Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Bullets hit against the dry dirt near me, and I got behind the back of the Humvee in the opposite direction of the firing guns. Brown followed. “Did you see anyone?” I asked.
“Three.”
I nodded and motioned that I would go right and he would go left. Brown agreed, and we moved, firing without hesitation. There were more than three, but we were well trained and able to take down multiple enemies. Just as we were almost finished, a bullet came out of nowhere, piercing through my side.
“I’m hit!” I shouted, the burning engulfing my entire right side. I didn’t fall. Instead, I kept shooting, needing to protect Brown because we didn’t leave a man behind nor alone to fight.
Once the last enemy was dead, we retreated, going back to the Humvee. I could see our backup coming, and I leaned against the side of the vehicle as the pain overtook me.
Present Day …
* * *
“Oh my god, you’re bleeding,” Leslie shrieked.
I looked down and saw blood seeping onto my shirt, and then it felt like my armpit and right pec were on fire. I’d heard a gun go off, but I hadn’t realized I’d been hit. “It’s okay,” I stated. It wasn’t the first time I’d been shot.
“It’s not okay. You’ve been shot,” Leslie argued.
I looked over at Cassie to make sure she was okay. Her arms were still in the air. “Cassie,” I whispered. Only her gaze moved to mine. “You can put your arms down now.”
She nodded as she lowered them, and I heard her male coworker say, “Yes, I pressed the silent alarm a few minutes ago. I work at The Velvet Box, and we were just robbed. Also, I think one of our customers has been shot.”
“Bradley, I think you need to sit down,” Leslie suggested.
“I’m fine.” I gave her a tight smile. It felt nothing like the time I was shot in Iran, so it was probably just a graze.
“You’re bleeding,” she pressed as though I didn’t know.
“I’m fine,” I stated again. “Is everyone else okay?”
Everyone nodded and said they were fine, except Cassie, who still seemed to be shell-shocked.
“Hey.” I walked over to where she still stood behind the jewelry case. “It’s okay. It’s over.”
Her gaze met mine again, and she nodded, but I didn’t think she understood. Before I could reassure her further, firetrucks and ambulances pulled into the parking lot. The paramedics rushed in a few moments later.
The ambulance drove me from the jewelry store, and I was taken into surgery to remove the bullet that was lodged in my right shoulder. It wasn’t a graze as I’d assumed. I woke in a hospital bed, florescent lights blinding me somewhat as I tried to open my eyes.
“Good morning, Mr. Rhodes.”
I blinked at a nurse near my bedside. “Morning?”
“It’s 2 a.m., and we’re going to be transferring you to a room shortly. How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty,” I replied hoarsely.
She smiled and walked over to a pitcher and poured water into a cup. “Take a few small sips to make sure you can keep it down. The anesthesia is still in your system.”
I nodded once and grabbed the cup from her, sipping through the straw. I was able to keep the water down; however, I quickly fell back to sleep.
When I woke again, I was in a different room, but I wasn’t alone.
“Welcome back,” Gabe greeted. He sat in a chair near the window.
“How long was I out?”
He stood and walked to the bed. “Not sure. I just got here not that long ago. Had to use my dimples to get in too.”
I chuckled only to groan as pain tugged at my shoulder. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Fuck, dude. I’m glad you are laughing.”
“I’m fine.”
“You were shot.”
“Not the first time.”
“Well, it better be the last.”
I grinned. “Not when I hang around with you fuckers apparently. Bad news follows.”
“None of us have been shot before.”
I rolled my eyes, the only part of my body that didn’t hurt. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“If that’s what you want, then I can tell you that the doc said the surgery went well, and they removed the entire bullet, and there wasn’t any major damage to your muscle or blood vessels. You’ll be out of commission for a few weeks, but should be fine.”
“Great. How’d you know I was even here?”
“Mark called me after your date called him.”
“Ah. Guess Mark’s not paying me for that date then.”
Gabe grinned. “Nah. He still will. Plus, all women love heroes. I bet she’ll give you a huge tip too.”
I grunted, causing pain to race down my arm. “We’ll see.”
“I’ll let you get some rest. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Thanks, man.” I smiled again.
“The others should be by when visiting hours start, and they’ll probably ask you a million questions.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
Gabe left, and I closed my eyes to fall back asleep, not believing that I had been shot on a date. Thankfully, I was the only one hurt.
Though Cassie was pretty shaken up. I hoped she was sleeping and doing better than I was.
Micky didn’t come to pick me up as he said he would, which led me to believe that it was for sure Keith and his friends who robbed us.
After the cops took my statement—I left out who I thought was behind the robbery—Martina was kind enough to drive me home, a home that I was scared to walk into. I wasn’t sure what was on the other side of the door.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said as I reached for the handle.
“Try to get some sleep, okay?”
