Chapter 26
Chapter 26
L eo had been in plenty of civilian scenes where a gun was involved. Most of the time they had no idea. Gunshots always sounded different in real life than people thought they would. The Amish, for whom hunting was still a way of life, knew exactly what it was and began scrambling madly, scurrying back and forth, trying to figure out what happened, to help, to get out of the way. It was mass confusion, but Leo was still able to see Ethan tackle Aleksandr.
They wrestled. Leo was torn between pushing Esther away to help and holding her protectively close to usher her away. But no matter, Ethan had the situation well in hand. A few practiced jabs and kicks and their suspect was in a crumpled heap on the ground, his weapon secured, his hands bundled so tightly in zip ties his wrists began to bleed. For good measure, Ethan hobbled his ankles, trussing him like an unruly calf, before turning his attention on Leo and Esther.
“I thought it was you,” Leo called. His relief at realizing Ethan had been sent there to save and not to kill them was so palpable he laughed. Ethan didn’t look amused, however. He looked horror struck.
“Leo,” he called, pointing. Leo looked down, and that was when he saw it, the red bloom spreading like wildfire on Esther’s back.
She was so slight, so tiny, he had no idea he had been holding her upright. Now that he knew, he laid her down. Ethan was already on the phone as he ran over, giving instructions to someone.
“I had a chopper on standby,” he said, but the words made no sense to Leo, nor did he care about them. All he knew was that Esther had been shot, had jumped in front of his body and taken the hit meant for him. Of course Aleksandr would want to take him out first. Without him, Esther would be easy pickings. Except she wasn’t; she had the sort of strength and courage that allowed her to take a bullet for someone else, namely him. And now they were in the middle of nowhere, far away from help or a hospital. There was no way she could make it, was likely already dead.
“Lieutenant, pull yourself together,” Ethan snapped, and Leo realized his hands were in his hair and he rocked back and forth, already numb with shock. The reminder that he was a marine snapped him back to focus, at least a little.
“What…what should I do?” Leo asked.
“Put pressure,” Ethan said. He took Leo’s hand and pressed it over the gushing hole in Esther’s chest. It would have missed her heart, but what if it had hit something else? A lung, an artery? She still breathed, but barely. The way her body was arched made him believe it had hit and collapsed one of her lungs.
“Hold on, Es,” he said, leaning down to whisper softly in her ear. Her eyes turned to him, a mix of panic and trust that was nearly his undoing all over again. “You’re going to be all right, okay? Faith, have all your faith back, okay? Sangfroid.”
She tried and failed to smile. Her lips were turning white, her face gray as her eyes fluttered.
“Hear that, Leo? That’s the chopper. There’s a medic on board, a former SEAL buddy of mine. She’ll be at the hospital and patched up in no time, okay?”
Leo wanted to agree, to believe, to do anything but stew in the panic now dragging him under. It was happening again. He was about to lose someone on his watch, someone he cared about more than his own life, his Esther. The only coherent thought his mind seemed able to form was that if she died, he would no longer be able to survive.
His hand was slick with her blood, making it harder to keep the pressure on her wound. He was about to lose it, would forever be thankful for Ethan’s calm and reassuring presence. From this point on, he would never make fun of the navy or SEALs again. Please, please, please don’t take her. Oh, God, please let her live. Did his prayers count? He had the mad desire to beg the Amish around him to pray, but as his eyes scanned the crowd, he saw multiple heads bowed, lips murmuring. They were already praying, he was certain. Let theirs work, even if mine don’t.
The chopper landed, the pilot and medic sprinted to their side. Ethan and the medic exchanged vital stats, hooked Esther to oxygen, and loaded her onto the chopper. It was a small chopper, no room for Leo. He remained helplessly on the ground, staring. Ethan returned to him, looking remorseful. “I can’t leave until I get this wrapped up,” he motioned to Aleksandr behind him. Leo had forgotten. “I’d say take my car, but I don’t think you should be driving now. Hang tight, and I’ll see if I can get another chopper.”
