Traffic Stop (26 page)

With a look of pure rage falling over his features, Victor stalked back over and grabbed Ryan with both hands. Shaking her and the chair, he yelled, “Shut up. Just shut up,” through gritted teeth as he slammed her back down with such force that the chair teetered before settling.

“Let me guess; you tried to save him like you tried to save your father?” Ryan replied, breathing heavily.

Tobi stared wide-eyed at Ryan. She couldn’t believe Ryan was purposefully provoking him.

“You just wanna die, don’t you, bitch?” Nostrils flaring, he continued, “Keep it up, and I’ll kill her before I ever get to you,”

he said, pointing in Tobi’s direction.

Giving Ryan a look that said, “Please, be quiet,” Tobi saw a small grin turn up the corner of her mouth. Puzzled, Tobi shook her head at Ryan, silently begging for her not to make him any angrier. Tobi raised an eyebrow at Ryan and concentrated on what she was trying to tell her.

Jake turned down each street, keeping his eyes peeled. They had been searching the remote area for almost an hour now and had yet to come up with anything.

“They have got to be here somewhere,” he mumbled to himself.

He reached for the microphone and asked the captain if he had found anything yet.

“Nothing yet, but they should have that address for us real soon.”

“What’s taking so damned long?”

“They had to get the records again, Smith. Then, they need to cross-reference the name again to find what Thomas found.”

“Figures. She always was smarter than all of us put together.”

“That she is…we’ll find her.”

“I know. I just hope we’re not too late.” He ended the conversation and picked up his cell to call Grace.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Grace. I just wanted to touch base. We’re in the area of transmission, but we haven’t found anything yet.”

Jake heard her deep sigh and knew she was feeling as nervous as the rest of them. Ryan was her only daughter, and the bond they shared was amazing. Grace was not only Ryan’s mother, she was also her friend, and she’d fight tooth and nail with the rest of them until Ryan was found.

“We’ll find them, Grace. That’s a promise I will keep.”

“Be careful, Jake. Tim would like to talk to you.”

After some rustling, he heard Tim’s strong voice. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Not too good. I can’t find a damn thing out here in the dark.

Honestly, we could be missing a lot of things, but we’re doing everything we can.”

“That’s all you can do, honey.”

“I know. How’s she holding up, Tim?”

“She’s doing remarkably well. I admire her strength and courage. I’m not sure I’d be doing as well as she has been.”

“If there’s one thing I know about Grace, it’s that she’s a fighter. You’ll never meet another woman with as much tenacity.”

“I agree completely,” Tim said, hesitating before continuing.

“I love you, Jake. Please be careful.”

“Love you, too. I’ll call when I know something.”

Jake had no more than hung up when his radio crackled.

Grasping the microphone, he responded, “This is Charlie Nine, go ahead.”

“Charlie Nine, we have that address you were holding for, over.”

“Go ahead, Dispatch, over.”

Writing down the address, Jake replied, “Copy, over.”

“Captain?”

“What have you got, Smith?”

After giving him the address, Jake turned the car around and sped in that direction. He rounded the corner and pulled up next to the unmarked police vehicles before hopping out and running over to where the other officers were standing.

“Listen up,” the captain said. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

The captain explained the procedure twice. “Does anyone have any questions?” Waiting for a few seconds, he continued,

“Nobody moves or fires unless I give the word, understand?”

With a round of “yes, sirs,” the men spread out and surrounded the house. Just as Jake was getting ready to peer through a window, he heard a gunshot ring out.

Giving the order, the captain shouted, “Go!”

Over the pounding in her head and face, Ryan could see that Victor was getting extremely pissed off and unpredictable. He was pacing back and forth, casting furtive glances at her and Tobi, and his hands kept tightening around the gun. She hoped that if she kept him off balance, she would get him confused enough for Tobi to make a move. At first, she wasn’t sure if Tobi had understood what she was doing, but before long, Tobi also was making comments to him.

“So, are you saying that you tried to save your brother but not your father?” Tobi asked.

Swinging back toward Tobi, he stomped over and got in her face. He had one foot on the floor and the other resting on the couch, straddling her hips as he leaned into her. “Shut your fuckin’ mouth, bitch.” He stared at her for a long time before moving away. “What is the matter with you two? Are you wantin’

me to just shoot you sooner than I had planned?”

