46. Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Five
Detective Tony Mathers
D etective Chief Tony Mathers is running before the echo of a second shot fired has completely died out, his men hot on his heels. They finally got him. Riccardo Dolmino was to be captured and taken into custody. This, however, is preferable. The man was the devil himself, the string of mutilated bodies left in his wake proof enough. Tony wouldn’t regret this death, and no matter how much internal affairs will tan his hide, he will still hold his head high and back his rookie’s shot.
“We’ve got a suspect down, and an unknown person in need of a paramedic now,” he growls into his radio.
One detective is there before Tony, kicking the gun from a dead hand as he kneels to check the pulse of Riccardo. Tony’s gaze, however, is on the woman, her eyes fluttering as her focus shifts in and out, young face tight with pain and deathly pale.
“You’re gonna be okay, honey,” he soothes, dropping to his knees beside her. “The paramedics are almost here.” The sound of sirens punctuates his words and he prays they won’t be too late.
“Look at this,” his detective says, and a wad of papers appears over Tony's shoulder.
Tony takes the paper and rips his concerned gaze from the young woman before reading the first page. Surprise spears through him as he takes in the legal document. Not because of the document’s content, but because of the name at the top.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he whispers, looking at the woman’s face again. “I always wondered what happened to you, Olivia.”
Her story is one he’s struggled to forget, and it made him turn his back on the corruption in the force. He made a lot of enemies doing so, powerful and dangerous ones, but he stood steadfast and determined. The memory of a little girl covered in her mother’s blood on a hospital bed became his driving force. Now, he can only hold her hand and pray as her own blood courses down her chest, the paramedics moving in around him. He’s forced to let her hand go as they lift her onto the stretcher and begin wheeling her to the ambulance. The helplessness of the situation overwhelms him as the doors close behind them and the sirens blare.