Somewhere Between Water and Sky (Shattered Things #2) (37 page)

He won
’
t surrender. They should know that. You
’
ll have to carry him out in a body bag if you expect him to leave.

I see them carry Jude out the door, and much like Jessa he
’
s calling my name as he disappears.

I turn my focus to my father, ignoring the men yelling at him to stand down, chewing on a cigarette and laughing in Jude
’
s direction.

My anger bursts into flame.

I see the gun in my peripheral vision. It
’
s sitting there right where it fell when I tripped earlier. I grab it and turn, pointing it straight at my father
’
s chest. The evil spreads from his eyes to his mouth, curving it upward in recognition and pride and then it drips to his chin and lifts it in a dare.

“
Go ahead, baby doll. Shoot me.
”

I breathe in and out and notice the men on standby around the garage. They
’
ve gone silent. At this point it
’
s a matter of who will make the first move.

“
I hate you.
”

This is the moment I
’
ve waited for
—
the moment I
’
ve rehearsed in my mind too many times to count. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out and I feel the ice creep its way down my arms and settle into my hands.

I
’
m about to do it. I
’
m about to kill my father. I close my eyes for one more breath, and then open them, my finger barely pressing the trigger before a crunching noise, like shoes on top of hardened candy, startles me.

My father
’
s eyes widen and his grin grows wicked.

I pause. Dread makes a home in my gut and I refuse to believe the thoughts coursing through my head.

Kevin can
’
t be here. He can
’
t. He
’
s in the van, helping with surveillance.

I study my dad
’
s face and realize his eyes aren
’
t on me anymore. I have two choices. Take the shot, or see who he
’
s looking at with the chance that he may be pulling my leg and waiting for me to get distracted. I glance quickly at one of the men behind my father and notice his eyes trained on something right above my shoulder.

Someone is behind me.

My breath quickens. I move to follow my dad
’
s gaze.

“
Stephanie, get down!
”

Shots ring out and I fall to the cement at the same time I see two things: my dad crashing to the ground and firing off a shot, and that shot landing square in the middle of Kevin
’
s chest. He falls against the ground, his eyes stunned. Behind me, men have already swarmed my father
’
s body.

I
’
m up on my feet in one quick movement and running toward Kevin.

No no no no no no no no no no
……
.

“
Kevin. Kevin. Ohmigod Kevin please
…”
I
’
m slapping his cheeks and pressing my hands into the wound on his chest growing red and this can
’
t be happening. I can
’
t lose Jude and Kevin in one day. I wrap my arms around him, the blood spilling onto my legs and arms and
ohmigod so much blood
…

I beg for him to come back but there
’
s nothing I can do. I hear one of the men behind me say something about time of death and my feet slide out from under me.

My dad is dead.

I don
’
t have time to process. The freedom I thought I
’
d feel disappears and is replaced with just an emptiness. I turn around and fall on the ground, my arms still around Kevin
’
s body. I can feel him breathing, but he
’
s not responding to me and I just need someone
—
anyone
—
to look at me. A man passes me and I grab at his ankle.

“
Please. He needs help.
”

Medics come and have their turn with Kevin, placing him on a stretcher and reading his vitals. One of the emergency personnel shakes her head and whispers
“
shit
”
as she opens his shirt. I turn away, noticing the blood bubbling up and out of his wound.

“
Who is this kid? Why doesn
’
t he have on a vest?
”
She sounds pissed and she glances at me with an accusing stare.

“
His name is Kevin. He was working with Jude.
”
I whisper. I reach out and touch his fingers, now cold.
“
He was supposed to be in the surveillance van.
”

She moves to clean him off while they position to take him away.
“
That
’
s what happens when you try and be a hero. Damn young people making foolish decisions. Getting themselves killed.
”

I squeeze his hand tighter and she slaps my hand away.

“
Let him go.
”

I choke back a sob as they place him on the stretcher and carry him toward the door. His body is the third I see taken
—
but this time I
’
m the one calling after him.

