Chapter 8 - BLOOD AND RAIN
The gunshot sounded dull beneath the roaring thwip-thwip-thwip of the helicopter blades, a sharp crack swallowed instantly by the storm.
Time seemed to fracture into agonizingly slow shards.
I saw the muzzle flash bloom like a twisted yellow flower in the rain. I braced myself for the impact, closing my eyes, ready to pay the final price for loving a monster.
But the impact never came.
Instead, a force slammed into my side, shoving me violently to the wet concrete. My surgical incision tore open completely, and a scream of raw, animalistic agony ripped from my throat.
I hit the ground hard, gasping for air, the rain pounding against my face.
“NO!” Maya shrieked.
I forced my eyes open, blinking through the blood and rainwater stinging my vision.
Leo was lying on the concrete next to me.
He had jumped in front of the bullet.
“Leo!” I screamed, my voice tearing. I scrambled across the slick pavement, ignoring the warm blood pooling beneath my own hospital gown.
I grabbed his shoulders. His eyes were wide with shock, staring up at the stormy sky.
Before I could find the wound, the rooftop erupted into chaos.
Crack-crack-crack!
The FBI snipers on the helicopter didn’t hesitate. Three rapid shots rang out. Richard’s body jerked violently as the bullets impacted his chest and shoulder. The assault rifle clattered to the ground. Richard dropped to his knees, a look of profound, stupid shock on his face, before collapsing face-first into the puddles of the helipad.
I didn’t care about Richard. I didn’t care if he was dead or alive.
“Leo, look at me. Look at Mom!” I sobbed, frantically running my hands over his soaked school uniform jacket.
Maya dropped to her knees beside us, pressing her hands against Leo’s chest. “Where is he hit? Where is it?”
I tore open his jacket.
There, resting directly over his heart, was the vintage silver pocket watch I had given him in the stairwell.
The heavy silver casing was completely shattered. The face of the watch was caved in, the delicate gears and springs twisted into a jagged mess of metal. Embedded deep within the crushed silver, stopped entirely by the thick antique casing, was a 9mm bullet.
The bullet had struck the watch perfectly center. The kinetic force had bruised his ribs, knocking the wind out of him, but the metal hadn't pierced his skin.
Leo gasped, a huge, rattling breath filling his lungs. He blinked, focusing on my face.
“Mom?” he choked out, wincing in pain.
“I’m here,” I sobbed, collapsing against his chest, clutching him so tightly I thought I might break him. “I’m here, baby. You’re safe.”
Heavy boots hit the pavement as the FBI agents swarmed the roof. Medics rushed out of the stairwell, carrying trauma kits and backboards.
“We need pressure on this wound!” a medic shouted, dropping beside me and pressing thick gauze against my torn abdomen.
I looked up. Through the driving rain, I saw agents rolling Richard over. He was still breathing, coughing up blood, his expensive suit ruined. An agent forcefully clicked a pair of heavy steel handcuffs over his wrists, reading him his rights as they loaded him onto a stretcher.
He locked eyes with me one last time as they wheeled him away. The cold, calculating monster was gone. All that remained was a pathetic, broken man facing the rest of his life in a federal supermax prison.
“You did it, Claire,” Maya whispered, crying as the medics helped her to her feet. “It’s over.”
As they lifted me onto a gurney, I looked at the shattered silver watch in Leo’s hand.
Answer one: Richard had tried to destroy us to save himself.
May you like
Open two: What happens when the storm finally clears, and you have to rebuild a life from the wreckage?
I reached out and took Leo’s hand as they wheeled us back into the hospital. I didn’t know how long it would take to heal. But as I felt the warmth of his fingers holding onto mine, I knew exactly who my family was.
