Where Angels Tread (28 page)

“‘Bout six months. Born and raised in California, though. Lived in Georgia for a while, but I missed it here. Eventually I’d like to make my way out to the coast, see the ocean again. It’s been a while.”

Shane nodded, keeping his eyes fixated on Sam’s hands as he deftly whittled the stick. The man wore a heavy overcoat with plenty of deep pockets; Shane couldn’t be certain that a more powerful weapon wasn’t concealed inside one of them. “What’s that I heard earlier about you having some important business to take care of today?”

Sam smiled, an eerie smile that made the hairs on the back of Shane’s neck stand on end. “That’s right. I got a job to do.” He ran the tip of his knife along his thumb until a thin red line appeared, then brought his thumb to his lips and licked it clean.

This is it, Shane thought, his heart pounding wildly. When Sam turned his head in the other direction, Shane reached into his backpack and quickly switched on the tape recorder still hidden inside. “Need any help?” he asked. “I could use something to do, myself. Happy to lend a hand if I can.”

Sam’s smile widened until it curled at the edges into a sneer. “Depends.”

Shane leaned forward, pushing his backpack in front of him with his foot. He didn’t want to miss a word of what Sam was about to say. “On what?” he breathed.

Sam bared his teeth, which were yellow and mossy; Shane recoiled slightly. “Have you ever killed a man?” Sam asked, now running the blade of his knife along the top of his shoe. “It takes guts. Not everyone can do it. But the feeling afterward? It’s like the best kind of high. Watching the color drain from someone’s face as he takes his last breath.” He licked his lips hungrily as Shane watched, transfixed.

“You’re not one of us,” he said suddenly, and Shane felt his pulse quicken. “These other men? You might have them fooled.” Sam laughed and shook his head. “But not me. I know who you are. Or should I say what? A spineless pig.” He laughed again, sending a prickle of chills down Shane’s spine. Shane’s fingers inched toward his gun; his senses were heightened. At any moment, he knew, this man could attack. He had proven on more than one occasion that he was a cold-blooded killer.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Shane said, working to keep his voice neutral. “Who do you think I am?”

Sam spat on the ground and peered up at Shane. “Could be wrong,” he grunted. “My apologies if I am. My name’s been in every paper in the state for weeks now. Makes a man paranoid, you know.”

Shane nodded. “I understand.” His hand relaxed, and it drifted once more to his backpack.

“Thing is,” Sam continued, “I recognize you. Seen you ‘round town quite a bit. Used to have a pretty little lady friend with you. Wouldn’t mind getting my hands around her neck.”

The blood rushed into Shane’s ears as he grabbed his gun and aimed it at Sam, who, at the exact same moment, pulled a rifle from the inside of his overcoat. For one heart-stopping second, the two men stared each other in the eyes, frozen, their fingers over the triggers.

Shane fired the gun once, twice, three times. Through the roar of the gunfire, he heard the other people in the camp screaming and stampeding around, trying desperately to escape the hail of bullets. A searing pain, stronger than anything he had ever experienced, tore through Shane’s chest. There was another explosion of agony in his leg, and then his hip.

As he fell backwards onto the ground, the pain blurring the edges of his hazy mind, he reached out an arm and grasped at the air above him. “Heidi,” he whispered. “Heidi. It’s over.” A slow smile crept across his face. Then, darkness.

Heidi’s first thought upon seeing Buddy arguing with the nurse at the emergency room reception desk as she made her way to her car was that he had come to update her on Shane. “It’s okay,” Heidi called to Corrine, the nurse on duty. “He’s here to see me.” She hurried over to the desk and pulled Buddy to the side. Only when he turned to face her did she notice that his eyes were bloodshot from crying.

“Oh God,” she whispered as he slumped against the wall and struggled to control himself. He sank to the ground and dropped his head in his hands, then let out a noise like a wounded animal. From the corner of her eye, Heidi noticed for the first time a small cluster of police officers standing near the entrance, looking grave.

