by T. G. Ayer
The cuffs were removed without comment.
“Stand there with your gun aimed at her head for all I care. She’s not going anywhere.”
The paramedic ignored him and sank down beside me, close enough for me to make out her name tag: Donna Lombardi. Nice name, I thought, my head spinning.
Donna pulled on a pair of latex gloves and proceeded to check my scalp, murmuring softly when I winced. She studied the cut and grunted, then manipulated my cheek and eye bones to check for breakages. Her expression didn’t get any more comforting.
She spent a few seconds checking my arm and then lifted my shirt to study my abdomen. Her gasp of shock was enough to draw the attention of the whole room, and I watched as all three cops, Justin, and the two paramedics turned to look at the gunman. None were impressed.
Of course, to them I looked like a fragile female, the general opinion being that pretty girls couldn’t fight. In this instance, I’d not fought back for a reason, but now I was regretting it.
Stavros snorted. “Don’t look at me. She was trying to get away after killing two people. I’m not about to let her escape just because she looks all helpless damsel.”
Justin let out a hard laugh. I noted he suppressed his cougar growl taking into consideration the human presence in the room. “That’s not what I saw happen, and I’ll be happy to make a statement to that effect.”
Stavros rounded on him. “Whose side are you on anyway? And aren’t you here as an observer?”
Justin lifted an eyebrow. “I’m on the side of justice. And I am an observer, but that doesn’t mean I agreed to watch while you beat up a prominent member of our community who also happens to be a close friend.”
“So why did you let him? Doesn’t look like you did much to help,” said Clarke.
I cleared my throat, but Justin spoke over me. “He threatened to kill her if I moved. I thought it was better she get beaten up rather than shot in the head. I think she’d agree.”
I nodded when all eyes turned to me for corroboration.
But Stavros spoke. “This is fucking bullshit. I work for Mr Marsden. Once he regains consciousness, he’ll confirm everything I say.”
“That’s fine,” said Donna, her tone still cold. “But we need to get her to the ambulance so I can at least stitch her up and put her arm in a sling. She’s going to need the hospital for the internal bleeding.” The paramedic spoke coldly, her eyes flashing as she glanced over her shoulder at the gunman.
Clarke nodded, and the two paramedics left the room. Moments later they returned with two stretchers. Every bone in my body ached as one of the cops helped Donna slide a backboard beneath me. They lifted me off the ground and onto the stretcher, then strapped me in.
The cop with the handcuffs stepped closer, and Donna glared at him. “Not required, she’s not going anywhere.” He stepped away but kept a firm eye on me as they trundled me out into the hall and carried the gurney down the stairs.
I winced at the sunlight as they pushed the gurney out of the house and toward the waiting ambulances. Marsden had been loaded onto the second ambulance a few yards away and looked like he was slowly regaining consciousness despite the dire chest wound.
Justin hurried out of the house and closed in on me. He looked intent on remaining at my side, but I stared at him, widening my eyes then looking pointedly at the window to the upstairs room.
He slowed in his stride and came to a stop, then stared at me a tiny bit longer. He seemed to understand what I’d meant. All I could see in my mind’s eye was the gun that had killed first Stella and then Marsden. It had lain at Marsden’s side, apparently forgotten in the back and forth of the paramedics and the cops.
A little bit inefficient on the part of the cops if you asked me. But I wasn’t against taking advantage of their lapse in judgment.
I watched Justin disappear into the house as Donna and a second paramedic, whose name tag identified him as Tim Sykes, bustled around me, threading an IV and starting a drip, then setting my hand in a temporary cast. I wasn’t sure who had done the stitching up of my scalp, and I hoped it hadn’t been Donna because she would have been surprised to see that the wound was already healing.
