Rundown (Curveball Book 2) (45 page)

“
I’m
sorry,” Dosdell exhales and it’s clear he means to take two lives
in one shot.

That’s
all the push I need.  I’m not losing Drew’s baby. 
Without a second thought, I steady my hand and pull the trigger.

With
my posture already unsteady, the kickback from the gun sends me
stumbling backwards into the stone wall.  In slow motion, I
watch as the bullet pierces Dosdell’s chest.  Shock is
plastered across his face as he falls first to his knees and then
collapses onto his stomach.  I tell myself to get out of here,
but I’m finding it difficult to move.  My entire body trembles
and the ringing in my ears is disorienting.

Using
the wall for leverage, I lower myself to the ground, resigned to
crawling to my escape, but even that’s a challenge.  Closing
my eyes, I will myself to keep going.

Muffled
stomping and shouting echoes throughout the warehouse.  I’m
unexpectedly pulled from the ground and I wonder if I’m dying
because I got it wrong and
I
was the one who was shot. 
But life’s not that cruel, not this time.  I open my eyes to
Drew clutching me against his chest.  Cradling me like an
infant, he buries his face in my hair and rocks me back and forth.

“
Damn
it, Breanne.  Thank God you’re all right.”

“
You
found me,” I say, my voice cracking.

“
I’ll
always find you.”

Drew
pulls back, pushing lose strands of hair out of my face.  “Are
you hurt?”

“
No.”
 I shake my head.  “I’m fine now that you’re here.”

Drew
drops his forehead to mine and takes several deep breaths.

“
What
the hell were you thinking?” he asks.

“
I
didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Drew
tightens his grip on me.  “Don’t you understand that nothing
could hurt me worse than losing you?  Never do anything like
that again.”

“
We’re
having a baby,” I blurt out.

“
I
heard,” he says with a smile.

“
I
had no idea if you were really listening.”

He
nods and moves one of his hands, splaying it across my stomach. 
“Every word.”

“
I’m
so sorry,” I mumble through my own cries.  “This isn’t how
I wanted you to find out.”

“
Shhh,
it’s ok.  You’re alive…both of you are.  That’s all
that matters.”

“
Can
we go home?”

In
the background I’m aware of Everett giving instructions over the
phone, but I can’t be bothered to look.  I don’t want to see
the bodies of Vivian and Dosdell. 

“
There’s
no place I’d rather be.” 

Drew
stands, keeping me nestled tightly in his arms and pivots away from
the wall.   He kisses my forehead, tells me he loves me and
then stops abruptly.  Before I can process his lack of movement,
he begins back peddling and his body tenses.  Confused, I snap
my neck around as Dosdell stumbles forward, pointing his gun directly
at us.

“
Nooo!”
Drew yells.

 
Dosdell
pulls the trigger as we’re falling, and I can’t be sure which
happened first.  Our bodies collide with the cement floor,
though Drew protected my head from making contact. 

Another
shot fires. 

Oh
God, please don’t let Drew be hurt
. 

Another
gunshot, then another. 

I
push out from under Drew’s body and scramble to my knees, hovering
over him.  He stirs beneath me enough to reveal a gash on his
forehead.  Frantically, I scan his body from head to toe and
find nothing else visibly wrong.  No entry wounds.  No
blood. 

It’s
too quiet and I’m scared to turn around, yet I do it anyway because
we need to call for help.  Once I look over my shoulder, I
immediately regret the decision. 

Blood. 

So
much blood. 

Gasping,
I crawl to Mark’s side.  My vision flips between the past and
the present, the morgue and the warehouse.  Just like two and
half years ago, the bullet struck his head.  Through some cruel
twist of fate, this time it’s real and the irony is too much.

“
Mark…Mark,”
my voice quivers. 

I
cup the side of his face and collapse onto him.  The world
around me stalls to an excruciating pace.  “No…no. 
Please no.” I scream. 

Strong
arms yank me away but I don’t want to go.  I reach out to
Mark, desperate to hold on to some piece of the man I once loved. 
Fisting his shirt, I beg for him to move. 

Something…anything…please.
 

