Chapter 30 Levi
Levi
There’s a burning sensation on the side of my neck, and cradling Kelcie tightly to my front, I duck behind the truck. A bullet slams into the metal on the other side of the vehicle, and a second later, there’s another blast in the air.
“Jesus Christ,” I gasp, my mind racing to come up with a plan.
“Come out, you cowards!” the bat-shit crazy woman shouts.
“We need to get in the truck,” I tell Kelcie while quickly peeking through the side windows to see where Mrs. Adams is standing. “As soon as we’re inside, you have to duck down. Okay?”
My heart is thundering against my ribs, my mind racing to stay ahead of the situation.
“Y-you’re b-b-bleeding,” Kelcie stammers, her teeth clattering violently as she lifts a trembling hand to my neck. Her gloved fingertips brush over my skin, the wool coming away bloody, and her eyes grow wide with terror.
“I’m fine,” I say to set her at ease. “The bullet just grazed me.”
My arms tighten around Kelcie as I check where Mrs. Adams is, and seeing she’s getting close to us, I snap, “Fuck. We have to run.”
Kelcie’s breaths come too fast as she starts having a panic attack, and not wasting another second, I grip her to me as I lunge forward, running for the wooded area behind a mausoleum.
“Stop!” Mrs. Adams yells. “Stop and face what you’ve done! Come back here!” Her voice grows shriller with every sentence.
I hear sirens as I dart between the trees, and when she fires another shot, I duck to my right and press my back against a large trunk.
Thank God! Someone must’ve heard the gunshots and called the sheriff’s department.
“I will kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”
Breaths saw over my dry lips as I look down at Kelcie, and seeing she’s unconscious and her lips are blue, the air is ripped right out of my lungs.
“No!” I crouch down and let go of her lower half so I can check her for bullet wounds. “Kelcie! Baby?”
There’s another shot, and it slams into the bark behind me. I instinctively duck while my hand keeps roving over Kelcie, but I don’t see any blood.
“Darlene!” I hear Sheriff Williams shout. “Drop the weapon and let’s talk about this. No one needs to get hurt. There’s been enough killing.”
“No!” she spits the word out. “You let them kill my baby and even helped that monster move out while Colby’s blood was still wet on the floor.”
“Don’t, Darlene!” The sheriff’s voice is tense. “I don’t want to shoot you. Please. Drop the gun. Let me help you.”
“The way you helped Colby? No! That good-for-nothing girl should’ve died with her family. Instead, she got to live and destroy my boy.”
I pat Kelcie’s cheek, willing her to come to. “Open your eyes, baby. Please.”
“Noooo!” Sheriff Williams hollers, followed by two gunshots, and I lean over Kelcie to keep her shielded from any stray bullets.
Seconds later, I hear Mrs. Adams cry, “Get off me. Let go. I have to kill them.” I hear her sob hysterically. “I have to. Get off. Noooo. They need to pay.”
“I’ve got her restrained,” Deputy Stone calls out.
Boots crunch, and as I glance around the tree, I see Sheriff Williams jogging toward us.
I adjust my arms and pick Kelcie up bridal style. When her head falls against my shoulder, her lashes begin to stir, and I freeze. “Baby? Open your eyes. Come on.” Finally, she comes to, and when I get to see her beautiful brown irises, a relieved smile spreads over my face. “There you are.”
“Is Kelcie okay?” Sheriff Williams asks.
“What?” Kelcie mumbles, then her eyes lock on the blood coating my neck, and they go wide as saucers.
“I’m fine,” I say quickly. “It’s just a scratch.” I sink down to my knees and cradle her. “It’s over. We’re safe.”
“Did either of you get hurt?” Sheriff Williams asks as he places his hands on his knees and leans over to look at us.
I lock eyes with Kelcie. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shakes her head while she sits up a bit straighter, then she rips off her glove, and her fingers probe the area on my neck where the bullet grazed me.
“I’m really okay.”
Her chin begins to quiver as her hands move all over my chest before she grips hold of the lapels of my coat.
“Come on,” Sheriff Williams says. “The ambulance is here. Let the paramedics take a look at you.”
When I climb to my feet with Kelcie still cradled in my arms, she says, “I can walk.”
I ease her onto her feet but quickly place my arm around her to keep her close to me.
“This way,” the sheriff says, gesturing where we should go.
Up ahead, I see Deputy Stone half forcing, half dragging a hysterical Mrs. Adams toward one of the cruisers.
When we break through the lining of trees and walk past the mausoleum, the same paramedic from yesterday jogs toward us, carrying an emergency bag.
“What are we dealing with?” she asks the sheriff.
“It looks like a bullet grazed Levi, and they’re rattled, but other than that, they both seem to be fine,” he answers her.
When the paramedic comes toward me, I stop walking and say, “You’re not touching me.”
“She needs to look at your wound,” Kelcie says.
“No. I’m fine.” The paramedic comes too close, and when she reaches for my neck, I duck and back up. “Keep your fucking hands off me!”
“It’s okay, Brooklyn,” Kelcie says as she steps between the paramedic and me. “Tell me what to do.”