Walkers healed so much faster than humans, that cuts could sometimes close up within hours. I’d have told her that there was no need for the stitches, but I didn’t want to raise any further suspicion with either the cops or the paramedics.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spied movement in the upstairs room window and caught the nod that Justin gave me. Then he disappeared and just before Donna lifted my shirt again to probe my ribs I caught sight of Justin disappearing out of the door and into the woods to the left of the house. From where Marsden’s men hovered around their boss they were unable to see Justin.
Still, I kept an eye on the two men as they stared at the councilman, clearly expecting him to awaken at any moment.
Justin was just returning to the gravel drive when another car skidded into the yard and came to a sudden stop inches before hitting the ambulance I was sitting in.
Two council members alighted and stared at the mayhem around them. Trapper and Wade both stared at me, expression hard and suspicious, before hurrying over to Marsden’s men. Seconds later they strode inside the house.
Tim patted me on the shoulder. “Hang in there. We’re taking you straight to the emergency department. They’ll see to the bleeding as soon as we get there.” Then he disappeared into the front seat and started the engine.
Donna hurried to get things stowed as she too prepared to get us underway. She hadn’t locked the doors, which was the only reason I hadn’t missed the yelling from the upstairs room.
Trapper stuck his head out of the window. “Stavros! Where the hell is the gun?”
Chapter 25
Stavros stared, his face going red. Then he raced across the drive and disappeared inside the house. Seconds later there was a rumble of loud voices, a high-pitched female shrieking adding to the compilation.
Then Stavros hung out of the window and yelled, “Stop that ambulance. We need to search that woman. She has the murder weapon.”
Donna was leaning out of the back of the ambulance, about to close the double doors. “Ugh, not that asshole again,” she mumbled. She did, however, refrain from closing the doors.
She hurried to the front of the van and spoke to Tim who shut the engine off and came to sit beside me. “What do they want?” he asked her.
“Something about needing to search Ms Odel over here for the gun.”
Tim frowned. “Tell them it’s a waste of time. Where the hell is she supposed to have hidden anything?”
“Tell that blockhead when he gets here then,” she grumbled as she unhooked the straps in preparation for the search.
Two cops were hurrying over to the ambulance, and one of them spoke as they drew closer. “Sarge, the gun was on the floor when the paramedics put the girl on the stretcher. She had no possible way of touching the weapon. There’s no point in searching her. We’re probably just going to end up hurting her.”
The sergeant seemed to agree and paused at the foot of the stretcher. “I’m sorry Miss, but we do need to do a search. Lombardi, could you help us out here?” She nodded and leaned over, opening my shirt so they could see I had nothing strapped to my torso. She raised each of my arms, then laid them carefully at my side. Then she ran her hands down my thighs making it clear nothing hid beneath the tight leather pants. At my ankles, she lifted the hem of my pants revealing my ankle boot and the knives in the sides of each of them.
There was a grin on her face when she removed them and placed them both inside a ziplock bag. She handed the weapons over to the cops who both looked amused. “Clearly Stavros over there is a little incompetent in his security role. Keep that safe for our…killer over here, okay boys?”
It was clear from her tone and from the cops’ expressions that none of them considered me a potential killer, and that all of them thought Stavros was suspe
ct.
The sergeant stuffed my knives into his jacket pocket and then turned to yell at Stavros in the upstairs window only to find him racing out the front door. Before the cop could say a word, the man skidded to a stop in front of him and said, “Give it to me.”
The cop’s back was facing me, and I was disappointed not to be able to see his expression. Spine straight he said, “Give you what? She had no gun on her.”
“What did you put in your pocket?” he yelled, stepping closer to the cop. The sergeant took a step back, but Stavros was determined. “What? Are you a dirty cop? Hiding evidence now?”
By now Trapper, Wade, and Justin had drawn closer and were staring at Stavros whose neck bulged and whose face had turned red.
The cop sighed and held up the bag containing my two daggers. “These were on the victim’s person. I’m retaining them in evidence until such time as I can determine if they match the wounds on the female deceased and Mr Marsden over there.”