With his back briefly turned to them, Ryan looked at Tobi and nodded her head. Ryan knew that Tobi understood as she nodded in reply and grinned.
Yes! This could work, just play it cool, Ryan,
and you both might get out of here alive.
With any luck, she’d find an opening and could act upon it. Ryan just hoped that it didn’t get them both killed in the process. Even though that’s what he had in mind, they would die trying to fight back instead of letting him just do what he wanted.

“So, how exactly did you kill your brother, Victor?”

As his control snapped, he turned toward Ryan with his back to Tobi. Raising his gun, he said, “I’ve had it with you, bitch.

Your time is up.”

Eyes wide, Ryan watched as everything happened in slow motion. Upon hearing his words, Tobi jumped up, yelling, “No!”

Tobi wrapped her arms around his and yanked down, and he pulled the trigger. Ryan felt a white hot searing pain pierce her left side just before the chair tipped and fell sideways. Moments after the gun went off, there was yelling, and Ryan could hear wood splintering. She looked up from the floor and saw Victor turn the gun on Tobi. Just as he tried to pull the trigger again, several bullets ripped through his body and threw him against the wall. As he slid down, his blood smeared the wall. He slumped to the side and stared at Ryan as his ominous dark eyes lost all signs of life.

The bonds holding Ryan to the chair were released, and she fell to the floor in a heap. Groaning, she closed her eyes to the intense pain wracking her body. Ryan knew he had shot her, but didn’t know how bad the wound was. She felt her body being lifted slightly and opened her eyes to see Tobi cradling her in her arms and Jake standing beside her.

“Get an ambulance now!”

Tobi heard none of the commotion going on around her as she stared down into her lover’s eyes. The pain coursing through Ryan dulled her normally bright eyes.

“Just hang in there, honey. Help is on the way,” Tobi said as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She held Ryan tenderly while trying to hide the panic and fear threatening to shatter what was left of her already crumbling composure.

Ryan reached up then moaned before dropping her arm to her side again. “I love you, Tobi.”

“I love you, too, baby.”
Please, not now, not when I just found
you!

Ryan closed her eyes and tried to fight the lethargy that crept into her.

“Ryan, hang in there, kiddo. The ambulance is almost here,”

Jake said. Ryan could hear the fear in his voice and knew that things were worse than either was admitting. Looking at them both again, she smiled. Tobi was alive, and that’s what was important.

“Jake,” Ryan whispered. He leaned closer to her ear and she continued, “Thanks for being a friend when I needed one so badly.

I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“Stop talking like that, Ryan. You know we love you, and I’m going to remind you of it when this is all over.”

As the burning in her side seemed to subside, she felt fatigued and very cold. Ryan couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer and let them close. She felt Tobi shift and cradle her closer.

“Ryan, you’re going to be okay. I need you. Please open your eyes, honey,” she desperately begged.

Forcing her eyes open again, Ryan looked into hers. “Tobi…”

“I’m right here, baby,” Tobi said while rocking her gently.

“Tobi,” Ryan rasped, “I don’t even know your middle name.”

Letting her eyes close one last time, Ryan could feel Tobi squeezing her tighter. She heard Tobi screaming, but the only word that seemed to make sense was “no,” then nothing made sense at all. Her body completely relaxed, and Ryan felt as if she were floating.

obi felt Ryan’s body relax in her arms and knew that the life was seeping out of her. Frantically she ripped T her jacket off and pressed it against Ryan’s side, but the wound was still bleeding profusely, and the injuries to her head were making her condition even worse. The heavy ache invading Tobi’s heart was more than she could bear.

“Ryan! Don’t you leave me, baby. Don’t you die on me!”

As Jake leaned down to take Ryan out of her arms, Tobi’s body reacted of its own accord. She swung her arms at him and screamed, “No!” over and over.

She sobbed, frantically pleading with Jake not to take Ryan from her. “Please, I can’t lose her, Jake.”

Jake squatted down in front of Tobi and took hold of her arms.

“Tobi, honey, the paramedics are here. You need to step out of the way so they can do their job.”

