Chapter 18
Matt
Getting a call of shots fired is one that every officer dreads. It means trouble, in every sense of the word. You never can truly know what you are pulling up on, or how things will play out. But, when I happen to overhear the call come into dispatch, and the address comes back as Sienna’s bakery, I nearly come un-fucking-glued. I don’t even bother with my car, and take off on foot down the street just as I spot McKnight pulling up out front and leaping from his car.
The thought of her in danger has my hands itching to bust in there and do something. Anything.
With one of the large windows still boarded up, from the other day, it is hard to get a visual on anyone inside. We don’t know shit, other than there is a woman holding Sienna inside at gunpoint. “Fuck this,” I mutter, storming toward the building. “I’ll be damned if I sit here and do nothing.”
“The fuck are you doing?” McKnight asks, fumbling with his radio.
“Not waiting for backup.”
Heading for the alley, I switch off my radio and draw my gun. Making it to the backdoor, I find it unlocked and partially ajar. Part of the door looks mangled, like it was pried open. Shit. She was fucking ambushed. Rage roars hot and heavy through my veins. Slipping inside, I take in the trashed kitchen. Everything that was baked and prepared yesterday is thrown all over the room, trays and utensils scattered all over the floor. Carefully, I maneuver around the debris, wanting to maintain the element of surprise until the right moment.
“Don’t you see?” the female voice says. “Everything will be so much better once she’s gone, baby. We can finally be happy.”
“Listen to me, Hope. You need to give me the gun.” I recognize Jimmy’s voice immediately. Motherfucking bastard. “The goddamn cops are outside, ready to haul your ass away for twenty years because you’ve gone fucking psycho.”
“I told you I’d never let you leave me,” she warns. “Not for her. Not for anyone.”
Peeking around the corner, I take in the room, working various possible ways to end this in my head. Jimmy stands with his back to me, a towel pressed to what appears to be a head wound. From this angle, his body blocks me from getting a clear shot on the woman with the gun pointed at Sienna. His only saving grace right now is that he is trying to diffuse the situation, instead of fuel it. My heart seizes in my chest when my eyes land on my girl. Her mouth is gagged with what looks like a dishtowel, hands appearing to be tied behind her back as she kneels beside the display case.
“I’m not leaving you, Hope. That was a mistake. I know that now, babe,” Jimmy says, holding up his hands in surrender. “We can go right now. Anywhere you want. Just give me the gun.”
“You don’t mean that,” Hope shakes her head. “You won’t really ever want me. Not as much as you want her.”
Crouching down, I work my way through the kitchen doorway, staying low so it is easy for me to duck behind the counter and not be seen. Hope takes a step toward Sienna, pressing the gun to her temple. “This is how it has to be, Jimmy.” Bowing her head, Sienna closes her eyes, silent tears streaming down her face and falling onto her thighs.
Like hell.
Surging forward, I make my move. Firing, I nail Hope in the hand holding the gun. She screams, her entire arm jerking toward me at the same time I dive for my girl. The gun goes off once before falling to the floor at her feet. The bullet slams into me, knocking me back into the side of the display case as I shove Sienna behind it. Sienna’s screams are muffled through the makeshift gag in her mouth as she frantically tries to scramble for me. “I’m good,” I grunt quickly, knowing she isn’t safe until I have the other gun. “Stay the fuck down.”
McKnight busts through the door, his gun trained on Hope, who is now lying on the ground, wailing in pain as she clutches her injured hand. “You shot me!” she screams, in disbelief. “I’m pregnant and you shot me!”
“You hurt?” McKnight asks, looking to me, his brows knitting together in concern.
“I’m good.” Pressing a hand to my side, I hiss out a breath. “Hit the vest. Just stings like a bitch.”
“On your knees,” McKnight barks at Jimmy. “Hands behind your head. I’m detaining you, too, Anderson, until we figure out what’s what around here.” Walking over, he kicks the gun across the room toward me, then lets dispatch know we need medical units on scene.
Returning my gun to my holster, I help Sienna to her feet and make quick work of freeing her wrists and removing the gag. “Are you okay?” she asks, her hands flying to my chest the second they’re free. “She shot you. Matt, she shot you.”
