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We hear someone yell as they spot us, and then shots ring out as we run. We can’t make it to the main room, but there’s a cabinet around the next bend, and we crouch behind it.
I look over at Dale and see he’s got blood on his leg.
“Were you hit?”
“Yes, but it was just a graze. I’m okay.”
“Is there an emergency alarm?” I ask Dale quietly.
“Yeah, it’s in the main room near the entrance, mounted on the wall.”
“Can you walk?”
“I can walk, but I doubt I can run.”
I look around, and behind the cabinet is a door, “If I can get that door open, we can lock you in that room. As soon as the door is locked, call the police. But if I can trigger that alarm, we’d get a faster response from the cops, and it should get these guys off our backs.”
Dale nods. Another shot ricochets off the wall behind us. Can you keep them distracted while I open that door?”
Yes, sir.“ Dale hands me the keys. I turn toward the door, and once I hear Dale fire off a shot, I reach up and get the door unlocked. Then I push the door open. I crawl back to Dale and watch as he slides over to the door, trying to keep his weight off his injured leg.
Once the door closes and I hear the click of a lock, I decide it’s now or never.
I check that the coast is clear and inch my way to the end of the hall, hoping the cabinet is hiding my progress from their view.
Then, I’m finally at the entrance to the main lobby. I see the alarm and head toward it in a fast run. I’m almost there.
As I reach out, I hear a shot ring out. I feel it hit me in the arm. It stings like a son-of-a-bitch, but it’s just a graze. Then, a series of other shots ring out, and the world starts to go dark.
My last thought is I never got to tell Val that I love her and I know about the baby.
Forty-Five
Val
My cell phone rings, “Hello?”
“Val, it’s Carson. There was some trouble downtown. Chase and a guard have been taken to the hospital. I don’t know the extent of their injuries.”
“Oh, my God,” my head swims with the news. I weakly sit down.
“Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“Look, I’m headed to the hospital; why don’t I stop by and pick you up?”
“Okay, thanks, Carson.”
I look down at my hot pink lingerie, I had planned on opening the door to Chase wearing it. I go into the bedroom and throw on the first clothes I touch—a pair of jeans and a black shirt. I slip on some shoes and hear a car pull up in the drive. I pick up my purse and rush out the door.
As I approach Carson’s car, my eyes land on my Can-Am Spyder. I see the word ‘Bella’ airbrushed on the side of my motorcycle. I give a small smile, then turn and hurry to the car where Carson is waiting.
Once I’m in the car and Carson is driving to the hospital, before I can ask, he looks over at me grimly, “I wish I could tell you more, but I got the information secondhand. Dale, the guard, called Hawkins and said he and Chase were both shot. Chase was unconscious. That’s all I know.”
I nod my thanks, but I can’t don’t say anything. I’m trying my best to keep my emotions in control. When we arrive at the hospital, we go straight to the Emergency entrance. Carson goes to the desk.
“We’re here to see the two men that were shot at a vacant building downtown. Chase Knight and Dale Jones.”