Heidi dropped to her knees beside Buddy and shook him roughly on the arm; he raised his head slightly and peered at her through tearstained eyes. “Tell me what happened.” She was surprised at the cold calmness of her voice, when inside she felt like she was spiraling out of control, down a dark and deep hole into the abyss. “Where’s Shane?”

Buddy raised his hand and pointed a shaking finger toward the area just beyond the emergency room doors. Heidi jumped to her feet and craned her neck, trying to see over the flurry of nurses and doctors hovering over what appeared to be two identical stretchers. Pressing her hand against her stomach to ward off the waves of nausea passing through her, Heidi stumbled over to the doors and pushed through them. “Out of my way,” she said roughly, forcing her way into the crowd, which pressed together more tightly. “Move!” she screamed as loud as she could, trying her best to barrel her way to the front. Several of the nurses turned to look at her in surprise.

Josie disentangled herself from the crowd and grabbed Heidi by the arm, then steered her away and into an empty examining room out of sight from the stretchers. “Stay away,” she ordered, struggling to hold onto Heidi as she fought tooth and nail to escape Josie’s clutches. “Please, Heidi, you have to let us do our jobs.”

“Shane!” Heidi screamed, tearing her arm away from Josie’s grip and running back down the hallway. The crowd around the stretchers had thinned; Dr. Conway was now standing in front of them, waving his clipboard and barking orders at the top of his lungs. When he saw Heidi sprinting toward him, he caught her around the waist with one arm and pushed her out the doors and into the waiting area.

“Watch her,” he warned Corinne, who nodded and grabbed Heidi by the wrist. “Don’t let her anywhere near here. Call Dr. Francis from the operating room and tell him that we need him down here now. We don’t have an extra second to spare.” He turned to Heidi, whose face had now drained of all color, and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “I understand that this is a friend of yours. I promise I’ll do everything I can for him.” The pager attached to the waistband of his scrubs buzzed, and he sprinted back through the emergency room doors.

“I’m sorry,” Corinne said to Heidi, blocking the doors as she attempted to follow. Corinne’s eyes were filled with tears. “You heard what Dr. Conway said.” She directed Heidi to a chair, then hovered over her nervously, chewing her lip and glancing every few seconds toward the doors.

“Don’t worry,” Heidi said tonelessly, slouching down in her chair. “I’m not going in there.” She knew that it was no use; the best thing she could do for Shane was to let Dr. Conway and her fellow nurses work their magic. Corinne offered her a pained smile and returned to her post at the emergency room desk, where a small line of patients had formed in her absence. When Corinne’s attention was directed at a man whose son had a jelly bean stuck up his nose, Heidi stood up and crossed the room to where Buddy was sitting alone.

She had barely opened her mouth to speak when they were suddenly surrounded by a large group of people, all trying to talk over one another. Heidi closed her mouth and looked around in bewilderment. A small dark-haired woman whose eyes were red-rimmed was gesturing wildly at Buddy; Heidi could see that she was being practically held up by a red-faced man with blond hair that was graying at the temples. Behind them stood three women, all with identical expressions of shock on their faces, and a tall man Heidi quickly recognized as Cody, Shane’s younger brother. In the corner of the room, crying and talking on her cell phone, was Jaime. As Heidi watched, she closed her phone with a snap and joined the rest of her family, who were now demanding answers from Buddy.

“I don’t know,” Heidi heard him say again and again. “We just don’t know anything yet.”

Heidi hovered at the edge of the grief-stricken group, feeling distinctly uncomfortable despite her own terror over Shane. She felt like an intruder, an unwelcome witness to their anguish as they clamored to know what had happened to their beloved family member. She began backing away slowly before anyone could recognize her.

“Heidi!” a voice called, and, cringing, she swung around to find Jaime motioning frantically to her. At the sound of her name, the rest of the family turned around and eyed her with interest. Heidi had no choice but to step forward and join them.