I smiled tightly at her. “Yeah, you too. Have a good night.” I shut the car door and walked up the driveway, my heart pounding once again. When the robbers came in, I’d thought the worst. I’d never had a gun pointed at me, and even though Brad had played the hero and been my shield, I was still scared shitless. When I heard the gun go off, I froze. Flashes of my parents came to me, and I’d wondered if it was time for me to see them again.
With my hand on the doorknob, I took a deep breath and opened the front door.
“Bite the wooden spoon and shut up!” Micky yelled.
“I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t shot me!” Keith yelled back.
I walked into the kitchen to see Keith lying on the kitchen island, his friends around him and bloody towels near him. “Cass,” Keith called when he saw me walk into the room. “Help me.”
Anger immediately washed over me. “Help you? You fucking robbed my work tonight!”
“So what? It’s not like we robbed from you.”
“You scared the shit out of me, and you injured a customer. He had to have surgery.”
Keith blinked. “Wait. What?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You scared the—”
“No.” He sat up with a groan. “That guy had to have surgery because he was shot?”
I nodded. “That’s what I was told, and I saw him bleeding.”
Keith looked over at Micky and then turned as though he was trying to look at his back. “Did the bullet go through me?”
“I was trying to tell you that you had two holes,” Alex, another roommate of Keith’s, stated.
“So you only need stitches,” Micky said.
“Here.” Alex’s girlfriend, Audrey, stuck out her hand. It looked as though it was a standard sewing needle and thread she was trying to give him.
“You’re going to use that?” I asked.
“We can’t go to the hospital,” Keith stated.
“Why not?” I questioned. “It looks like you’ve lost a lot of blood too.”
“Because I was shot, and doctors report that shit,” he seethed.
I rolled my eyes and left. I di
dn’t want to deal with any of those idiots anymore.
As I headed up the stairs, I heard footsteps behind me and then Micky called out, “Cass, wait up.”
I turned, my foot on the top step. “What?”
“I know I said I would pick you up tonight, and I would have if things had gone as planned.”
I snorted. “As planned? Why was there even a plan? I can’t believe you guys did that!”
He took a step forward. “I know. We just wanted to get some jewelry to sell so we could make money.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly. “And when you found out that I worked there, you thought it was the perfect plan?”
Micky shrugged. “Yeah?”
“What if you would have shot me?”
“No one was supposed to get shot. The other guns weren’t loaded.”
“And why was yours?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Because I didn’t feel comfortable going in unarmed. I didn’t know if you had a security guard there or not.”
“So you would have shot him if we did?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged again.
I looked him straight in the eye. “I should turn you all in right now.”
“No!” he shouted. “You can’t turn us in.”
“You”—I poked at his chest—“betrayed me. Why shouldn’t I do the same to you guys?”
“Because”—he waved his arm toward the kitchen—“that’s your brother.”
I chuckled. “A brother who didn’t care what this would do to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You guys scared the shit out of me, and I saw an innocent man get shot.”
“To be fair, I think you only saw your brother get shot. The bullet went through him and hit that guy. And,” he stressed, “I would have never shot you.”
“But apparently you didn’t mean to shoot Keith.”
“That guy threatened to kill him. What was I supposed to do?”
“Not fucking rob my workplace!” I yelled and walked away, slamming my bedroom door behind me.
A week later, I was starting to feel less worried that Keith and his friends would come back in. I’d been avoiding them all like the plague, though it wasn’t like I ever hung out with them to begin with. I assumed they got Keith patched up because he was still alive. A few times Micky tried to ask me if I’d talked to the cops, but I ignored him and stayed in my room.
I didn’t tell the cops anything. While I felt bad for Steve, he said that the insurance covered what was stolen, and that made me feel a little better. He also hired security guards, which made me—and I assumed the rest of the staff—feel safer. There was no way I would turn Keith in, though. I couldn’t.
He was my blood.
He was my family.
He was my only family.
The door to the store opened, and when I looked up to see who had walked in, my heart skipped a beat. It was the same reaction from before. Was it because of the man who walked in or because I knew who was responsible for the sling he was wearing?
“Oh my gosh, how are you feeling?” I asked. A part of me wanted to run around the counter and hug him because he tried to be my shield and because he’d been shot. I felt as though I was responsible in some way.
Brad smiled a smile that made my belly dip. Not only was his arm in a sling, but his beard was a little longer since the last time I saw him. “Doing good. On the mend.”
“That’s good.” I relaxed a little, hearing that he was going to be okay.
“I came to see how you were doing.”
“Me?” I furrowed my brows. “You were the one who was shot.”
“Yeah, but you were pretty shaken up if I remember correctly.”
“True, but we hired security”—I motioned to the guard at the door—“so that makes it better.”
Brad looked over his shoulder to where I’d pointed. “That’s good. Makes me feel better too.”
I liked that he was checking on me because no one else had. “And you’re going to make a full recovery?”
He looked back at me. “Yeah, the bullet didn’t go in deep, and I’ll probably get to take this thing”—he messed with the strap of his sling—“off in a few more days.”
“Good. That makes me feel better too.”
