Chapter Eighteen #2
“Not yet.” He picked up his phone. His fingers practically flew across the screen as he typed out a text.
He waited a few seconds, then the phone buzzed.
He checked the screen, then set it down.
“My team will have the sketch within minutes.” He poised his hands over the virtual keyboard on the tablet.
“You were going to tell me the timeline. Don’t leave anything out. ”
Half an hour later, a knock sounded on the door. Mason was out of his chair, gun in hand but hidden behind him before the door opened.
The detective who’d gone for a status update stood in the opening, a look of surprise on his face when he saw Mason. He took a quick glance into the room. “Where is everyone?”
“Not here. What can I do for you?”
“I, ah, wanted to let Ms. Ray know that Mr. Anton is out of surgery.”
“Thank you.” Mason closed the door before the detective could say anything else. He holstered his gun, then sat down. “You were saying?”
She clenched her hands together beneath the table. “You drew your gun. You think he’ll show up here? At the hospital?”
“It’s possible. Don’t worry. I had a guard stationed outside the surgery room. He’ll stay with Bryson in recovery as well.”
She blinked. “How do the police feel about that?”
“I’m always as accommodating as possible with law enforcement.
But I’m not about to leave the security of an injured member of my team to their care.
The hospital administrator was more than okay with it after I offered a substantial donation in Bryson’s name.
” He winked. “Now, if you don’t mind. Please continue. ”
“Yes, of course. I, um, I guess I was up to the point of where I ran like a coward for the trees.”
“No. I think you were telling me that you did exactly what Bryson asked you to do, so you wouldn’t put him in more danger by making him worry about having to protect you rather than make his own escape.
But I’m puzzled. If you ran into the woods at the front of the clearing, how did you end up behind the shack when it exploded? ”
Her face heated. “I didn’t exactly follow Bryson’s instructions.
I know he wanted me to keep going, to run as far away as I could.
But I hadn’t seen him leave the shack, and I was worried that he might have been pretending to feel better than he did, just to get me out of danger.
All throughout our ordeal, he kept telling me to have faith, that it was two against one, that we could beat the bad guy together.
And there I was running away. I just couldn’t do it. ”
He crossed his arms on top of the table. “So what did you do?”
She wrapped her arms around her middle, remembering. “I circled through the woods to the back of the shack.”
“Where was the gunman?”
“I wasn’t sure. The truck was still parked out front. I didn’t see him anywhere.”
He stared at her, waiting.
“I got down on my belly and tried to see beneath the shack, through the crawl space. When I didn’t see anyone moving around under there, I was terrified that the gunman was inside with Bryson. So I ran to the shack and crawled up into the closet through the hole in the floor.”
He still didn’t say anything. But his eyes widened slightly.
“I heard the gunman shouting in the other room. And I smelled gas. It was filling up the cabin. A moment later, the front door creaked. I peeked around the corner and saw the gunman running for his truck.” She swallowed hard.
“And Bryson, he was just sitting there, his back to the wall, holding the gas line in his hand.”
She swiped at the tears in her eyes. “For a split second, I thought he was dead. But then I saw his chest rise and realized he was still alive. I yelled at him to get out. We dropped through the hole in the closet floor and made it to the woods just before the explosion.” She wiped her tears again.
“Like you said earlier, if it wasn’t for Bryson getting both of us behind that log when he did, we’d both be dead.
He deserves a medal of honor. Not a bullet in the back. ”
He cleared his throat. “That’s quite a story. I gather you sat with him until help arrived?”
“Of course. I know CPR. But that’s about the limits of my nursing abilities.
He was breathing, and his heart was beating.
But he wouldn’t open his eyes. I didn’t know what to do.
All I could think of was to apply pressure to the wounds, even though they didn’t seem to be bleeding all that much.
I had no idea he was bleeding internally. ”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and let out a shuddering breath.
“Thank goodness the fire department and police arrived so quickly. I heard the sirens and ran to the clearing. They were amazing, ran with me around back, no questions asked. They immediately started an IV and got him on a gurney. I think they flew him out in a helicopter within a couple of minutes. They saved his life.”
He slowly shook his head. “No, Ms. Ray. I think that distinction belongs to you. If you hadn’t been stubborn enough and brave enough to go back into that shack to check on him, he’d be dead right now.
” His voice sounded oddly hoarse, and he cleared his throat before continuing.
“Thank you. On behalf of all the Justice Seekers, thank you for saving our dear friend and coworker.”
She was about to argue that he wouldn’t have even been in danger in the first place if it wasn’t for her, but his phone vibrated against the table.
He picked it up, then stood.
She shoved out of her chair. “Bryson’s awake?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. But I’ll go check on him right now. Meanwhile, you have visitors.”
“Visitors?” She frowned. “The police are back?”
He hesitated at the door. “When you called me to help Bryson, I took the liberty of calling someone to help you. But I asked them to give me time to interview you first. They’ve been very accommodating.
But they’re out in the hall now, demanding to see you.
” He smiled his first real smile. “You’re an incredibly brave and smart young woman.
Thank you again for everything you did.” Without waiting for her reply, he left the room.
A moment later, two people rounded the corner and paused in the doorway.
She let out a shriek and ran around the table, tears flowing again.
Her mother and father gathered her to them in a bone-crushing hug.