“
I told you not to promise
…
.
”
I whisper, trying not to think of the medic
’
s words
—
the way she said
getting themselves killed
and
let him go.
Because in this moment I know with absolute clarity: there
’
s no way I can let this boy go. I
’
m in
—
I
’
m all in
—
and I can
’
t think about the fact that I may have realized this too late.

My hands are shaking and I
’
m covered in blood. I follow Kevin
’
s stretcher. No one pays any attention to me running down the stairs after him. Why would they? The man they came for, my dad, is in a body bag. I focus on Kevin as the men in black swarm around me. When I get outside, the sun has painted everything with gold.

A medic passes by me and hands me a blanket.

“
Are you hurt?
”

I blink at him for a few moments before shaking my head.

“
No. No I
’
m fine
…
is he
…”
I point toward Kevin being loaded in the ambulance and the medic interrupts me.

He points to a nearby car.
“
He needs you over there, miss.
”

Max is waiting, his face long and heavy. I walk over to him in a daze. He looks toward the ambulances and then runs his eyes up my exposed skin, checking for wounds.

“
Are you okay?
”

I swallow, hoping for words.

“
I think that
’
s a relative statement.
”

He nods, narrowing his eyes.

“
Jessa sustained a few minor injuries, but for the most part she came away unscathed. She
’
s at the hospital now.
”

I look away. Unscathed? Hardly. You don
’
t walk away from Sam Tiller unscathed.

I bite my lip and fight back the tears threatening to spill. I just need to see Kevin. I need to know he
’
s okay. Max watches me for a few seconds before pushing off the side of his car and walking over to the passenger
’
s side door. He opens it.

“
Do you want a ride to the hospital?
”

I don
’
t even respond. I just turn and wrap the blanket closer around me and fall into the seat as he shuts the door.

Chapter Twenty-One

We pull in to the hospital and I don
’
t even wait for Max to park before I hop out of the car and run for the doors. I don
’
t even really know where I
’
m going, but I aim for the first entrance I see and wince when I
’
m hit with the stale air of hospitals everywhere. The scent carries with it memories I
’
d rather forget.

I get to the front desk and ask them for Jude
—
or Kevin
—
or anyone really who knows what
’
s going on with the two men just brought into the ER. The nurse taps a few sentences into her computer and looks up at me apologetically.

“
I
’
m sorry, ma
’
am. They
’
re not allowing visitors for either of those patients. Are you family?
”

I open my mouth and then close it.

How do I answer that question?

“
She
’
s family.
”

I turn, my hands clutching at the front of my shirt.

“
Emma.
”
I crush her in a hug and she leans back to look me in the eyes, her gaze falling on my arms, still stained with blood. Her face whitens and I grimace and step away, my hands clasping together in front of me awkwardly.

“
Is Jude
…”

I can
’
t finish the sentence. I don
’
t even know what I want to say
—
okay? alive? the same? She rubs her forehead and leans her elbow on the counter.

“
He
’
s doing well
…
considering. He had on a vest, but the bullet was lodged in his shoulder. He lost a lot of blood.
”

I exhale, the image of him sliding down the wall making me wince. Emma lowers her chin and looks at me with her serious eyes and I can
’
t help but stare back
—
she always knows how to make sure I
’
m paying attention and this is no different.

“
He
’
s okay, Stephanie. Jude
’
s in surgery right now. Looks like he
’
ll walk away from this with a nasty scar.
”

“
How
’
d you get here so fast?
”

She offers a weak smile.
“
We
’
ve been here.
”
My eyebrows shoot up and she continues.
“
Once we realized Jude would be here for months at a time trying to close out the case, we came with him.
”

I look around her shoulder.

“
Where
’
s Benjamin? And Pacey?
”

She jerks her thumb toward the door.
“
They
’
re with my mom back at our apartment.
”

I scratch at my throat, suddenly nervous.
“
You really have been here for a while.
”

She studies me and then reaches out to touch my arm before taking her hands and wrapping them around her middle. She looks tired. Worn.

“
I would have called you, Stephanie. I missed you
—
we
missed you.
”
She wipes at a stray tear on her cheek and then throws a furtive glance at the nurse before looking back at me.