“Oh, God, she’s hit. Someone shot her,” Hudson stated, as Jagger shoved open the back door and Hudson carried her inside. They laid her down on the floor as Jagger pulled out his phone. She could hear them yelling. They were calling for an ambulance.
I’ve been shot. Oh, God, it hurts.
She began to panic and tried to move, escape from more gunshots, but Hudson held her against him. She looked at him. The fear in his eyes, the anger instantly told her that this was real, and she was hurt badly.
Hudson placed his hand over the wound.
“Ow!” The pain struck her hard.
“There’s so much blood,” Hudson whispered and pressed something harder against the spot the pain radiated from.
“Oh, God. They shot me. Who was it? I’m scared, Hudson. I’m scared.” She felt the panicked feeling worsen, but as she went to move, her body wouldn’t allow it. She felt cold and unbalanced.
“Shh, baby, it’s okay. You’re safe in here. Help is on the way.”
“They’ll get away. They’ll come after you and Jagger.”
“Shh, baby, please, let us handle this. Just lie still,” Hudson said and then looked up at Jagger.
She saw their faces, their eyes, and the concern.
“It hurts,” she whispered, closing her eyes as she tried to drown out the pain and the fear she had. There was so much going on around her. It felt like they were mumbling. And then she started shaking.
“Here, cover her with this, apply pressure to that wound,” Adelina stated.
Hudson placed something else over the wound. She felt the pain get worse and now she was shaking. Her teeth were clattering.
“She’s going into shock. Where’s that fucking ambulance?” Jagger yelled.
“Hold on, Tia Rose. Please, baby, hold on.”
* * * *
Tia Rose blinked her eyes open. Flashes of strangers smiling down at her, talking to her, trying to ease her mind as they moved her around. She complained that it hurt to move, but they did it anyway. Hudson’s and Jagger’s voices echoed around the strange voices. There were lights and loud music, bumps as they moved her, and then she closed her eyes, trying to get through the pain.
She saw black and heard nothing until she felt her body bump onto something. She tried blinking her eyes to see clearer, but she couldn’t. There were bits and pieces of things, as she would lose focus and then see again.
The light was so bright. There were all these sounds and people were talking. She saw blue and white coats and then a bright light. The small flashlight illuminated her eyes.
“Tia Rose, can you hear me? I’m Dr. Lang.” She blinked harder, but her lids felt so heavy.
“I shot.” She said the words but it sounded so strange. Was she speaking?
“We gave you something to help with the pain. You’re going into surgery, Tia. The bullet is lodged under your chest bone.”
“Hudson, Jagger, Sean.”
* * * *
“This is insane. You’re telling us that the crazy bitch from work, Bethany, shot Tia Rose? She’s the one who destroyed her apartment and has been s
talking her?” Jagger asked Flynn and the detectives.
“Yes. She’s mentally unstable. Had been under a physician’s care for years,” Flynn told Hudson and Jagger. All their friends were there, waiting to hear about Tia Rose.
“We caught her down the block. She was raging about killing Tia and seeking her revenge. When the other detectives got to her apartment, the place was filled with pictures of Tia Rose. It appeared as if Bethany had become obsessed with her,” Detective Leo DeLuca, Toni’s cousin, informed them.
“We thought she was out of the country. Tia mentioned a picture on Facebook,” Hudson added.