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I had no idea how much time had passed when I heard Bash calling my name from behind me and as I was turning around, he grabbed me and hugged me. A Dallas police officer was standing next to him and nodded at me when I looked at him. He allowed my best friend to be here with me while my heart was breaking in two.
“It’s gonna be all right, Zac,” Bash said, patting my back. “Stevie is gonna survive this.”
I didn’t say anything. I just kept looking straight ahead at what was happening and could see Mr. Ferguson saying something to Stevie. Then she threw her head back and hit him in the nose. His gun went off right after that and I jumped and gasped at the same time, and then an officer yelled that Mr. Ferguson shot his gun into the air.
I slowly stepped away from the S.W.A.T. vehicle a few feet and then took a couple of steps forward while keeping my eyes on Stevie. That was when she saw me and as soon as she did, she lifted her right hand to her chest and patted it to tell me that she loved me. I patted my chest too, then felt the tears that I’d been holding back start falling.
Mr. Ferguson was holding his gun to Stevie’s head again and I could see fear in her eyes now. She wasn’t afraid of dying; we’d talked about that subject before. She was afraid of losing our chance to have a forever together just like I was.
“Mr. Buchanan, I need you to step back,” an officer said.
As I was easing toward the S.W.A.T vehicle, I saw Stevie throw her head back again, hitting Mr. Ferguson in his nose for a second time. Then she started fighting him with all she had. His gun went off again and my stomach dropped—and then I heard another gunshot. I quickly realized it didn’t come from Mr. Ferguson. A police officer had just shot him with a well-aimed bullet. He was slumped over and no longer moving.”
With my adrenaline higher than it had ever been, I took off running toward Stevie, breaking through all law enforcement lines. As I was closing the space between us as fast as I could, I watched her crab-crawl away from the limp body of Mr. Ferguson and then rise up to her feet, turn around and take off running in my direction. When I saw the front of her, mystomach dropped again: Mr. Ferguson’s blood was splattered across Stevie’s face, her hair and her white blouse.
Only yards apart now, she held out her arms at the same time that I did and we collided into each other. I felt her body start giving way and picked her up as she was passing out, then watched her eyes close. Dozens of officers surrounded us within seconds and helped lead me to an ambulance nearby. I carried Stevie into it, laid her on the stretcher, and then rode with her to the hospital. She never regained consciousness during that time but one of the paramedics told me that her vitals were good.
As the ambulance was pulling up to the emergency room, I saw Bash, Brooke and her team standing out front. They gathered around the back of the ambulance as the paramedics were unloading Stevie and we all went into the hospital. As soon as Stevie was taken back to be assessed, Brooke came up to me.
“Come here, Buchanan,” she said, pulling me into her arms. I rested my head against hers and breathed for a long minute, then looked at her and shook my head in disbelief.
“I-I don’t know what to think about all of this. Or what to do.”
“The only thing to do is to be there for Stevie.”
“You know I will be.”
“So will I.”
“We all will be,” Bash added.
I looked over at him and all of Brooke’s team, then nodded my thanks to them.
“Brooke, that man was my client, Mr. Ferguson,” I said.
“I know.”
“I feel like this is all my fault.”
“It’s no one’s fault other than Mr. Ferguson’s. He was crazy and volatile. I just wish I’d continued Stevie’s security detail and maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“A man like Mr. Ferguson would’ve found a way to get to Stevie. It was only a matter of time,” Jason interjected.
I looked over at the doors that led to wherever Stevie had been taken and wanted to run through them to find her. I needed to see her again. I needed to touch her.
Brooke had just given me another hug when three Dallas police officers walked into the emergency room waiting area and I recognized them. I’d stood next to them by the S.W.A.T. vehicle.
“Mr. Buchanan, these are Ms. Sinclair’s,” one of them said, handing me her purse and briefcase. “She dropped them in the parking lot. I believe all the contents are there. They were scattered but I picked them up.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“I hope you don’t mind my asking but we’re all wondering how your girlfriend is doing after going through such a traumatic event.”
I didn’t blink at the officer calling Stevie my girlfriend in front of Brooke’s team. I didn’t care if they heard what he said or what they thought about it.
“She was still unconscious when we arrived here but her vitals were good,” I said.
“That’s a relief. I hope everything turns out well. We’ll be praying for her and for you.”