“We need to clean the wound so we can see if he needs stitches,” Brooklyn says while shooting me a scowl.
“Fine. I’ll do it,” Kelcie says.
“Don’t be stubborn, Levi,” Sheriff Williams mutters. “Let them fix you up.”
Knowing Kelcie will understand, I look at her and say, “I can’t handle being touched right now. Not after what just happened.”
Kelcie nods, then she holds her hand out to Brooklyn. “No one is laying a finger on my fiancé. Give me an antiseptic wipe so I can clean his wound.”
Only feeling the effects of the shock now, I sit down on the side of the paved lane that runs through the heart of the cemetery and close my eyes. Sucking in a deep breath, I try to come down from the adrenaline still rushing through my veins.
“It’s okay, Levi. It’s me touching you,” Kelcie whispers to warn me before she gently wipes the side of my neck. When it begins to burn, I clench my jaw.
Brooklyn sounds dangerously close when she says, “It’s not too bad. We’ll put on some ointment and a bandage. It should heal quickly.”
My eyes snap open, and I see that Kelcie’s on her knees beside me. She places her hand on my shoulder and presses a kiss to my forehead while we wait for Brooklyn to hand her the ointment.
It takes another few minutes until Kelcie sticks the bandage to my skin, then she climbs to her feet and smiles at Brooklyn. “Thank you for helping.”
“No problem,” she replies before heading to the ambulance.
Sheriff Williams lets out a heavy sigh. “It’s too cold to stand out here. Let’s get this over with quickly. Walk me through what happened.”
Wanting to spare Kelcie the trauma of reliving the ordeal, I quickly climb to my feet. “I’ll do it. Kelcie was unconscious. Can she wait in the truck, where it’s warm?”
“I dropped the keys somewhere,” she mutters while glancing around.
“You can sit in my cruiser while we search for them,” Sheriff Williams suggests.
Once I have Kelcie safely in the sheriff’s vehicle, I walk to the truck and find the keys lying by the left rear wheel. I gesture to where the Woodruffs are buried. “We were standing over there when Mrs. Adams arrived.”
We head to the graves, and I point at where the first bullet hit the snow. “That was the first shot she fired.” As I glance over the cemetery, I add, “I didn’t keep count of how many times she fired the gun, but one hit my truck as well.”
“We’ll collect all the rounds for evidence,” Sheriff Williams informs me, then he asks, “Where’s that dog of yours?”
“She’s at home.”
“Just as well,” he sighs. “At least she was out of harm’s way.”
I nod in agreement, then spend the next thirty minutes going through everything with the sheriff.
When we come to stop near his cruiser, Kelcie gets out.
“I don’t want you to worry,” the sheriff tells us. “This should be an open and shut case.”
“What will happen to Mrs. Adams?” Kelcie asks.
“By the looks of things, she’ll probably go to a mental hospital where she can get the help she needs.” He sighs again, then mutters, “Hopefully that’s the end of this unpleasant business.”
Kelcie pulls her hand free, and stepping closer to the sheriff, she hugs him. “I hope so too. Thank you for everything.”
When she pulls back, he looks at Kelcie with fondness. “You take care of yourself, sweetheart.”
Kelcie nods as she presses close to me, and I say, “Let’s get out of here.”
“Drive safely.” Sheriff Williams tips his head, then walks off to check the area again with the crime scene investigators who arrived a few minutes ago.
As Kelcie and I head to the truck, exhaustion sets in. We’re quiet as we climb into the cab and during the drive home, but when we step into the house, Kelcie lets out a shaky breath, and the tears come.
Lick pads closer, excited to see us.
I make sure to lock the door behind us before I pull Kelcie to my chest. Holding my love while she cries again because people just couldn’t leave her the fuck alone, I say, “I think we should move to the farm tomorrow. I’m sure Jordan will understand if we cancel. I want to get you out of Verona.”
Kelcie clings to my coat as she nods. “Okay.”
Bending, I pick her up and carry her into the living room. I sit down on the nearest couch and cradle her to me. Lick jumps up beside us and nudges her head against Kelcie’s legs.
We both pet our dog while we sit in silence, processing the shit we just went through.
“It’s insane,” Kelcie whispers. “It feels like I’ve been living in some evil kind of twilight zone.”
I inhale a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “I hope to God it’s all over now, or I’m buying us an island.”
A mixture of a sob and laughter sputters from her. “I just want to move to the farm and forget the outside world exists for the next year or so.”
“I agree,” I murmur before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Her eyes lower to the bandage. “When I saw the blood on your neck, I had a flashback of my mom. I’m sorry I passed out on you.” Her gaze lifts back to mine. “What happened after I passed out?”
“Nothing worth repeating.” Lifting my hand, I place my palm over the faint red mark from where Colby slapped her yesterday.
“We’re both okay, and it’s all that matters.
” I take in every inch of her face, my tone soft as I say, “What I feel for you transcends love. I’ve written so many words, and I can’t think of one to describe the emotion you evoke in me. ”
Lowering my head, I seal my mouth to hers, and instead of trying to explain, I show her how I feel.