Page 79 of Shadow Justice

Hopper clipped on Blue’s leash and kept him out of the way. The dog whined as they lifted Holly.

“I can take Blue,” Hopper said.

Hours ago, he’d been the obvious suspect. Minutes ago, he’d helped disarm the man who’d nearly killed Holly.

“Call my sister, Roni,” Reid said. He rattled off the number from memory.

Hopper repeated it back without missing a digit.

“Tell her Reid said Blue needs her. Tell her Holly is being taken to the hospital and I’m going with her. I’ll update her when I can.”

“You got it.”

Blue whined again, but when Hopper crouched and spoke quietly to him, the dog stopped fighting long enough to listen.

Reid put one hand on Blue’s head. “You did good, Sweet Blue. Roni’s going to take care of you now.”

Blue stared up at him, trembling with the need to follow Holly.

Hopper’s hand closed more securely around the leash. “I’ll keep him safe.”

Reid nodded once, then turned away before he could look at Blue or Hopper or Allen being taken through the broken doorway. He followed the stretcher down the stairs and outside where Sanctuary’s lights still glowed, and chairs sat neatly tucked beneath tables. Past the front door where customers had walked in that morning believing coffee was only coffee and safety was something a place could promise.

Outside, emergency lights washed the sidewalk red and blue. People were already gathering, trying to see what was going on. The paramedics loaded Holly into the ambulance, and Reid climbed in after her without asking permission.

The paramedic who climbed in with him didn’t object.

He sat beside the stretcher and took Holly’s hand, careful of the IV, careful of the monitors. Her fingers lay too still in his, and the sight of her blood on his hand made every breath feel like work.

The ambulance doors closed.

Reid bent his head over her hand as the vehicle lurched forward, carrying them away from Sanctuary and toward the hospital.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Holly woke to the smell of antiseptic, the soft beep of a monitor, and Reid Fleming’s hand wrapped around hers.

That was the first thing she understood.

Not where she was or why her head felt as if someone had packed it with wet cement and struck a match behind her left eye. Not why the world was dim and too bright at the same time, or why her mouth tasted dry and metallic.

Reid was there, sitting in a chair pulled close to the bed, one hand holding hers and the other braced near his mouth as if he’d been praying, bargaining, or trying to hold himself together through sheer stubbornness.

His dark hair was mussed, his jaw rough with stubble, and his shirt had dried blood on one sleeve. Her blood, probably. That part came back in pieces she didn’t want but couldn’t stop.

Allen on her couch.

The cup on the coffee table.

Blue scratching at the door.

A gun.

Reid’s voice yelling her name.

Holly tried to turn her head toward him and immediately regretted it. Pain flashed hot across her skull, and the breath she pulled in sounded thin even to her own ears.

Reid was on his feet instantly. “Hey there. You’re awake.”