Tobi put a hand to her mouth and nodded her head in acknowledgment. She moved back and stood up so the medical team could take over. Tobi watched as they ripped Ryan’s shirt open, and she gasped at the wound in Ryan’s side. She felt her knees go weak and would have fallen if not for Jake’s arms around her. While one paramedic put compresses over Ryan’s side, the other checked her vitals.

“She’s got a weak pulse; she doesn’t appear to be breathing on her own.”

The paramedic started rescue breathing for her as the other put layers of gauze against Ryan’s head and wrapped it to stop the flow of blood. He then positioned her head to put a mask over her face to continue forcing air into her lungs. Ryan never moved the entire time this was going on, including when the IVs were started in her arms. The paramedics hooked her up to the monitors, moved her onto a backboard, and lifted her to the gurney.

Following them out, Tobi glanced at Victor and saw one paramedic shake his head at another as he covered the body with a sheet.

They wouldn’t allow Tobi to ride in the ambulance with them to the hospital. Ryan’s condition was critical and they needed all the room they had to try and stabilize her on the way to the hospital. Jake promised to follow right behind them. Sirens blaring, they pulled away from the scene.

“We need to call Grace, so she can meet us there,” Tobi said emotionless.

“Do you want me to do it?”

Reaching for the phone, Tobi responded, “No, I’ll call her, but thanks.” She dialed the number and listened to each ring before Grace finally answered.

“Grace?”

“Tobi? Is that you, honey?”

“It’s me. I’m okay.”

“Oh, thank God! How about Ryan?”

Tobi hesitated, not realizing this would be so hard.

“She…she’s,” she faltered, fighting back the tears, and Jake took the phone from her shaking fingers.

“Grace?”

“Jake,” Grace said with a catch in her voice, “is my baby dead?”

“No, no, she’s alive, but she was shot. They’re taking her to Truman University Medical Center. We should be there in about ten minutes.”

“I’m on the way, Jake.”

“Okay, can I speak to Tim real quick?”

Without an answer, the next thing Jake heard was Tim’s voice. “Hi, I’m assuming from what I heard on Grace’s end that Ryan’s hurt.”

“She was shot, Tim, and it’s pretty serious. Don’t let Grace drive, please.”

“I won’t. I’ll call Patrick, Morgan, and Lauren. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Be careful.”

Handing the phone back, Jake grasped Tobi’s hand and squeezed. “She’s going to be okay, Tobi. She’s a strong person.”

“She has to be,” she murmured quietly.

Tobi glanced out the car window, not noticing the scenery going by; instead, her mind kept replaying the events of the last hour. Was there something she could have done differently to prevent Ryan’s injury? Would Grace forgive her for putting her daughter in the middle of this whole fiasco? Would she be able to forgive herself?

Jake pulled into the emergency drive and had barely parked before Tobi jumped out. She rushed through the doors and followed as they wheeled Ryan into one of the trauma rooms. Tobi listened while they evaluated Ryan until a nurse approached her.

“Dr. Drexler, I know you want to be here, but I have to ask you to step out while they assess her status. I’m sorry.”

“Please…”

“Let them help her, Tobi,” she pleaded.

With a short nod of understanding, Tobi opened the door and, with one last look, walked out and into the waiting room. Jake stood up as she approached and encircled her in his arms.

“How are you doing?”

“I don’t know, Jake. I—,” Tobi faltered momentarily. “I feel like the best part of me is lying in that room and there isn’t a damned thing I can do to help.”

“I know, sweetie, I know.”

Tobi burrowed into the warmth Jake’s arms provided, failing to notice someone else approaching until she felt a hand at her back. Tobi looked up into the face of the one person she wasn’t prepared to see.

As her eyes teared up, Tobi whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, baby,” Grace said, wrapping her arms around Tobi.

Tobi held on tightly to Grace and was unable to control the tears that flowed freely down her face.

Whispering in Tobi’s ear, Grace assured her, “It’s going to be all right. Ryan’s a fighter, and she’s got something to fight for standing right here.”

With a tremulous smile, Tobi replied, “Thank you.”

Time passed slowly as they waited for word about Ryan’s condition. Finally, Tom Asher came through the emergency room doors and approached Grace and Tobi.