by Mary Stone
Straightening her shoulders, she headed for the tiny, dingy office. She used her foot to push the door open so she didn’t have to touch anything, thankful that the door appeared to swing both ways. Or the hinges were broken. She turned her attention to the young man sitting behind the counter. When he saw her, he tensed and looked around nervously.
“I’m not here for that,” she said, flashing her badge. “I just need to know if you’ve had any clients who showed up in the past few hours and left in the last hour or two.”
He squinted at her badge, then gave her the side-eye. “This is a pay by the hour establishment. Everyone that got here a couple hours ago is already gone.”
True enough.
“Okay, but I’m looking for two guys.”
“That’s not uncommon.”
“Fair enough,” she said, pushing away the mental image that comment brought on. “The first guy.” She showed him a picture of Steve Garret from his social media page. “He’s about five years older than this, but he looks about the same.”
“Never seen him,” the motel clerk said. “Hey, Eddie, come here a minute, would you?”
“Sure,” a man called out as he came through the door behind the counter. “What’s up, I’m just about to—” The balding man froze and stared at Ellie.
It was the man from the video footage.
“You…” That was all she managed to get out before he tossed the boxes he was carrying at her and took off out the back door.
Ellie sidestepped the boxes and went out the front, angling to cut the man off as he ran across a field toward another wooded area to the north. His long legs stretched wide, eating up the ground, pristine black combat boots pounding the ground in the steady rhythm of a man who ran often.
He was fast, but Ellie was in excellent shape and almost the same height as the stockier man. The wind whipped at her face and drew tears from her eyes as she chased after him across the uneven dirt of the empty lot.
“Stop, police!” she ordered.
He didn’t so much as hesitate. Sights set on the trees ahead, he was clearly of a mind to lose her in the woods.
But Ellie wasn’t planning on going down easily.
She kept her eyes locked on the spot where he disappeared into the trees, adrenaline propelling her faster than she’d ever run before. Rushing headlong into the trees, she wasn’t prepared for the blow that caught her in the side of the head and knocked her clean off her feet.
Her tailbone hit the ground first, and her teeth clacked together. Pain shot up her spine and rattled through bones that suddenly felt brittle. She silenced the cry that threatened to escape, blinking to clear the haze of agony clouding her vision.
When she drew in a breath and wiped at the tender spot on her head, her hand came away bloody. Dizzy and more than a little light-headed, it took her a full second to make sense of the sticky red liquid. Pushing past the haze, she forced her lungs to draw in deep breaths in an attempt to catch the wind that was knocked out of her. But she didn’t have time to wait until she felt better. The man was getting away. She couldn’t let him get away.
Get it together, Ellie.
Through eyes that were struggling to focus, she watched the man run through the woods like a jackrabbit as she stumbled to her feet and took off after him on legs that felt like lead.
With every step, the pain lessened, and within a few yards, she was back up to speed, though more cautious. He’d caught her by surprise. It wouldn’t happen again. Wary of another attack, Ellie slowed when she came to an area that was dense with foliage.
But she spotted him through the trees, and he was starting to slow down. She saw why when she followed and the trees grew more sparse, revealing a natural stone wall surrounded by trees growing so close together that nothing could pass through.
Recognizing the dead end for what it was, he turned and advanced on her, fist balled up and ready to strike.
Still a little dizzy from the head blow, Ellie readied herself, her hand going to the gun at her side…but it wasn’t there.
Muscle memory was a beautiful thing, but her muscles had clearly forgotten that she no longer wore the duty belt low on her hips. Since making detective, she’d had no reason to draw her weapon, and she’d not taken the time to practice drawing from the shoulder holster she now wore.
And the man was advancing fast, too fast for her to reach inside and retrieve her gun.
Ellie centered herself, but unlike the suspect, her palms were open, her feet centered in classic Krav Maga fighting stance. Slowing her breathing, she focused on centering herself. She could do this. She would do this. She…
Before she could inhale a second breath, he charged.
She held her position. When he extended his arm to hit her, she crouched, striking the side of his knee with her palm before ramming her elbow into the underside of his chin.
He grunted and staggered, shook his head and roared. “You’ll pay for that,” he spat, eyes wild. His punch grazed her cheek and sent her sprawling to the ground.
She was on her knees in an instant, but he was already behind her. He clamped his arms around her chest and squeezed. Just as he lifted her off her feet, she stomped down on his foot. Quickly throwing her head back, her skull connected with his cheek with a loud crack. It wasn’t the nose shot she’d hoped for, but he groaned, and his gripped loosened.
Using her elbows and knees to pommel him, she managed to slither out of his grasp. She was dizzy, and her blood-matted hair ripped away from the skin of the side of her face with every movement, reminding her she was already wounded.
Trying to put distance between herself and the man, she ran toward the rock wall so that when she turned, he would have the trees behind him. But the move meant trapping herself in the process. She went for her gun again, fumbling with the unfamiliar snap. If she survived the next few minutes, she swore she’d head straight to the shooting range and practice until her arm fell off.