Leo nodded dully. There was no way he could drive himself to the hospital, but what did it matter at this point? Of course Esther was going to die because he didn’t deserve her, wasn’t worthy of someone so good and selfless. “What are you doing here?” he heard himself ask. Funny, I don’t actually care why he’s here.
“Ridge kept tabs on you the whole time. The mole was Ellen.”
That snapped Leo out of his haze. “Ellen? The woman who looks like someone’s kindly mom?”
Ethan nodded. “She is someone’s kindly mom.” He motioned to Aleksandr. “He threatened to kill her granddaughter, had pictures he’d taken from inside her house. And he said if she helped him, he’d not only let her live, he’d give Ellen a half million dollars.”
A half million dollars. That was what Esther’s life was worth to Aleksandr, to Ellen. To Leo it was priceless. “I hope she rots in prison,” Leo said.
“She probably won’t,” Ethan said, sighing. He swiped a hand over his face as local law enforcement pulled up. “Here’s the part I hate the most.” Trying to explain to overzealous country cops that you were, in fact, the good guy could sometimes be an exercise in disaster. But before Ethan could remove his ID, one of the Amish men stepped forward and spoke, filling the officer in on the story.
“Cousins,” Ruben Miller crouched beside Leo and explained. “He’s telling him the man shot Esther and that man tackled him. Why would someone shoot Esther?” Leo gave him a blank look. “Although he wasn’t trying to shoot Esther. He tried to shoot you .” Leo turned his face away, the knife of guilt twisting deeper. “I’ll drive you to the hospital, if you want.”
Leo didn’t want to spend a long car ride with Ruben and his bullying suspicion, but neither did he want to stick around and wait for Ethan to tie things up. Wordlessly, he tossed Ethan a nod, stood, and followed Ruben to his truck. Maybe he’s expended all his words and the ride will be silent.
“I called Esther’s dad.”
No such luck on the silence. Leo blew out a breath. “Why?”
“Because something doesn’t add up. She shows up here in the middle of our engagement so-called married to a guy like you?”
“What do you mean a guy like me?” he asked, bridge of his nose pinched tightly.
“Someone normal.”
“What do you mean normal? Why would I not be normal?”
“Maybe you don’t know, but Esther has the autism.” He stated it as if imparting a state secret.
“Of course I know, and I don’t care. And why do you care if you wanted to marry her so badly?” Leo asked.
“I had an obligation. Our families go back a long ways,” Ruben said.
Leo began to see how Esther’s life might have played out, with Ruben playing the martyr for their entire marriage because he’d done the great deed of taking her on, burden as she was. He would have bullied and battered her until she broke which, knowing her, wouldn’t take long. Something she said to him when they first met made more sense. There are different kinds of pain, Leo. Not only had she not loved this man, she had known how he viewed her, as less than. “I didn’t have an obligation. I adore her, she’s my heart, my whole world.” His voice broke and he stared out the window, swallowing convulsively.
“Her father doesn’t believe you’re married, said it must have been some kind of work assignment.”
Leo blew out a breath but otherwise didn’t reply. What could he say? He couldn’t continue to lie when it was about to be outed as a falsehood.
“I suppose our engagement is still on,” Ruben said.
“Read the room, moron,” Leo muttered.
“What?” Ruben said.
Leo faced him. “Let me be extremely clear for your tiny bowl haircut brain. Esther is off limits to you, now and forevermore. Don’t talk to her, don’t come near her, and if you even so much as think about touching her, I will ensure it’s the last thing you ever do. I know twenty ways to kill a man, and I swear I’ll use the slowest and most painful one on you.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Ruben said, suspender-clad chest puffing.
“Try me,” Leo said. Maybe whatever Ruben read in his face convinced him or he merely thought Leo was deranged. Either way, he shut up and faced forward the remainder of the drive.