Chapter Thirty-Three
“Police! Hands where we can see them!”
Kat raised her left arm as she stared across the entry at Ethan, her right arm in too much pain. Ethan wasn’t looking at her. He wasn’t looking at anybody, his gaze focused on the floor. Or maybe his eyes were closed. Even as he kept his hands raised, she could see the slump in his shoulders. The slump of defeat. She wanted him to look at her, to explain, to tell her everything going through her head was wrong. A denial. Hell, even an admission. But he never looked up, and she wanted to shout at him as her heart shattered more painfully than she ever thought possible.
Her best friend. Her hero.
Betrayal cut like a knife, piercing and deep. So agonizing she wondered how her heart was still beating. Kat was barely aware of the police entering the house, followed closely by the paramedics. She was aware of voices and questions, both Stephen’s and Xavier’s, but her gaze never wavered from Ethan. Eventually somebody’s arms slid around her from behind, pulling her back.
She tried to fight off the hands, every jolt of her upper body sending shooting fire through her arm, but that was still nothing compared the pain in her chest, the agony that seeped clear to her soul.
Ethan finally looked up, his gaze instantly finding hers. And once again, she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole, because anything, anything, would be better than facing the agony that was making it impossible to breathe. Once again, she tried to break free of the arms that held her, but the grip was too tight.
A uniformed officer stepped in front of her, asking questions she couldn’t hear, blocking her view of Ethan even as she struggled to look around him. Then suddenly, she was on a chair, her body bent in half, her head shoved between her knees.
“Breathe!”
But it hurt too much to breathe, every breath causing a searing burn she couldn’t bear. And then, blessedly, nothing.
***
“We need paramedics over here!” Stephen kept his gaze on Alex even as he held Kat’s limp body. Xavier stood next to him, both hovering as close as the paramedics would allow, only feet away from Alex, his head still spinning at Kat’s revelation, wondering how in hell she’d known, silently praying she hadn’t lied to him again.
The uniformed officer had finally stopped asking questions when he hadn’t gotten any answers, but Stephen knew they’d be coming all too soon. Something he couldn’t deal with just yet, because he still wasn’t clear himself what had fucking happened, other than the fact that Ethan had shot Jessica Adams.
But she’d fired at him, hadn’t she?
Protecting himself?
“You need to let go, sir.”
Stephen looked up, relief at seeing the paramedic. He released his grip on Kat, letting him take her. “What happened?”
“She passed out,” Stephen said at the same time Xavier said, “She’s in shock.”
The paramedic laid her on the floor. “Possible concussion.”
Stephen wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, wincing as he saw the bruise on her cheekbone again. He’d nearly forgotten.
“Was she punched?”
“Tackled,” Xavier said, tearing his gaze from Alex for the briefest moment. “I tackled her to the floor in the kitchen when I realized there was an intruder.” He looked at Stephen. “Jessica was tracing Kat’s phone as we were tracing hers.”
Xavier sounded a hell of a lot calmer than Stephen felt. “Check her wrist. Right wrist. I think she hurt it.”
She had. Stephen could tell by the swelling as soon as the paramedic gently lifted it, placing her arm across her stomach. More paramedics came through the door, one wheeling a stretcher.
“We’ve got a pulse!”
Stephen jerked his head up. Paramedics surrounded Jessica Adams as they knelt over her and Stephen prayed she’d make it. They needed fucking answers. Within minutes they had her on a stretcher and were wheeling her out, another stretcher making its way in as soon as the first one cleared the door. Two men lifted Alex, strapping him down. One of the paramedics looked back. “Albany Med?”
“Yes,” Xavier answered.
“He’ll be alright. Collapsed lung, broken rib or two. We’re taking him by ambulance. There’s room for one in the front seat.”
No helicopter. A good sign, Stephen knew, though the relief he felt wasn’t much. Xavier looked at Stephen. He nodded.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Stephen said. How he wasn’t losing it was beyond him. As calm as he sounded, panic roiled through him, making it difficult to breath.
“Holy Christ. What the hell happened here?”
Stephen’s gaze swung toward the door. Mary Robinson stood in the entrance, her expression horrified as she took in the carnage. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but follow Mary’s gaze as paramedics wheeled Alex out before finally resting on Kat. Eventually, Mary looked at Stephen, her expression hardening, her look of shock and horror gradually fading. Carefully, she walked toward him while she donned a pair of gloves. Pointless, Stephen thought. Any evidence had already been obliterated by the endless stream of paramedics and cops.
Xavier barely acknowledged Mary’s presence. With a quick glance in her direction, he said, “We’ll be at Albany Med.” And then he was gone, following Alex through the door. Seconds later, Stephen heard the whoop-whoop of the ambulance as it pulled down the driveway.
Finally, they had Kat on a stretcher. She remained unconscious as they strapped her down. Stephen moved to follow them as soon as they unlocked the wheels, but Mary grabbed his arm.
“You need to tell me what happened.”
“Jessica Adams called Kat, made up a story about being kidnapped to keep her on the line long enough to trace her. At the same time, Alex answered opened the door for Ethan. Alex was shot. Ethan said it wasn’t him. A few minutes later, Jessica must have come around to the back door. She fired and Ethan fired back.”
“Ethan?” Mary asked, sucking in a breath. “Is he…”
“She missed. Bullet’s in the wall.” Stephen said, pointing at it as he followed the paramedics, Mary in step beside him.
“Where is he?” Mary asked, catching his arm just before he jumped into the back of the waiting ambulance.
“Sir, you’ll need to sit up front. We already have two of us back here.”
Stephen nodded, backing away as the paramedic shut the door, running toward the front. Mary caught his arm again just before he opened the door. “Where is Ethan?”
And Stephen stopped, glancing toward Alex’s house, a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The bastard had run.
“If you’re coming, we gotta go,” the driver yelled.
“Damn it, Stephen! You can’t just leave a crime scene without answering my questions.”
But Stephen ignored her and opened the ambulance door. “You’re forcing me to arrest you, damn it!”
Stephen whipped around, his control finally slipping. “Then fucking do it,” he said, speaking low enough that only she could hear him. “I have my brother in one ambulance and Kat in another. You need answers, follow me to the goddamned hospital and I’ll answer them there.”
And after a moment of tense silence, Mary gave a single nod of her head, though he could tell by her expression she wasn’t happy about it. He owed her an apology. Later. Right now, all his concerns were focused on Kat and Alex.
Stephen hopped into the ambulance. But just before he shut the door, he said, “Be careful, Mary. Ethan may have had other reasons for shooting Jessica Adams than just self-defense.”