“You think that’s funny?” Stavros swiped the bag aside and sent it flying from the cop’s hand. “What the fuck did you do with the gun?”
“Sir, I suggest you refrain from profanity while in the company of these ladies.” He waved a hand around indicating Wade, myself, and Donna. Then he looked over at Trapper and Wade. “I’m not sure who this man is and how he is connected to Mr Marsden, but he has no jurisdiction over this case. I’ll be taking the victims over to the hospital, and we’ll provide them both with the necessary security while undergoing treatment. I’ll have my men search the house again to find the gun.”
“How the hell did it go missing?” asked Wade, her thin nose twitching as she glared at Stavros and then at the cop.
“We’re unsure about that, Ma’am. When the patients were removed from the room, the weapon was still on the ground where it had been since we arrived. Nobody touched the gun that I saw.”
“And you left the crime scene unattended? You let someone take the gun?”
Clarke turned to face Wade. “We’ve cordoned off the area, no one in or out. We’ll do a search of all the personnel here as well as yourselves and Stavros and his team.”
“Are you trying to accuse us of stealing evidence?” Stavros and Wade said in unison, both sounding equally furious at his gall.
Clarke shook his head. “We’re merely doing our jobs.” He waved two cops over and instructed them to search everyone.
“How do we know you’re not dirty. How do we know you or one of your men haven’t stolen the gun?”
“You’re welcome to conduct a search of myself and all my men, Mr Stavros. We have nothing to hide. All our vehicles are here too, awaiting your perusal.”
The cop’s calm tone only seemed to agitate the man, and he took a step forward, chin high, eyes flashing as if he was about to punch Clarke’s lights out.
“Stavros.” Trapper’s voice was hard and cold, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise at the sound of it. Though the man wasn’t an alpha, he certainly bore the power of one in his voice.
Stavros stilled, his left eye giving an odd twitch, as if he was struggling with himself, not wanting to obey but forced to.
Trapper said nothing further to him. Stavros stepped aside in silence. Then Trapper faced the cops. “Please forgive Stavros here. He’s a little on the passionate side when it comes to his employers. We’ll be following the ambulances to the hospital, so perhaps you can update us there as to any progress in your investigation?”
Clarke nodded and strode off, Trapper and Wade accompanying him. I could no longer hear what was being said, and to be honest, I was too exhausted to care. The paramedics had administered pain medication, but it was nowhere near enough to even take the edge of my pain. I’d need special, high-dose animal grade painkillers to get any kind of relief. Not that I was about to inform the pair, who even now seemed only concerned with my welfare.
The cops split up, leaving Trapper and Wade alone. They leaned close and seemed to come to some agreement. I amped up my hearing in the hopes of catching something, and a glance at Justin confirmed he was doing the same.
The two paramedics bustled about, strapping me in and preparing again to leave. I concentrated and watched as the two council members strode over to the other ambulance to talk to Stavros who now stood stiff-spined beside Marsden who appeared to have finally come to.
I was unsurprised to find Marsden staring at me, his eyes filled with hatred.
Chapter 26
From my vantage point in the back of the ambulance, I could see right into the other vehicle, but with Trapper, Wade and Stavros crowded around him I only caught glimpses of Marsden’s face.
Tim settled into the driver’s seat while Donna jumped out to talk to Justin. I concentrated on Marsden who was glaring at Trapper. “Took you long enough to get here.”
Trapper grunted. “This course of action was a little reckless, don’t you think?” he snapped, his tone hard and not as respectful as he should be to the most senior council member. Marsden swallowed and appeared to attempt an answer, but Trapper waved a hand. “You should have been more careful. We told you this was a risk, but you went ahead anyway. We’ve been working on this slowly, and now you get impatient and jeopardize the whole thing?”
Wade clicked her tongue. “And from the looks of it, you’re going to pay the price of your life all to put that Odel girl in her place.” The woman didn’t sound all that unhappy at the prospect of the older man’s death. I wasn’t surprised as Delia Wade had always been ambitious. Likely she saw herself as the next in line to the senior post.