The small, dark-haired woman peered at Heidi intently; her eyes, so unlike Shane’s, were as black as coal. Despite her obvious despair, the woman smiled wanly at Heidi and extended her arms for a hug; after the slightest of hesitations, Heidi wrapped her arms around her. “I’m Michelle, Shane’s mother,” she whispered. “We’ve heard so much about you. I only wish we didn’t have to meet under these circumstances.” One by one, the three sisters stepped forward and introduced themselves, followed by Robert, the family patriarch. Far from being angry at Heidi for breaking Shane’s heart, they seemed grateful for her presence.

“Tell us what you know,” Robert said to Buddy, drawing his wife to his side; Michelle rested her head on her husband’s broad shoulder.

Buddy drew in a shaky breath. “When we couldn’t get in touch with Shane, we suspected he went out to the homeless camp. We found his car almost completely hidden in a clump of trees, but saw no signs of any struggle. We had a pretty good idea that he decided to walk up to the camp to see if Shephard was there.” Michelle gasped and covered her mouth with her hands; Robert tightened his grip around her waist.

Buddy nodded grimly. “It took us a good while to trek up there. On the way up the hill, we heard…” He stopped and pinched his eyes closed. “We heard gunshots. Seven or eight of them.” Heidi swayed on the spot; Cody reached out a hand to steady her. “By the time we got up there, it was too late. It looked like Shane and Shephard got into a gun battle. Both were down. We called for reinforcements, then followed the ambulance to the hospital.” He pounded his fist against the wall. “That’s it. They won’t tell us a damn thing.”

“Thank you,” Michelle said, stepping forward and circling her arms around Buddy, whose shoulders were heaving with emotion. “Thank you for risking your life to save our son.”

“He would have done the same for me,” Buddy said gruffly, wiping his eyes with the cuffs of his uniform. He turned to Heidi. “Is there anything you can find out?”

Heidi shook her head frantically. “No one will let me inside the emergency room, so I know as much as you do. Less, actually.” She wound a trembling finger around a loose strand of hair; try as she might, she was unable to shake the image of Shane lying prone and bleeding on the hard ground. Suppressing an urge to run back through the emergency room doors, she contented herself instead with pacing in circles around the waiting area. Before long, Shane’s sister Lacey joined her.

“I’m scared,” she said, peering at Heidi behind wide eyes. She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulders and gripped Heidi’s arm; she was so tiny that Heidi could look right over her head. “What if he doesn’t make it?”

Heidi shook her head violently. “Don’t even say that. Shane’s a fighter. If anyone can make it through this, it’s him.”

Lacey nodded. “I guess you’re right. Luckily I’ve been staying with my parents for the last few days. If I had to drive up from Los Angeles, I would have been a basket case.” She offered Heidi a shaky smile. “I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to meet before now. I know you never had an opportunity to get to know the family before…” Lacey’s voice trailed off, and Heidi looked away, tears in her eyes. She knew what the end of Lacey’s sentence would be, and she didn’t want to hear it. Heidi’s mind was spinning with all of the things she never had a chance to say to Shane. What if now she never could?

Lacey shrugged. “Anyways, I’m glad you’re here now. I know that Shane would really appreciate it.”

Heidi opened her mouth to respond, but closed it again, unable to find the right words. Lacey rejoined her family, leaving Heidi with the opportunity to sneak away from the group unseen. What she needed right now was time to grieve in private.

Skirting around the group of police officers still standing in the corner, she made her way outside. Heidi glanced around to make sure that no one was watching; in the hustle and bustle of the emergency room parking lot, she was thankful to be practically invisible. The afternoon sun, now high in the sky, beat down on the top of Heidi’s head; she turned her face upward to let it warm her face and allowed, finally, the tears to stream freely down her cheeks. “Please,” she whispered into the sky. “John, or whoever else is listening. I need him to be okay.”

“Heidi?” Cody’s head appeared around the corner, and she hastened to wipe her eyes. “The doctor is coming out to talk to us in a couple of minutes.”

“Be right there,” she said, then turned her face once more to the sky. “Promise me. Just promise me that he’ll be okay.”