She’d only taken two steps when a strong hand wrapped around her hair that had fallen from its bun, and her head was yanked back violently. This time a cry of pain did escape her lips, and she went down hard, flat on her back. She struck him repeatedly as he fumbled for her weapon, but he was too close for her to get any power behind the hits. In disbelief, she rolled out of the way as her gun cleared the holster, and he squeezed off a shot. The bullet buried itself in the ground where she’d been laying on her back only a second before.
She didn’t try to run, surprising them both when she leapt to her knees, and her elbow caught him in the throat.
He squeezed off another shot that went wide.
Her hands were on his wrists, trying to wrestle the gun from him, but he managed to hold on to the trigger. The third shot tore through her arm and sent searing flames into her shoulder. But there was no time to focus on the pain or check to see if she was mortally injured.
The man was taking aim again. And at point-blank range, any shot could kill.
Making one last grab at the piece, she shoved his hands upward instead of pulling.
The move put him off-balance, and he stumbled backward, taking her with him.
The gun went off, sending shock waves through her body.
But this time she didn’t feel any pain. Oh god, was it so bad that she was numb to it?
Or had the bullet gone wild?
She froze, staring into the man’s eyes, which were glassy with shock. He’d taken the bullet. Looking down, she saw that blood was pumping from between his fingers, pressed to his upper abdomen.
He was going to die, and she would never be able to tell the families of the two women why they had been taken.
“Why did you kill Tabitha and Mabel?” she demanded, her voice distant past the ringing in her ears.
“Doctor Ex—” His breath caught, and he licked his lips. “Doctor.”
“Why did you kill them?” she shouted, enraged that death would get in the way when she was so close to the cold truth
of two heinous murders. She was shaking. Covered in blood. Head pounding, chest on fire with each inhale. In the distance, she heard someone shouting her name, but she focused on the man. “Tell me why you killed them.”
“No,” he said, the light in his dark, cold eyes fading.
She wanted to shake him, but she was too weak.
“Please…” She had to know. She had to put these women to rest.
“Doc…” The man’s jaw went slack on the word, his breath caught on the exhale, but his chest didn’t rise again. It never would.
The world spun, and it started to get dark. She forced her eyelids open wider when she heard barking.
Duke appeared, whimpering and pushing at her arm with his cold nose.
“Over here!” Jacob shouted in the distance. “Ellie, say something!”
“Help,” she croaked, wavering even as she was sitting on the ground.
Jacob skidded the last few feet on his knees, face pale with worry. “You’re shot.”
“I-I n-noticed.” Her teeth had begun to chatter. She was so very, very cold.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmured, ripping open the snaps on his uniform shirt and casting it aside. He tugged his white tee over his head and folded it quickly. “You’re going to be okay.”
“W-why are you g-getting undressed?” she wondered vaguely. “G-god, Jacob, I-I d-didn’t r-realize you were so r-ripped—” She hissed when he shoved the fabric against the wound near her shoulder. “Oh…t-t-that.”
Was the sun setting already? The world around her was growing so dark.
“Don’t flirt with me now, Ellie. Do you know what day it is?”
She tried to think. “Wednesday.” She gasped with the pain that surged as he pressed down to stem the flow of blood. “Hurts.”
“I know it does.”
The pain had her mind clearing to a sharpened point. “D-don’t call my parents.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“My d-dad can’t take any m-more right now.” The dark that had toyed with her before loomed over her again.
“Don’t close your eyes,” Jacob ordered, shouting into her face.
“You sound so far away.” Her own voice came out feeble, not like her. She wasn’t feeble. She was a badass. One who had survived a kidnapping and was now cleaning up Charleston’s old fourberie.
“The ambulance is coming. Can you hear it?”
Sirens wailed in the distance. “Don’t put me in the bus with that scumbag.”
“He’s dead.”
“G-good. He killed Tabitha and Mabel.”
“Stop talking.” He looked over his shoulder. “They’re here. Hold on just a little longer.”
“I’m so tired.”
“You lost a lot of blood.”
“I think that’s from the bullet.” She snorted, impressed with her own detective skills.
A paramedic appeared at her side and took over holding the shirt against her wound. “Let’s get her loaded up,” he ordered.
Ellie winced when they turned her on her side to slide the backboard beneath her, then she was strapped in, and they were running down the trail as fast as they could over the rough terrain. The jostling proved to be too much for her, and every time she blinked, she lost time. When she opened her eyes, she was in a new place.
Blink
“I’m right here with you, Ellie.” It was Jacob’s voice, but he didn’t sound like himself. “We’re not far from the hospital.”
Blink
“Twenty-seven-year-old female with a GSW to the shoulder. We’re two minutes out. Patient has lost a lot of blood.”
Blink
“Get me five units of blood and an OR ready, stat!”
Blink
“Ellie, if you can hear me, this is Dr. Avery. You’ve been shot. You should be getting sleepy. Count backward with me, you don’t have to speak. Five…four…three…two…”
Blink
29
Beep.
Beep.
The beeping was so annoying, it encouraged Ellie to lift her heavy eyelids open.
There were voices too. But they blended together for a moment before she was able to pick out the familiar ones.
“She’s waking up,” her mother said a little breathlessly.