I glanced at Justin over Donna’s shoulder. His expression was dark, and he frowned, anger flashing in his eyes. Donna nodded and turned to head back to the ambulance, apparently oblivious to Justin’s fury at Trapper and Wade’s conversation.
The paramedic was just about to close the door when again, we were disturbed by the sound of a bike racing onto the gravel and skidding to a stop beside Trapper’s sedan. Iain had driven here, heedless of his own safety having foregone the need for a helmet. He looked a little windblown as he swung his leg over the seat and hurried over to Justin.
“What in Ailuros’ name is going on here?”
Donna sighed, the sound long-suffering although she appeared to be taking in the sight of the wind-blown blond-haired man. “She’s been injured. We’re taking her to Mercyside.”
“Injured? What happened?” Iain strode over to the ambulance with Justin in tow. “Holy shit, Kai? What the hell is going on?”
I attempted a smile. “Wish I could say you should see the other guy, but he’s totally fine.”
Iain gritted his jaw and shared a look with Justin. “Mind explaining?”
Justin jerked a chin over at Marsden. “Stella Alvarez is dead. Apparently, she shot herself. Marsden is critical. Apparently, Kai over there shot him.”
“And who used my sister as a punching bag?”
Beside me, Donna let out a soft breath and whispered, “He’s your brother?” I ignored her and paid closer attention to the two men.
“That would be Stavros the thug over there with Trapper and Wade. Bastard’s a total hothead and certainly has no respect for the authority of the alphas. Kai didn’t stand a chance. From the blood on her hands, I guessed she’d been staunching his wounds, but Stavros went ballistic. Started out punching her in the stomach, then the ribs; medic confirmed a broken rib. Ended with a punch to the jaw hard enough to knock her lights out. Kai had no chance of defending herself. I think he broke her arm, but that may have been before I arrived.”
“And where were you while this was happening?”
“I was doing nothing.”
“That’s the way you protect the woman you want to marry?”
Donna almost choked. “Oh, man. Mr Hot and Hunky is yours?” Again, I didn’t answer.
Justin shook his head. “Actually, yes. He had a gun to her head. Better beaten and bloody than a bullet to the head.”
“He beat
her up and did it while you watched?” Iain’s voice rose a few decibels, and I could see Marsden’s huddle paying close attention. Wade looked like she was going to be ill having heard Justin’s rundown of Stavros’ beating. Iain patted my foot carefully as if afraid Stavros might have crushed that limb too. “I’m going to sort this out. And that bastard Stavros is going to see the inside of a prison cell for a long time.”
I lifted my good shoulder and gave my brother a sad smile. “The power the council has means that things will go exactly as they want it to, Iain. You know that as well as I do.” I swallowed, reminding myself that I had to word things carefully considering our human audience. “The letter is enough to tell us what this all means. That was just a warning. This here is Marsden and his henchmen taking a path from which they cannot turn back. They know it. That’s why this whole thing is such a shit show. Marsden was desperate. And we’re going to have to deal with the fallout.”
Iain shook his head. “No. I won’t allow them to walk all over us…to do this,” he waved at my body, “to you and not be taken to task. There must be justice for attacking an al—”
Iain paused and glanced at Donna. Then he looked over his shoulder at Marsden who, though barely conscious, was watching from his position on the stretcher in the other ambulance.
“Marsden! I hope to Ailuros that you plan to tell the truth and clear this mess up.”
Marsden laughed and sneered, his expression implying he was about to say something rude to Iain, but he began to cough, the sound dragging against my bones as it echoed around the silent yard.
The fit of coughing worsened, and Marsden’s paramedics hovered around him. And then mayhem broke out as Marsden fell back and someone was shouting for a defibrillator as a long low sound filled the small space within the ambulance.
