Page 52 of Tucker
Walking.
Alive.
She’salive.
Hereyes find me and she breaks down sobbing. “Tucker.”
Myname leaves her lips as I scoop her into my arms. “Are you hurt?” I ask,frantically checking her over. “You’re bleeding.” I rub my hands over everyinch of her looking for a wound.
“I’mokay. It’s not my blood. Frannie,” she chokes, pointing to the stretcher.
Iturn just in time to see Jeremy jump into the ambulance with Frannie. “Jeremy!What hospital?” I yell.
“Midtown!”he calls back. They shut the door and the ambulance speeds off.
“Sir,”the paramedic steps in front of me. “We need to examine her and get her to thehospital to get checked out.”
“I’mtaking her,” I insist. I pick her up and she rests her head on my shoulder.“You can tell them we’re coming.”
Dareand Ayda rush up and they both hug Leah. “You scared the shit out of me,” Daretells her, and she nods, unable to get any words out. Everyone is crying. I’venever seen so many people crying. “Let’s get to the hospital,” Dare says.
Ilook to see that Landon and Justus have opted to do the same with Zoe andSadie. The responders have enough seriously injured people to deal with toworry about who takes the others. One of the detectives stops me for a secondand warns us not to leave the hospital. They’ll be questioning everyone thereto try to piece together the events.
Iput Leah in the car and she curls up in the seat, quiet as we head for thehospital. “Sweetheart, are you okay?” I ask, laying my hand on her leg.
“I-yeah.They just…we didn’t have time to get out. It happened so fast. And Frannie.Frannie…”
“Iknow. Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe now.”
“Somany dead, Tucker. There has to be. They kept…pulling them out, shooting themright in the head.”
“Shh.Stop. Try to think about anything else for a moment.” She’s babbling and I’mworried she’s going to break down completely. It’s going to happen eventually,once the adrenaline wears off and she truly understands what she’s been through.I just want to be able to hold her when she does.
Thehospital is a madhouse when we get there, but as soon as we tell them we’refrom the mall shooting, we’re rushed to a room upstairs. There are four gurneysseparated by curtains. Sadie, Ayda, and Zoe are seated on three of them asnurses take their vitals.
“Zoe!”Leah calls as she’s led to the fourth gurney. “Do you know how Frannie is?”
Zoe’sglassy eyes tell me they’ve given her something to calm her down. “They saidthey’re taking her to surgery upstairs. Jeremy is with her.”
“God,I’m so glad to see you two,” Ayda cries.
“Wewere so worried about you,” Sadie adds.
“Wewere in an elevator,” Leah replies.
Sadienods. “We were lucky. The department store manager heard the first shots andpulled us into a little office. It had a small door that locked and they justnever looked there.”
Atthis point the nurses are getting frustrated because it’s hard to do their jobwhen they’re all trying to talk to each other. One by one, they move them allto private rooms to see a doctor.
Darelooks torn. His sister and his wife are here and he can’t be two places atonce. “Dare, I’ve got her,” I assure him. “I’ll stay with her.”
“I’mokay. Go with Ayda,” she agrees and he reluctantly stays behind as Leah is movedto a private room.
Overthe next few hours, she’s examined and released, along with Zoe, Sadie, andAyda. Agents question them for a few minutes, then promise to be in touch.There’s not much information they’ll need from them. All three shooters werekilled and everything has been caught on the mall’s video cameras.
Leahis exhausted. She lays her head on my shoulder as we sit in a waiting room.Nobody wants to leave before we hear that Frannie will be okay.
Afamiliar red headed guy appears in the doorway and Leah gets to her feet.“Quinn!”