There was a shuffling of bodies as someone leaned over the bed.
When Ellie’s eyes finally opened all the way, and her vision cleared, her mother was holding her hand.
Helen kissed her knuckles and took a deep breath. Eyes glassy and cheeks wet, she forced a smile. “Oh, honey. There you are.”
“How long was I out?” Ellie croaked.
“A couple hours,” Wesley said from behind Helen. He smiled at her and winked. “Don’t milk it. You’re going to live. Won’t even have any long-term damage, we’ve been told.”
“Thanks, little brother.” She laughed and immediately cringed. “That hurts.”
“Dr. Avery says you’re going to make a full recovery, but you’ll have to take it easy.”
Helen bit her lip. “Honey, you’re a hero. But now that you’ve solved those murders and the girls will be laid to rest where they belong, maybe it’s time to accept that this job is just too risky.”
“I’m fine, Mom.” Ellie tried her best to actually look fine from a hospital bed. “But, thank you for worrying about me.”
“It’s a mother’s job.” Helen gave a soft laugh. “If I could just turn it off, I would. It would make life easier.”
“Where’s Daddy?”
“Recovering nicely. He should be able to come home by the end of next week.” Her mother seemed to relax a little thinking about it.
“So soon?”
Helen patted her hand. “You and your father have more in common than your spirited personality.” She bit her lip, shaking her head. “Your father is driving the nurses batty, so I’m hiring a home health team, and he’ll take the east wing of the house until he’s stronger. The risk of infection is actually lower at home than in the hospital.”
“Good, then I can go home too.”
She started to fumble for the button that would sit the bed up, but Nick was there with a stern expression on his face. “You have to stay overnight. The bullet missed all the nerves and only nicked the brachial artery, but you were lucky. It could’ve been a lot worse, and you shouldn’t push it. If Jacob hadn’t shown up…” He looked to his left, and Ellie followed his gaze, delighted to see Jacob standing against the wall. Nick cleared his throat. “He saved your life.”
“Why were you even there?” Ellie asked. “You came out of nowhere.”
“Fortis. He called me not long after you left and asked me to head your way.”
“I thought it was open and shut.” She frowned. “He said I didn’t need anyone.”
Jacob nodded, pushing off the wall and coming to the side of her bed. “Yeah. He said as soon as you left, he got a bad feeling about it.”
“Good thing.” Nick’s fingers stroked her hair away from her face. “The doctor said even the tiny nick would’ve been enough for you to bleed out if Jacob hadn’t been there so fast. Ellie, you would’ve—” His voice broke, and the room fell into a heavy silence.
Fighting back tears, Ellie smiled. “But he was there, and I’m going to be okay.”
Helen opened her mouth, then closed it with a sad smile. “Thank goodness for Jacob.” But Ellie knew it had taken Helen all her willpower not to demand she quit her job.
It’s not much, but it’s progress, she thought. When she caught Jacob’s gaze, he winked at her. He knew exactly what she was thinking.
“We should let you rest,” Jacob said, breaking the silence. “I’ll bring Duke by when you’re feeling a little better.”
“Well, as soon as they let me, I’m out of here.”
“I know where you live,” he teased.
The line of people walking by her bed to say goodbye was a blur, except when Jillian popped down to kiss her cheek.
<
br /> “You get all the rest you need now.” Jillian wiped the lipstick she’d left on Ellie’s cheek off, blinking back tears.
When the door closed, only her mother and Nick remained.
Helen cleared her throat and sighed. “I know I don’t say this enough, but I’m so proud of you.”
Ellie’s lips parted in shock, but she managed to collect herself. “Thank you. I know you have your reservations about my job, but you have to understand, being on the force is like—”
“An extended family,” Helen offered. “I know. I see that now.” She smiled and lifted a delicate shoulder. “I don’t know how you feel about having people see you like this, but the waiting room is wall-to-wall police officers. I didn’t have enough words to thank them for their support, but I did my best.”
“Really? There are that many?” She glanced at Nick, then back at her mother. “They’ve been here the entire time?”
“Most of them,” Nick said. “They’ve been rotating who picks up calls, and I’m pretty sure the hospital is permanently out of coffee, but they’re here.”
“Can I see them?”
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Helen’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m not exaggerating when I say that every officer in Charleston has been in that waiting room.”
“Yes, I’m definitely up for it.”
It took almost an hour for every officer in the hospital to have a turn wishing her well and shaking her good hand. Helen left to be with Daniel, but Nick stayed with her, holding a straw to her lips when her throat was parched and adjusting the bed when she needed it. When the last officer left, Ellie nodded to the doorway. “Who’s out there?”
“Security detail,” Nick said. “They’ll have someone stationed until you’re released tomorrow. Just in case.”
“I thought he was dead.” Her pulse quickened, but Nick already had her hand in his.
“He is. It’s standard. They said the guards are about watching your back when you can’t watch your own.”
Ellie smiled. “If I’d known it would take getting shot to get them to treat me like an equal, I would’ve done it a long time ago.”
Nick nearly choked on a barking laugh. “If your mother heard you say that,” he warned.
