CHAPTER TWO THEO
CHAPTER TWO
THEO
“Sierra,” I repeat the name, just in case I somehow misunderstood it. Surely there has to be a mistake. It has to be a different Sierra.
“Call Caleb!” he says, jumping into the driver’s side. My feet stick to the ground as if they were poured into cement.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘Shots fired at Sierra’s house’?” I shout to him, but he peels away from the curb, his lights already flashing.
By the time I pull my phone out of my back pocket, my feet have finally picked up that it’s time to move because I’m running to my truck. I dial Caleb. “Come on—answer, answer, answer,” I urge as it rings four times before going to voicemail.
“You’ve reached Caleb Walker from CW Construction. Please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you.” I disconnect and call him again, with the same results.
“Motherfucker,” I swear. I barely keep to the speed limit as I drive to Sierra’s house, thinking this must be a terrible mistake.
About five cop cars block off her street. Two ambulances race by me, sirens blaring and lights flashing. I pull over to the side and grab my phone. My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest as I run toward her house.
“Hey!” an officer on the side yells to me, “you can’t go in there.”
“That’s my cousin’s house.” I put both my hands on top of my head, seeing people rushing in, but no one coming out. “What’s going on?”
“Not sure,” he replies, trying not to answer me.
“What do you mean, you’re not sure?” My voice rises. “I was with Officer Burke when he got the call.” I don’t know if it’s a good thing to name-drop or say that I know because of him, but I couldn’t care less.
“Reports are that shots were fired,” he says as a commotion comes from the house. “One victim, maybe two, it’s still unclear.”
“One victim or more,” I repeat his words, and I don’t even care. I take off running as the gurney comes out of the house. It’s a woman I’ve never met, and Carl, the wood guy, is beside it.
I’m still making my way through the people who are standing around on the neighbor’s lawn—waiting, I guess, no fucking clue—when I see Caleb come out of the house, no shirt on, blood streaked down the front of his chest. He’s running next to a second gurney.
I stop for a second, put my hands on my knees, and let out the biggest sigh of relief.
I feel like I am going to throw up everywhere.
I pull myself together and run toward him.
“Holy shit, Caleb,” I shout to him. “What happened?”
Everyone is suddenly hustling around me. It’s Sierra on the gurney. I look up and—I’m frozen. A woman I never thought I would see again, holding on to the top of the gurney as she runs to the ambulance.
“Oh my god, it’s you,” she says, her face filled with the same shock I feel as I meet her gray eyes. Her blonde hair is pulled back and piled into a high ponytail, then braided. She’s wearing a paramedic uniform with blue surgical gloves on.
“You,” I whisper. I shake my head, trying to get my bearings and figure out what the fuck is going on.
“She’s been shot. Meet me at the hospital.
” Caleb is shouting, his voice filled with panic.
I refocus on him. His eyes look like he’s about to kill someone.
“Get me a shirt. Call Lilah,” he instructs as he runs, not leaving Sierra’s side.
“We have to call Sierra’s parents. My phone is somewhere inside.
” He motions with his chin toward the house, where two more uniformed officers run up the steps.
Caleb gets into the back of the ambulance.
“Meet me at the hospital,” he repeats, right before the male paramedic shuts the door and rushes to the driver’s seat.
He blows his siren once to tell the people in front of him that he’s leaving before he speeds away from the house.
I run up the steps to the house and stop in my tracks when I see blood on the floor in two different spots.
My eyes scan the room for Officer Burke.
I see him in a bulletproof vest, his badge clipped to the left side of his hip, and his gun holster on his right side. He’s listening to the guy beside him.
“Can I get some help over here?” I look back to see a bloody and bruised man sitting on his ass with his arms cuffed behind his back. One eye is already sealed shut. “I need medical attention.”
I walk past someone taking pictures of what looks like a bullet casing, up the steps to the bedroom.
I glance around the room to see if maybe there is a T-shirt somewhere I can just snatch up, not really wanting to go through their things.
My gaze snags on a chair in the corner with gym shorts on it, with a black T-shirt under them. I grab them and head back downstairs.
Burke looks at me with his eyebrows pinched together. “What the fuck are you doing in here?” His voice is tight, the scowl on his face showing me he’s pissed.
“Caleb asked me to bring him a shirt.” I look around.
“Who the hell let you in here?” he snaps at me and shakes his head. “Don’t touch anything.”
“I’m not going to touch anything,” I reply softly. “I don’t even know what’s going on right now.”
“That guy”—he motions with his chin toward the man still waiting for someone to pay attention to him—“he shot off two rounds.”
“Who is he?” I ask.
