Chapter 19
19
C arley's phone rang, and she saw Margo's name on her screen. Tapping to answer the call, she cheerfully said, "Hey, sis. What's up?"
Margo's voice was a bit stressed. "Carley, honey, don't be alarmed but Mason had a PTSD attack. He chased the man who put the note on your car and the man ran. Officers went in search of him and shot at him. It triggered an attack for Mason. He fell in the road."
"Oh my God. Is he okay? Where is he now? I have to get to him. Where is he?"
"Listen, Carley. Listen to me. You can't run in here panicked. You need to be calm and supportive. Do you understand?"
She closed her eyes. Panic was the first thing she had done. What would happen if she panicked in front of him when he had an attack? Would it make it worse? Would it make him think he didn't want to be with her? He tried warning her away.
She took a deep breath. "I understand."
"Okay. He's here in the office. Come in the back door, I'll wait for you there."
"Okay."
She didn't say goodbye, she simply rushed from her office and called out to Addison, "I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay."
She hustled out the back door and nearly ran to her SUV. Then she remembered safety and to be calm. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She hurried back to the office door and checked to make sure the lock had engaged. Satisfied that it had, she returned to her SUV and climbed into the driver's seat.
She purposely drove slowly to give herself time to calm down. She talked to herself the entire drive, which wasn't that far, only a few blocks. "Be calm. He's not hurt, he had a panic attack. He gets these. It's fine."
Pulling into the parking lot of the Sandbar, she parked closest to the side door near the storeroom. Inside was a hallway that led to either the office or the storeroom. If the bar was full, Jace and Margo could slip in the back way. Also, that’s where they unloaded trucks, so everything went to the storeroom rather than the kitchen.
She tried opening the door, but it was locked. She knocked on it in case Margo was waiting for her.
The door opened and her sister's pretty head popped out.
"Hi. Come on in. And remember…calm."
"Is he alright?"
Margo stopped and stared at her for a moment. "Yes. He's fine. He's embarrassed. And he hit his head pretty hard. He's going to have a headache for a day or two."
"Oh. Poor man."
"Right."
Margo turned and continued walking toward the office. She put her hand on the knob and looked at Carley before pushing the door open.
Carley nodded and whispered. "I'm good. Calm. I'm calm."
Margo nodded and pushed the door open.
Mason sat in a chair at the back of the office. He had a bandage on his upper thigh and one on the side of his head. Jace sat in a chair next to him but turned it to face Mason and spoke to him softly. She couldn't hear what Jace was saying. Margo quietly moved to her desk and sat in the chair. Carley swallowed the knot in her throat and eased forward.
She took in the bandages, but she didn't understand them. Mason's eyes opened, and the instant he focused on her, she saw his breathing increase. Deep huffs of breath pushed from his lungs, and she wasn't sure if she should approach him or not. Slowly, his hand rose from where it rested on his thigh, and he held it out to her.
She stepped forward slowly and took his hand in hers. There wasn't a place to sit so she knelt in front of him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah."
She looked at the bandage on his head, then into his eyes. "Stitches?"
"No."
Nodding, she looked at the bandage on his thigh. "Stitches?"
"Yep."
Her brows rose into her hairline. "Why?"
"Bullet wound."
"You were shot!" Her voice rose.
"Yeah."
Carley turned to stare at Margo. "You didn't tell me that."
"I wanted you to stay calm."
"Calm!"
Margo's brows rose into her bangs and Carley swallowed. She turned back to Mason and looked into his eyes. "What happened?"
"I chased the man who put the note on your car. He dove into some thick brush that leads up to Sid and Grace's house. I called Jace to let them know, then I called the police. Officer Voss went to the bottom of the brush to find him. I waited on the road and heard Voss yell for him to stop and put his hands up. The office yelled again for him to stop, then I heard a gunshot. I fell to the ground. I thought I was having a panic attack, then I felt the pain in my thigh. Officer Voss came out of the brush and saw me lying on the road. It turns out the bullet he fired ricocheted off a rock and hit me. By the time it hit the rock and veered, it was already slowing down, so it's not too bad. The bullet was in my leg but near the surface, so an EMT pulled it out and bandaged me up."
"Why aren't you in the hospital?"
Mason's brows shot into his hair. "For this?" He shrugged. "It's nearly a superficial wound."
"A bullet went into your leg."
"Not all the way."
"Mason..."
He slowly shook his head. "It's honestly not bad, Carley. It'll be sore for a few days. I'll keep it clean and bandaged. I'll be fine."
She took a deep slow breath. "What about your PTSD attack?"
His brows bunched together. "I didn't have one."
"But Margo..." She turned to see her sister staring at her.
"Calm. I wanted you to be calm."
She let out a breath, and her shoulders slumped forward. Mason's fingers lifted her chin, so their eyes met. "It's all good, Carley. I'm going home for the day – boss’s orders." He grinned at Jace. "We didn't want you to panic, but I did want to see you."
She smiled softly. "Okay." She stood and brushed her slacks off. "Well, I'm happy your injuries weren’t worse. I'm also sorry it happened. Did they find him?"
"No."
Jace chuckled. "But Sid's up there watching."
"Okay."
She looked at Mason once more. "Come on, I'll get you home."
"You'll have to drive me. They gave me pain meds."
She chuckled. "No problem. I can drive you."
Jace grinned while saying "I'll bring his truck by later. Margo can follow and get me home."
"Thank you."
She stood back as Mason stood. He halted and waited to get his equilibrium. Then she stepped up to him and he put his arm around her shoulders. He was only slightly wobbly, and moved slowly, favoring his injured leg. She liked helping him. She liked that he wanted her to help him too.
She leaned forward and opened the door to the outside before stepping back to help him walk through. They limped along at a steady pace to her SUV, where she opened the passenger door and stood nearby, in case he needed assistance getting inside. She closed the door and hustled around the vehicle to get him home.
After climbing inside, she backed from her spot and turned her vehicle toward the Barracks. Mason rested his head on the headrest as she drove. Luckily, he lived close.
"We'll get you inside, then I'll make you something to eat."
"He rolled his head so he could see her. "Oh." He took a deep breath. "I haven't gone grocery shopping yet."
She grinned. "I can take you to my place. I have groceries."
"Okay."
She chuckled. He was being very agreeable. Not that he wasn't usually, but he'd normally say he didn't want to put her out or some other nonsense.
She passed Main Street and headed out of town to her place with a grin on her face.