in the direction of the exit. In the moment, I had no idea which side was taking me, and, in the moment, I didn't really care. But I didn't want to leave.

"No! Don't leave him! He needs help!"

The SWAT guy dragging me along ignored me completely, protected me with his body as the gunfight continued around us, and pushed me in the direction of safety.

Once we were out of the warehouse, away from the danger and the noise, the SWAT guy removed his helmet, and I started.

"Dad?!"

He threw his arms around me, but I shrugged him off.

"You left Asa in there! He saved my life, and you left him to die!"

Dad tried to speak, but I wouldn't let him.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it! You wanted him dead! You've never liked him! This is like the perfect outcome for you, isn't it! Isn't it!" I wanted to go on, but I couldn't as I saw the tears rising in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know you care about him, but I couldn't bear losing you."

I'd never seen my Dad cry before. I suppose he must have, from time to time, but he always took himself away somewhere, I guess. It was a strange sight. I hugged him, and he hugged me back, and we cried together. Even now, Asa had managed to bring my dad and me closer than we had been in years.

"Porter!" Dad suddenly broke away from me. "Look after Corinne."

"Dad...?" As I watched, he put his helmet back on and strode back towards the warehouse. "Dad?!"

Porter grabbed me as I tried to follow my father. "You're not going to stop him now."

"He's going back in for Asa!"

"Of course he is." Porter nodded.

"He's not SWAT trained."

Porter shrugged. "He's Brian Dugas. That's just as good."

"But he's only going back in because I..." I didn't want to say it. "He's doing it for me."

Porter shook his head. "He sent Asa in there, and the man didn't flinch. No way would your Dad just leave him. He's not doing it for you. He'd do that for any one of us, and - whoa! Where are you going?"

I just barely heard the last few words of this, as the world had started to fade and my legs buckled beneath me. My vision swam, and I fought to maintain consciousness. It was as if it had all just caught up with me in that instant. The stress and the confinement all suddenly hit me.

I heard Porter calling for paramedics and was vaguely aware of figures running over, as my Dad's deputy laid me down on the ground. A voice beat through my mind, telling me to stay awake. I had to know that Dad was all right, if Asa was alive. But however strong that voice was, however desperate the desire to know, my body was having none of it. I sank into a blank, unresisting unconsciousness.

# # #

"Welcome back."

I blinked my eyes open and asked the stupid question that everyone in this situation asks, regardless of how pointless it is. "Where am I?"

"In the hospital," said the unfamiliar face, peering down at me. "My name is Dr. Yates. Can you tell me yours?"

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