Page 139 of Ozzie

Once inside, we run to the back of the house and find Piper on the floor. Durango checks her pulse.

“She’s alive,” he says.

She has a black eye and a cut on her cheek. She’s wearing a red sweater and corduroy pants. It’s not her stylebut I don’t have time to focus on that right now. “John will fucking pay for this,” I say.

“Yes, he will,” Durango agrees.

I grab the counter as a wave of dizziness hits me. Durango yawns. Something isn’t right here. My eyes catch on the gas stove, but the knobs are off.

“This feels like carbon monoxide. We need to get out of here,” Lightning says as he leans against the wall.

“Yeah, I’m feeling it too,” Durango says. He stands up but is swaying.

“Take her hands, and I’ll take her feet,” I say.

Normally, any one of us could lift her easily. But not right now.

We carry her into the living room and toward the front door. Durango sways and falls into the wall, dropping one of Piper’s arms. Lightning catches her in time.

Durango leans against the door, working his way down the locks. Why are there so many?

I’m too dizzy to stand, and I fall to my knees as Durango finally gets the door open. We all take a breath of the fresh air.

I glance up. Durango’s lids are half closed and Lightning’s eyes are shut although he’s now on his knees too.

“Get off your ass and move!” I shout to both of them.

This jolts them a bit. Durango grabs her arm again and falls to his knees as well. We walk on our knees out the door. Thankfully, there are no stairs, and we keep moving until we are out of the house.

“Breathe the fresh air,” I command.

I continue to pull her away from the house. The frontyard is small, and we are only able to get about four feet from the front door. Not enough if it blows up. But we aren’t able to go much farther right now, and I need to focus on Piper.

“Piper!” I yell, hoping she comes to with the fresh air.

Durango calls for an ambulance, and I shake Piper gently, urging her to wake up.

He kneels down next to me. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

“She’s still breathing and has a pulse. We have to give her time,” I say.

The ambulance siren grows closer. We continue to watch Piper for any sign she’s coming to. But there’s nothing.

The ambulance pulls up, and Durango stands next to Lightning to meet them.

Her eyes flutter open. “Oz,” she slurs.

“We found you, baby.” I kiss her cheek. “The medics need to check you out now, okay?”

The medics run toward me with a gurney, and I place her on it.

“We believe she’s been poisoned with carbon monoxide,” Durango says.

“Okay, we need to take her in,” one medic says as they rush her back to the ambulance. He immediately hooks her up to oxygen as the other medic hops out and closes the door.

“Where are you taking her?” Durango asks. “She’s my cousin.”

“Hudson Regional,” the medic says.

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