I’m
unaware of anything else going on around me. I don’t know who has
me, or if I’m hurt.  Right now I don’t care.  Watching
until the distance makes it impossible to see Mark, I’m overcome
with grief. 

I’ve
lost him all over again.

Soft
caressing of my hand pulls me from my slumber.  I blink several
times, adjusting to the light from a nearby window.  I attempt
to speak but my throat burns, the sound coming out as nothing more
than a croak.  

“
You’re
awake.”

I
turn my stiff neck, coming face to face with the most delicious man. 
“Where am I?”

“
Mass
General.”

“
Why? 
What’s wrong with me?”  My palm flattens over my belly and I
whisper.  “The baby…”

“
Is
fine,” Drew finishes my sentence.  “You’re being treated
for dehydration and exhaustion.  Given everything that happened
last night they wanted to keep you for a few hours as a precaution.”

What
happened last night…

Shutting
my eyes, I relive the last image I can remember.

“
Mark.” 
My hand flies to cup my mouth.

“
Shhh,
don’t get all worked up.  He’s going to be fine.”

I
look at Drew in disbelief.  “Fine?”

“
He
came out of surgery about an hour ago.  He’s lucky.  The
bullet missed his brain but the doctor said he has a long road to
recovery.”

“
I
don’t understand.  There was so much blood.”

“
The
bullet struck his left eye…he’s permanently blind.”

“
Is
Dosdell—”

“
Dead,”
Drew interjects.  “Mark saved us, you know.  He dove
right in front of the bullet.  Between his shot and Everett’s,
they took him down.”

“
And
Everett?” I ask.

“
Right
here,” Everett responds, causing me to flinch.

“
Jeez,
I didn’t see you there.  Are you ok?”

Everett
laughs.  “I’m fine.”

“
Wait,
is Corinne still with the kids?” I start to panic.

“
Yes,
and Sarah.  My parents should be there in a few hours. 
Your dad’s on his way too.  Oh, and Corinne asked Everett to
give you a message.”

“
What’s
that?”

“
Enjoy
the next six months because after the little slugger’s born, she’s
kicking your ass for what you pulled.”

“
Just
sign here and you’re free to go,” the nurse says.  “Oh,
and here are the pictures from your ultrasound.”

Drew
snatches them from her before they even touch my hand.  “This
angle just doesn’t do him justice.”

“
He?”
I ask.

“
Real
men make boys,” he replies, like it’s a known fact. 
“Besides, do you see that?” he asks.

The
nurse and I lean in to get a better look at what he’s pointing at.

“
That’s
his Louisville slugger.  He clearly got my genes.”

“
Umm,
that’s not—”

I
place my hand on the nurse’s arm and shake my head. “Let him have
his moment.”

Drew’s
so happy.  I don’t want to burst his bubble by telling him
that the object in question is actually the umbilical cord, not the
baby’s penis.   

“
Have
it your way,” she says, fetching the wheelchair.  “In you
go.”

“
Is
this really necessary?” I whine.

“
Unless
you want me carrying you out of here,” Drew says. “Yes.” 

Annoyed,
I roll my eyes and do as I’m told. 

“
You
better get used to people taking care of you.  I doubt ‘muscles’
over here is going to let you walk on your own until his arms are
occupied by your baby.”

“
I’m
sure he’ll chain me down when he’s on the road,” I agree.

“
Oh,
that’s right.  Someone’s a big ball playa.”  The
nurse laughs.  “Between your schedule and all the doctors’
appointments, this pregnancy will fly by.  Keep your fingers
crossed you’re not on the road when her water breaks.”  

She
pats Drew’s arm and he doesn’t seem phased in the slightest. 
In fact, he kind of looks smug.  I open my mouth to ask what his
expression means, but I don’t get the chance.

“
I
should warn you…it’s a circus out there,” our nurse warns.

“
Do
the media know what happened?” I ask Drew.

“
Not
the whole story.  Apparently all hell broke loose when first
responders were dispatched to the scene.  Being that the vacant
warehouse could easily be seen from the Zakim bridge, there were tons
of postings on social media.  Once the news agencies got wind of
all the activity they flocked to the location.  Luckily, we’d
left by that point.”