Brad looked at me with his dark eyes. “What time is your lunch break?”
I felt my face get hot. “My lunch break?”
He smirked. “Yeah, Cassie. I was wondering if you’d like to have a quick bite with me?”
I glanced over at Ray, and he made a shooing motion at me as though he approved of Brad wanting to take me out. I looked back at Brad, still feeling guilty about what Keith had done. “Sure. I have an hour break.”
“Perfect.”
I grabbed my purse from my locker and met Brad out on the floor. “Ready.”
He gestured for me to walk ahead of him, and after the guard opened the door for us, Brad asked, “What are you in the mood for?”
“I usually have a sandwich or something.” In fact, I had a sandwich in my locker that I was planning to eat.
“I know a good sandwich place.”
“Oh yeah?”
We stopped in front of a large black truck, and he opened the passenger door for me with his good arm. “Yeah, it’s just down the street.”
“Freshly Baked?” I asked as I hoisted myself up into the cab. For some reason, I felt comfortable getting into his truck. I wasn’t used to getting in strangers’ vehicles or being around men in general, but something about Brad’s demeanor and charm put me at ease. Plus, it didn’t hurt that he’d tried to protect me during the robbery.
“Yeah. Ever been?”
I grinned. “I used to work there in high school.”
“No shit?” I nodded. “Then you’ll have to tell me what the best sandwich is on the menu.”
I nodded as he closed the door and then rounded the hood. Brad slid in and started the engine. “Everything is good on the menu, but I love the peppered turkey.”
“I like that one too.” He drove toward the small sandwich shop.
“The salami is good also.”
“I think anything on the bread they make would be a killer sandwich.”
“True.” I smiled. We were silent for a few moments as he drove down the street and into the parking lot. “Thank you for what you did during the robbery.”
He cut the engine and looked over at me. “Not my first time being outnumbered by men with guns.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“I was in the Marine Corps for ten years.”
“Oh, wow. That’s cool.”
He smiled. “Yeah. I loved it.” He motioned for me to follow him as he opened his door. “Let’s talk inside. You only have an hour.”
When we went inside, my old boss was behind the counter like he always was, and his wife was at the register. Their faces lit up as soon as they saw me. “Cassie!” Verlene beamed. “How are you?”
I grinned. “I’m good. How are you guys doing?”
“We’re doing well.” Verlene’s gaze moved to Brad and then back to me. With a knowing smile, she asked, “What can we get you two for lunch?”
Brad and I both ordered the peppered turkey sandwich with everything on it, a bag of chips, and a bottle of water.
“We’ll bring them out to you,” Verlene stated.
“How much is it?” Brad asked.
She waved him off. “They’re on the house.”
“No, don’t do that,” Brad argued.
“It’s our pleasure,” Verlene admitted, and my heart swelled. “Cassie was one of our favorite employees, and we hated to see her leave.”
I gave her a warm smile. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Brad pulled out a twenty from his wallet and put it into the tip jar. We took a seat at an open table and waited for our sandwiches. “They seem to love you. Why’d you quit?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Mone
y. I needed more than the minimum wage and the few tips we get here.”
He opened his bottle of water by holding the bottle with the hand in the sling and twisting the cap with his other. Just seeing him struggle slightly made my blood pressure rise. If it weren’t for Keith and Micky, the poor guy would function with both of his arms. “Understandable. I quit the Marines because of money too … and I hated getting shot.”
“You’ve been shot before?”
Brad bobbed his head. “Yeah, made a full recovery from that, and then I was stationed in Barstow and not deployed any longer. My mother got sick, and her medical bills were starting to pile up, so I decided I needed to get out and help her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is she better now?” I took a drink of my water. I loved that he cared enough for his mother to help her with her medical bills. Even though I didn’t know him, it told me that he was a good guy. After all, he practically took a bullet for me, and he didn’t know me.
“She had breast cancer but is now in remission. Saw her a few weeks ago, and she’s finally looking like her old self.”
“That’s good.”
Verlene placed our sandwiches in front of us and then patted me on the back. “Enjoy.”
“Thanks, Verlene,” I said.
We dug into our sandwiches, and it was just as I’d remembered: warm and delicious with super soft sourdough bread.
“Tell me about yourself,” Brad said after taking a sip of water. “Are you still working at the casino?”
I shook my head. “No. I was going to continue working there part-time, but I was tired of the drunks and the smoke.”
He smirked. “I hate going to the casinos because of those reasons too.”
I chuckled. “You and your friends didn’t seem to mind the other night.”
“That was a once in a blue moon thing. Vinny wanted to gamble, so we took him out.”
“Oh, right. Did he get married?”
“That’s this weekend.”
I took a bite of my sandwich. “That’s cool. I’ve never been to a wedding before.”
“Really?” He furrowed his brows.
I shrugged a little. “Haven’t known anyone getting married.”
“This will be the fourth wedding for our group.”
Gin & Jewels Page 5
