Page 69 of Philly
“He looks like he could be an anytime-anywhere boy to me,” Stretsky said, then gasped. “Oh lord, I can’t believe I said that out loud.” Callie laughed. The woman wasn’t wrong. “And please don’t think I’m harboring those kinds of thoughts about him. It was an observation, and he’s clearly head over heels for you.”
Callie smiled. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied casually, though the young girl still buried inside her perked up at the comment. She wasn’t blind or clueless. She and Gabriel had grown closer over the past several days, but the chasm between them had been huge, and she wasn’t convinced it could ever be completely healed. Or if she deserved for it to be.
“Callie!”
A figure separated from a group of five or six people and came jogging toward her. The slight limp in his gait had her frowning, but the hug he gave her, his warm arms wrapping around her and pulling her close, made her want to sink against him. Made her want to lean into him, physically and emotionally. Made her want to stand there all night, feeling his heart beating against hers.
He gave her a squeeze but even as gentle as it was, her cheek pressed against his chest, and she sucked in a quick breath as a stinging pain shot through her face.
He jerked back and, with his hands on her shoulders, stared at her. His eyes traveled over her face, then down her dirt-covered clothing, pausing on her bloody palms.
“We need assistance here!” he shouted over his shoulder, startling her back to the situation.
“I’m fine,” she said. “A bit banged up, but fine.”
He ignored her and, grabbing her wrist, towed her toward the EMTs repacking their gear at the rear of the remaining ambulance.
“Your leg, Gabriel,” she said as she followed along. She didn’t need medical care; a good shower would do, but the set of his shoulders told her arguing would be useless. And if she were honest with herself, which she tried to be on occasion, she liked having someone—Gabriel—looking out for her.
“It’s fine,” he answered, not slowing his steps, although he didn’t rush her. “They wanted to take me to the hospital for stitches, but I told them to glue it and call it good.”
“And they agreed?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I wasn’t going to go so they could either glue it or leave it. They agreed to glue it.”
“You’re impossible, you know,” she said, not able to keep the affection out of her voice. He looked over his shoulder at her and grinned but said nothing. “Hey, Darlene, Kevin, this is Callie, and she needs to be looked at.”
The two EMTs turned. Both were older with gray streaked through their hair. Darlene’s was wildly curly, though, and she’d attempted to restrain it with a thick hairband. Kevin’s was straight as an arrow and cut very short.
“I’m fine,” she said again as they both assessed her.
They shared a look, then gestured for her to take a seat on the back of the vehicle. “It’s either here or we get the gurney out and make you sit there,” Darlene said. Callie promptly took a seat but glared at Gabriel. Not that it had any impact. His attention remained fixed on her face, his eyes tracing the marks left by the sandstone. She’d wiped her cheek a few times, and his gaze narrowed as he took note of the blood smears.
“Want to tell us how this happened?” Kevin asked, taking her chin in his hand and turning her head this way and that. She bit back another sigh and recounted her fall and the sandstone shrapnel. When she mentioned the shots fired at her, Gabriel’s eyes narrowed again and his jaw tightened, but he held his tongue. She wanted to point out that she wasn’t the one who’d actuallybeenshot, but decided not to poke the bear.
Officer Stretsky wandered over with another woman in tow, this one older and clearly in charge. Stretsky introduced her as Captain Marshal, and once again, Callie retold her version of the events that brought them all together that night. This time as her official statement. She managed not to jerk away or hiss at the pain Darlene and Kevin inflicted as they tested her joint mobility, cleaned her wounds, and picked stone and dirt from more parts of her body than she expected.
Time passed in a slog as she talked, answered questions, and submitted to Darlene and Kevin’s torture. Then, suddenly, it was over.
“Thank you, Ms. Parks,” Captain Marshal said at the same time Darlene and Kevin stepped away, obviously satisfied with their work. “Per protocol, we have both your weapons, but pending our finding, you can retrieve them tomorrow.”
Callie glanced at Gabriel, and he nodded.
“Thank you,” she said. “We’ll call in the morning. We will likely head to Vegas to check on our friend.”
Marshal nodded. “The life flight should land in about thirty minutes. Our last update is that he’s critical but still alive.”
Joe could still succumb to his injuries, but the fact that he’d made it more than an hour boded well. At least Callie chose to believe it did.
“Thank you,” she said again, this time including the EMTs with a sweep of her gaze. “Are we allowed back into our cabin?” she asked, not sure whether to direct the question to Marshal or Gabriel since he’d been privy to the full bevy of activity at the resort.
“I packed our stuff, and they’ve moved it to another cabin. It’s the owner’s private one, so not part of the resort pool,” Gabriel answered.
She nodded, as if that meant something to her. She didn’t care where they slept. Not that she thought she’d sleep at all, given that they’d be waiting for news on Joe. She hoped it had a soaker tub, though. She really wanted a long hot bath. Maybe not the most appropriate thing to think about with Joe fighting for his life, but she couldn’t help him; his life was now in the doctors’ hands. She and Gabriel would rest—to the extent they could—and heal, then drive to Vegas in the morning. They ran the risk of running into Rian and Aiden once they reached the city, but like a puppy, Joe had endeared himself to her. She cared about what happened to him and wanted to be nearby when he came out of whatever surgery he needed.
Gabriel held out his hand, and she set her now-bandaged one in his as she rose. He indicated a golf cart left for them by the staff and, after saying goodbye to the first responders, he led her to the vehicle.
“Is it far?” she asked, her body both weary and buzzing with the post-adrenaline dump.