“I’m whole. Bullet hit my vest,” I explain, cupping her face in my hands. “Come here, baby. Let me look you over.”
“I’m fine,” she chokes out, a sob tearing from her chest.
Releasing her face, I pull her into my arms. Coming willingly, Sienna buries her face in my chest, her legs nearly giving out beneath her as she cries. “I’ve got you,” I whisper into her hair, though at this point I’m not sure if that statement is more for her benefit or mine.
Lifting her into my arms, I carry her across the room, settling her on the far end of the counter. I want her as far from Hope and Jimmy as I can possibly get her. Releasing my hold on her, I begin working the buttons on my shirt before yanking the Velcro loose on my vest. It doesn’t completely ease the pain, though it sure as shit makes it a lot easier to breathe for the time being. I will no doubt have a massive bruise for weeks, if I didn’t manage to crack a rib or two as well.
* * *
It doesn’t take long before there is a crowd forming on the other side of the street, everyone trying to get a look at what went down. Though in custody, Hope is taken to the hospital to treat her gunshot wound. The entire time she is being loaded up into the ambulance, she is screaming about police brutality and her plans to sue the entire state of Georgia for her mistreatment. Jimmy, who turns out didn’t have a damn thing to do with any of this, decided against treatment and hauled ass out of dodge the moment he was done giving his statement. Not even glancing our way, which is good. I’d gladly take the write up I’d get for beating his ass if he had even so much as breathed in Sienna’s direction. Innocent of this shit or not, that bastard put his hands on her. His day is coming if I have anything to say about it.
Piece of shit won’t even see me coming.
Briggs and Kelsie arrive on the scene, immediately putting an end to Sienna’s arguing with me about going to the hospital to get the knot checked out that is forming on her forehead. Let’s face it, the three of us are pretty damn intimidating. The bulk of that being Briggs threatening to hog tie her ass and lock her in her condo with her cat, Bob, for an entire weekend.
After numerous tests, and what feels like days waiting, Sienna is cleared to go home on the condition she is monitored in case of a concussion and takes it easy for the next few days. Something I plan to make sure she does, even if it means I have to take vacation time and lock her in my bedroom for a week.
“How you feeling, babe?” I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed, next to her, while we wait on her discharge paperwork.
“Fucking spectacular,” she breathes, a smile spreading across her face. “Pain meds are awesome. It’s like floating on a cloud. A cloud made of love.”
“Love and intravenous stimulants.” Biting back a laugh, I brush the hair from her face. “You’re coming to stay with me until your house is fixed, yeah? You argue with me and I’ll spank that sexy ass of yours so hard you won’t be able to sit for days.”
“Yeah,” she sighs, her eyes closing. “Bossy ass. If you’re going to threaten me, do it with something that won’t result in an orgasm.”
“Noted,” I chuckle.
“Okay,” she breathes. Shifting her body, she settles her head on my thigh. Curling into me, her entire body relaxes. Though I’m sure it is because of the pain meds in her system, I choose to believe that I’m the reason she is so at ease. Unable to keep from touching her, I stroke her hair, smiling when she leans into my touch. “I’m not resisting, Officer.”
“Good to know,” I reply, my fingers continuing to move through her dark strands. “Can’t have you falling, can I?”
“Matt?” she murmurs sleepily.
“Yeah, babe?”
“Pretty sure I am.”
“Are you now?” I ask, noticing that her body is still pressed tightly against mine.
“Mhm,” she repeats, her voice quiet. “So fast.”
When I first laid eyes on Sienna, I knew she was going to be important to me. Something in me saw something in her that knocked me off my feet. She shocked me then, and continues to surprise me in the best ways at every turn. I crave her touch, her smile, her kiss, and the sound of my name coming from her lips is by far the greatest sound I have ever heard in my life so far. The timeline doesn’t matter. None of that shit does in my opinion. This is ours and I refuse to let it play out any other way than how it is meant to. Placing a label on what we have, or what we will have in six weeks, six months, or even six years, isn’t going to change the fact that the girl in my arms is successfully running away with my heart.
My smile widens. “Go ahead, babe.” Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her against my chest. Burying my nose in her hair, I breathe her in. “I’ll be there waitin’.”