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I threw myself to the ground, barely noticing the gravel the grazed my thigh even through my work pants.
She was a mess of wild hair that covered her face. I desperately smoothed it out as I hauled her into my lap. “Eve, come on, baby. Talk to me.”
She was too pale. Too limp.
I held her to my chest, an agonized scream ripping from somewhere deep inside me. “Jesus, no.”
“Boston.”
I stopped breathing. I stayed so completely still that there was no other sound, no other movement, except for the slight rise and fall of her chest.
Her big eyes peered up at me, as if she couldn’t quite believe I was really there.
A sob of relief choked me. “Fucking hell, Evil. I thought you were dead.” I hugged her to me, only now feeling the warmth of her body. My mind whirled with questions, but in the background, Richards called for an ambulance, and everything else paled in comparison. “I love you,” I whispered into her hair. “I love you so fucking much.”
She clutched me tighter, curling herself into my lap while sobs racked her body. “There were gunshots. Don’t let me go,” she murmured into my chest. “Please, don’t go.”
“Not a chance. I’m not going anywhere, you hear me? You’re mine, Eve. I’ve got you.”
“I’m going to ask the witnesses about the shots,” Richards told me, then left me with my girl.
I couldn’t answer him. The ambulance arrived, and when I glanced up, the street was lined with rubberneckers. I hadn’t heard any of them, too wrapped up in holding Eve in my arms. The paramedics approached, but Eve buried into my jacket and clutched me tighter.
“I’ve got her,” I told the two women. “I’ll get her in.”
The two of them frowned, but I’d made a promise, and I wasn’t about to break it. When I told Eve I wasn’t going anywhere, I meant it. I’d be right here, by her side, until she told me to leave.
The onlookers broke into a round of applause as I picked Eve up from the ground, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I met Richards’ gaze when I passed.
“The gunshot was one of the neighbors, letting off a warning shot into the air. They didn’t realize it was a woman or that she needed help.” He sighed heavily. “He was very apologetic. You almost can’t blame him. There’s so much gang activity around here, and the people don’t feel safe. Any commotion is treated as a threat.”
I understood but I couldn’t worry about that now. It was no longer my problem. I paused, pulling my gun and badge from my belt, and passed them to him.
He didn’t say anything. Just nodded, and that was enough.
The police were no longer my everything.
The woman in my arms was.
I climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat on a stretcher. One of the paramedics climbed in, closing the door behind her. “I’m Sara,” she said calmly, in the way one spoke to a frightened animal. “I need to examine her.”
In the front, the other paramedic started the engine and switched on the sirens. With a lurch, we took off in the direction of Saint View Hospital.
Sara watched the two of us with a sympathetic expression, while I smoothed a hand down Eve’s back. “Babe, we gotta get you looked at.”
“I’m okay,” she said, finally lifting her head. “But Fawn…”
Sara turned to me in confusion. “Is there another patient?”
I shook my head. “There was nobody else at the scene.”
Eve trembled. “They pushed her down the stairs. It was a basement, somewhere we had no phone reception. It felt like hours away, but I don’t know. Maybe we just drove in circles to throw me off? You need to find her, Boston. Please.”
For the first time, I noticed the bruising around her neck. My blood boiled. And for the tiniest of seconds, I regretted my choice. But the chief had already chosen his side. He’d already proven that he didn’t see Eve and her friends as worthy of police time and effort.
“We’ll find her,” I promised. “She’s family. We’ll do whatever it takes to bring her home. But first, we need to get you to the hospital.”
She sank back into my arms, exhaustion taking her once more.
