Page 82 of Serve and Protect
My gut knots as I imagine her tied to a bed.My God, if he touched her!“Jennie, did he—”
“No,” she says emphatically. “He didn’t.” She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Jennie.” I slip into my cop interrogation voice.
“No, really. Other than tying me up, he didn’t hurt me.”
I scrub my left hand down my face. “Please tell me he’s no longer a threat.” Ricky had his instructions.
“He’s dead, Chris. Ricky shot David right after David shot you.”
I nod, satisfied.
“You don’t seem surprised,” she adds.
“I’m not. He was a threat to your life as well as to others. There were a lot of civilians there at the scene. He needed to be neutralized.”
Jennie moves to sit on the side of my bed and reaches for my left hand, cradling it in hers. “You risked your life for me.” Tears spring into her eyes. “You could have been killed.”
“I had body armor on. I calculated the odds he’d manage to hit my head or a major artery, and decided they were in my favor. Braggart’s not a good shot. He was lucky he managed to hit my shoulder instead of my vest. I determined it was a risk worth taking because, at that moment, he was holding a handgun to yourhead.And that was unacceptable.”
She leans closer, cupping the side of my face. “You saved me.”
I swallow hard. “I couldn’t let him hurt you.”
She presses her soft lips to mine, and it’s like being kissed by an angel. “Chris, I—”
There’s a knock on my door. “Is this a good time?”
No, it’s a terrible time!But I can’t say that because it’s Micah. “Sure, man. Come on in.”
Micah walks into the room, right up to my bed, and offers a fist bump to my left hand. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ll be right as rain in a few days. I’m just sore.”
Micah nods. “Sure. But no more heroics, okay?” He glances at Jennie, understanding written all over his face. “I don’t think Jennie can take it.”
“I had everything under control. Ricky and I worked it out. The plan was, I would draw Braggart’s attention, and once his gun was pointed at me and not at Jennie, Ricky would take his shot. Ricky’s a damn fine shot. I knew he could take out Braggart without hurting Jennie, or I never would have suggested it.”
Micah grips Jennie’s shoulders. “Thanks for taking care of our girl.”
“So, how did you guys get me out of there?” I ask. “When I woke up, I was here in the hospital.”
Micah grins. “Killian and I drove you back to the main house on an ATV. That’s where the chopper picked you up to bring you here.”
“Three of us on an ATV? That must have been a tight squeeze. We’re lucky we didn’t topple over.”
“It was tricky going,” he says, “especially with you being out cold. Killian did some pretty fancy driving. I had the easy job—to hold onto you and keep you, and myself, from falling off.”
A hospital employee pushes a cart into my room. “How are you feeling?” she asks. “Would you like some ice water and maybe some gelatin?”
“That depends. Is it strawberry?”
The nurse glances at the small container. “Actually, you’re in luck. It is.”
Micah raises the head of my bed so I’m sitting up. Jennie holds the giant tumbler of iced water so I can take a sip. I wince when I swallow. “Man, that hurts.”
“That’s from the intubation during surgery. The discomfort should ease up soon.”
