The woman looks down with a small smile. “It’s going to be okay, ma’am.”
“I’m fine.” I cough. “Just tired.” I try to push myself into a sitting position, but my arm slips, and I fall back again.
“I know you are, but it’s better we help you out, all right?”
I don’t respond and look to the side as they cut open Alec’s shirt. They start poking and prodding at him as they are doing to me.
His head shakes a little, and his eyes peel open.
“Alec,” I try to call him, but my voice is no more than a scratchy whisper.
He hears me though, and his eyes snap to mine even though he can’t move his head with the neck brace in place.
They only just connect with mine when he’s lifted and carted away.
I freeze when my dad steps into my sight again, and he sighs, dropping beside me.
“She’s okay, but we need to take her in. Her lungs took a hit, and she’s got a graze on her leg that we should clean.”
He lifts a brow to ask if I’ll allow it, and I shrug against the cot.
He chuckles, but it’s sad. He tells the woman he’ll follow behind.
Rowan pops up as they lift me.
I reach out for his hand, and he squeezes, walking with me.
“Ride with me, Row?”
“Think I’d let you tell me no?” he jokes, but it doesn’t have any power, and his eyes grow glossy.
“My ride or die,” I tease, and that time, I get a real laugh.
They turn around to back me into the ambulance. I stare at my dad as they close the door, and Havannah steps up beside him, looking around at all the chaos.
Rowan and I don’t talk on the drive, but he never lets go of my hand, not even when they hook a handcuff from my wrist to the side post. I don’t ask questions. I did beat a chick with a metal rod and shot a cop tonight. A little metal never hurt.
When we arrive at the hospital and I’m wheeled away, he shouts, “I’ll find Alec and call my mom.”
My eyes tighten at the edges, and his shoulders fall.
“He’ll be okay, Oakley. He’s strong.”
I close my eyes and picture his.
He is strong … but am I strong enough to forgive?Chapter Thirty-FiveOakley“Who knew?” I ask, unable to wipe the frown from my face.
My dad sighs and glances toward Havannah before looking back to me. “The only person who was supposed to know was ‘Officer’ Bennett, who is actually an old student of mine. I got word that Mitch Murphy paid off the right people and was showing up here with a badge that wasn’t his. Made a few calls, and we weaseled Bennett in here to help just before Murphy showed up.”
“Is Murphy even a cop at all?”
“No. But he has friends in high places, so he was able to ‘borrow’ an interrogation room without raising questions.”
“You should have told me,” I whisper, selfishly angry even though I understand why he did it.
“I couldn’t risk it. I did consider telling Alec, but I knew that would be asking too much of him, and in the end, it would likely be a secret too big. One you wouldn’t be able to forgive him for, and I couldn’t live with that. It came down to everyone having to believe it for it to work.”
My eyes slide to Havannah, and she looks down.
“I called you over and over again. I called you.”
She still won’t meet my eyes. “I know. I—”
My dad cuts her off, “I couldn’t go to the hospital after I was shot, couldn’t risk being seen, so I went to the only place I could think of—far enough away from everything but close enough in case I needed to rush home.”
“Havannah’s.”
He nods. “I knew she’d call you right away, so first thing I did was disconnect the wires in the house. Then, I took her phone. She managed to sneak it back to send you a quick text, but I didn’t even want that to happen in case the lie became too much for her.” He glances her way before looking back to me. “She helped me out, removed the bullet, and sewed me up all on her own. Turned out to be a perfect place to lie low until everything worked itself out.”
“You were shot?”
He nods. “Marissa.”
A shaky breath leaves me. “How’d she find you?”
“I led her to me.”
“The phone call.”
He nods, and I shake my head.
“Why would Murphy even bother telling me about the call?”
“To throw you off maybe, or to make his daughter seem innocent, so she could sneak around without raising flags. I’m not really sure. Alec was sent there to find me, collect the documents, and then take you back to Murphy, but I let her find me first, knowing she was unstable and would give Alec more time to find a way to protect you.”