“No clue. I need to get to the hospital to ask all those questions,” he states.
“I need Caleb’s phone. He said it’s here somewhere.” I look around. The living room has blood splattered on the floor. “But I’m going to guess I can’t touch it.”
“You would be guessing correctly. We have to take pictures of the scene.”
“Not to ask too many questions,” I look down, “but when do you think I can get cleaners to come in here? The last thing I want is for Caleb to get back home and have to deal with this.”
“We’re going as fast as we can,” he offers. “I’ll have someone give you a call once we’re done.”
“Appreciate that.”
He nods at me as my phone rings. It’s Mikaela. “Yeah,” I answer, moving out of the way of the action.
“What the fuck is going on?” She sounds like she’s in full-blown panic mode. “I came to get lunch, and someone just said that shots were fired at Sierra’s house.” The joy of living in a small town is that news travels faster than wildfire.
“Yeah, I’m here now. I don’t know any details. Caleb is okay. Not sure about Sierra, but I have to call her friend Lilah so she can call her parents.”
“What do you need from me?” she asks.
“For now, nothing,” I tell her. “I’m going to need to schedule a cleanup crew. Not sure when, though.”
“On it,” she declares. “I’ll get everything settled on my end, just give me the word.”
“Thanks,” I reply and then disconnect.
I don’t have Lilah’s number, so I call her boyfriend, Emmett.
He answers after two rings. “Yeah,” he barks.
“Hey,” I say, “I need to get in touch with Lilah.”
“For what?” he snaps back, and I have to roll my eyes. He’s been in love with her for ages.
“Sierra,” I reply, sitting down, the adrenaline from today finally wearing off, “she’s been shot.”
“What?” His boots thump on the ground like he’s running.
“I’m at her house, man. I don’t know.” I look out the window at the blue sky. “Got here when they were loading her into the ambulance. Caleb told me to call Lilah so she can call her parents.”
“On it,” he replies and disconnects. I look at the phone for a second before getting up.
The bloody man is gone, and so are most of the officers.
One is looking around, and the other is still taking pictures with his camera.
I head for the front door and see there is yellow tape across it with an officer standing guard outside.
I bend to go under the tape. “Thanks,” I say. There are only two police cars left now. I jog to my truck and drive to the hospital.
I rush into the emergency entrance and find Caleb talking to Burke. He is now dressed in a hospital gown.
“Hey.” I hand him the black shirt I took from his bedroom.
“Thanks.” He takes it and turns back to Burke. “From what I understand, Fiona is her birth mother, and Carl is . . .” He hesitates as Carl steps out of the swinging door. His shirt also has blood on it, and his face is enraged as he scans the area and comes toward us.
“She’s in surgery,” he states. “Where is he?”
“He’s being checked out, and then he’s going to be booked,” Burke answers. “You did a number on him.”
“He’s alive,” Carl retorts. “He’s lucky.”
“How about I forget you just said that,” Burke says. “I have some questions for you.” Burke turns back to Caleb. “I’ll see you before I leave.”
He walks away with Carl, and I look at Caleb. “Dude, what is happening? Is Sierra okay?”
“They’re operating on her now.” He stares down at his shoes and then looks up at me with tears in his eyes.
“I’ve never been more scared in my entire life,” he admits.
He tells me the whole sordid story, about Sierra’s complicated family situation and how it led to her getting hurt. My mind races as I take it all in.
“I’m sure she’s going to be fine.” I put my arm around his shoulders. “And in no time she’s going to be home, telling you she doesn’t want you living with her anymore,” I joke with him. “Then you’ll be telling me I have to move out so you can have the house back.” He forms a weary half smile.
“If she thinks I’m going to leave her side now”—he shakes his head—“she’s sadly mistaken.”
“Go and get yourself changed,” I tell him. “I’ll see if I can get you something to drink. A coffee, maybe.” I get up with him as I look around for a vending machine. “She’s going to be okay,” I assure him as the worry sets on his face. “Lilah called her parents. They are on their way.”
“Thanks, man.” He stops when Burke makes his way back over to us.
“Caleb, I have some questions for you.”
“I’ll get that coffee and see if they have an update,” I tell him, and he nods, knowing I’ll do what I need to do in order to get the information for him.
I go through the swinging doors. Walking down the white hallway, I see three rooms on each side, and it opens up to a desk in the middle of the space. My eyes catch on her at the end of the desk. Her head is bent as she writes something, and my feet move before my head can tell me it’s a bad idea.
“Collins.” Her head shoots up, her blue-gray eyes staring into mine, and just like that night by the side of the road, I can’t help but smile at her. “Hey.”