Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“GSW to the chest,” I said. “Officer is down. I need life flight here immediately. He won’t make it without it.”
I didn’t hear what the woman said after that.
I trusted Keene to take care of the dude behind me.
“Officer…” I looked down at the man’s name. It said Trooper Garrison. “Trooper Garrison. My name is Ande Carter.”
Officer Garrison looked at me, eyes glazed with pain.
“Do you have a medical kit in your cruiser?” I asked.
“Y-yes,” he said. “Trunk.”
I heard some scrambling from behind me, and then a door open.
I looked up just in time to see Keene bodily pick up the man who’d shot the trooper and throw him inside the cruiser so hard he hit the other side.
Keene slammed the door closed, then he was at the back of the cruiser.
He pulled out a bag and walked over to me.
“What do you need?” he asked.
I rattled off everything I needed as more and more people started to walk up to offer help.
None of them were medical professionals, though, so Keene told them to back off.
The sirens wailed in the distance, but I knew it’d still be a while before they got here.
Traffic was atrocious now, and when I glanced that way, it was backed up for as far as I could see.
“This vest needs to go…” I said urgently to Keene. “Then I need you to back these cars up. There needs to be enough space for the bird to land.”
The bird, also known as the medevac helicopter, I could already hear in the distance, too.
They’d made good time.
Keene helped me get to the man’s chest, then he was off, handling traffic.
It took him two minutes to back everyone up, and push everyone forward, far enough that the helicopter could land.
I had pressure on the wound and was talking to Trooper Garrison about his dog at home, when the bird finally landed.
Luckily, I’d even been able to start an IV.
Which was impressive seeing as the trooper had that in his bag.
It was well stocked, and I made a mental note to add one that well stocked to my own vehicle.
“My wife,” the trooper said stiffly, his breath coming in shallow pants. “Will you call her for me?”
I pulled his phone from his pocket, then said, “What’s your code?”
Keeping him talking was great.
But the amount of blood he was losing, as well as the number of breaths he wasn’t taking now, was very concerning.
“2134,” he rasped.
I called his wife.
She was listed as ‘My Girl’ in his phone. She was the last ten calls on his list.
God.
I pressed go on the phone, hoping that the woman who was about to answer on the other end of the line could hear me over the helicopter.
“Hey, babe,” a cheery female voice said. “Are you done with work finally? You were supposed to be off an hour ago, you know. Your son is crying his eyes out for some reason. Started about ten minutes…”
“Ma’am,” I said stiffly, hating to hear that this man had a wife and a son.
I swallowed hard.
“What’s wrong?”
I pressed the phone to Trooper Garrison’s ear and listened as he told his wife he loved her.
By the time he was done, I could hear her cries and see his tears.
It was heartbreaking.
“You’re not dying on me, buddy,” I said, placing his phone back in his pocket for the hospital to deal with. “How old is that baby?”
“He’s six months,” he coughed softly. “Such a good baby, too.”
The flight nurse and the medic ran up with a stretcher and their bags.
I stayed where I was, helping and explaining everything I’d done so far.
Then they were leaving, and I was covered in blood.
“Ma’am.”
I turned to find an officer, another state trooper, toward the side of the highway with his hand extended.
I hurried toward him, my eyes already searching for Keene.
I found him talking to three other officers, his hands on his hips, and a murderous expression on his face.
“Can you tell me exactly what happened?”
Twenty minutes later, covered in Trooper Garrison’s dried blood, we pulled into the parking lot of Circus House.
CHAPTER 19
If you kiss my neck, you are not leaving this room unfucked.
-Keene to Ande
ANDE
I looked around in awe.
“This place is huge,” I breathed. “It looks much bigger during the day than it does at night.”
“You’ve been here before?” he asked, looking over his shoulder as he unlocked the door.
“I have,” I confirmed. “About three years ago. I came with Shayne.”
“Did you enjoy the show?” he asked.
I thought about it. “I did…”
“Why do you say it like that?” he asked as he held open the door.
I went under his arm, and he led me to a well-lit hallway that was the length of the building, it seemed like.
“Because I think I saw you that night,” I said.
“You think?” he asked.
“I was high on pain killers,” I admitted. “I’d inadvertently taken one of my mom’s Vicodin when I was at her house. I was looking for something to help with cramps… and boy did it.”