Page 98 of Caleb
Aaron looks at me and makes a few signs with his hand, letting me know how he wants to approach this. We both have our guns out, and we’re already advancing at a slow, steady pace toward them. Red’s sobs flood the apartment. It seems like she’s having trouble breathing. She’s in a full panic, but I must pretend like it’s not her. Like it’s just a situation that needs to be resolved, or I won’t be able to handle this with a level head.
“Thomas, please!” she begs in between ragged pants. “He needs help! He’ll die if—”
“Take a step back!” Thomas shouts. “Both of you!”
The gun is shaking against Red’s forehead, and she shuts her eyes and clenches her teeth as if waiting for a bullet to go through her skull. She should’ve never had to experience that feeling. Not fucking ever.
“Lower your gun, Mr. Hill, and nobody will get hurt,” Aaron warns with a firm, grave voice. “More agents are on their way. This will end badly for you if you do not comply.”
“Comply?” Thomas shouts and presses his gun harder against her temple, making her let out a heartbreaking whimper. “I was kicked out of crew, suspended twice from Princeton, and you poisoned her against me! She can’t even look at me! I’ve losteverything!”
“I’m sorry,” Red says a few times between pants. I want to tell her to remain silent, but I can’t. Every word that is spoken right now needs to be carefully thought out. Precise. But I wish she would stop talking. There is nothing she can say at this point to calm Thomas down.
At least Aaron and I are managing to keep ourselves focused on the task at hand. We advance on them, taking another careful step, flanking them.
Red shuts her eyes again. It seems to me like she’s trying to calm herself down. To keep it together as much as she can. But she doesn’t seem to be able to do it. She can’t breathe. But I will have her safely in my arms any second now. I need to remove her from that sick bastard’s grasp.
“Breathe for me,” I tell her. Maybe listening to my voice, knowing I’m here and I’ll take care of this, will calm her down. I need her to know I will do everything necessary to ensure her safety. To ensure that she’ll come out of this physically unscathed.
“Don’t—talk to her,” Thomas says through his teeth.
“William’s going to be okay,” I say. I know she’s in a panic because of William. I know her. She’s not worried about herself. She’s going into a mental breakdown because the man she loves has been shot and is lying in a pool of his own blood right in front of her. And there’s nothing we can do yet to get the help he needs. “Everything’s going to be okay, Red. I got you.”
She finally looks at me, and I nod slowly.
That’s it.I got you.I always have.
“Let’s agree to disagree,” Thomas says, pulling the gun away from Red’s head and slightly pushing her to the side. Stupidly, he opens a space for me to have a clear shot at him without risking Red. And before any of us can blink, three shots are fired.
I’m on my knees, and it feels like someone punched my left shoulder. Was I shot? I don’t feel much other than … wait. My hand is drenched in blood after touching my shoulder. Fuck. Iwasshot. I lift my gaze, and Thomas is lying on the floor with a bullet in between his brows and another in his chest.
Red’s fine. She’s safe. She’s alive. She’s crying over William. All I can pray for is that he makes it out alive. It would kill her to lose him. And I know I’m going to be okay. I don’t really feel anything. Or maybe it’s just the adrenaline rush that’s keeping the pain at bay. I’m pretty sure the discomfort will kick in tomorrow. Or at least that’s what my friends back in the military who have been shot before have told me in the past.
But it’s over. It’s all over. Thomas is dead. Red is alive. We can move on from this. Her father is going to be pissed and then some. But we’ll deal with him. We kept her safe.
“Caleb!” Red’s kneeling in front of me, cupping my cheek. Her touch feels warm, and I can’t help but nuzzle against her hand.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I say, realizing that speaking came as a laborious effort. “I’ll be okay. It’s just my shoulder.” I smile at her, or at least I think I’m smiling at her. Why does it feel heavy even to attempt that?
A slight panic threatens to sink its claws into me, but I take a deep breath to calm down. The adrenaline must be coming off. But it hurts to breathe. My chest feels tight, but it’s just my shoulder. Why can’t I breathe? It’s anxiety.
I’ll be fine.
“He’s alive, but his pulse is weak,” Aaron says, checking on William’s vitals. Thank God. We need him to make it. Red won’t recover from this if he doesn’t. “The ambulance is on its way.” Thankfully, Aaron is in one piece. And he’s doing a great job reassuring Red when I can’t. I’ll make a mental note to thank him for this. “They’re both going to be okay, Miss Murphy.”
David’s here with backup. And now William and I are being carried down to the lobby. I should be able to walk on my own. It’s slightly unnerving that I’m being carried by these agents instead. Nothing makes sense. Everything’s a blur, and time is warping in front of me. It’s like I’m not being able to identify how long it’s taking for things to happen. I can’t wrap my mind around it.
The agents sit me down on the sidewalk against the apartment building. An ambulance arrived, but they’re carting William away, and I’m glad to see that. I shut my eyes and just wait for my turn. I can hear Red shouting how she wants to ride in the ambulance with him, but I can already hear the sirens fading away. They didn’t let her. It annoys me that she wasn’t allowed to.
“Where’s the other ambulance?!” she shouts next. Her voice sounds so disturbed, and I wish I could tell her something that would calm her down, but I can’t even open my eyes right now. “Caleb needs an ambulance too!”
I hiss. When I open my eyes, I find David applying pressure to my wound. “To stop the bleeding,” he says. He’s a doctor. Remembering this simple piece of information gives me an unexpected sense of hope.
By the time I become aware of a second siren, I’m already strapped down on a stretcher and being carted into an ambulance. Again, time is funny because somehow, I have an oxygen mask now, and Red’s holding my hand inside the ambulance as it rushes away. At least they let her ride in it this time.
I’m trying to focus on Red’s face, but it’s becoming harder for me to do so. It must be the movement of the ambulance. I just feel so sleepy. My eyes feel heavy. Maybe I should allow myself to drift off, and with time behaving weirdly, I might just open my eyes later, and it will all be over.
“Red,” I breathe her name. And I can sense how she’s staring down at me even if I can’t see her correctly. I want to tell her I’m going to be okay. That I’m glad she’s okay. That I love her. That I always have and always will, but I can’t say that. Am I still breathing? I can’t tell anymore.
