Still Into You: A Novel (Better Than Series Book 3) (13 page)

Chapter 18-Present:  Davis Is Home, Part 2

The front door slams open so loudly it sounds like it’s been bashed in.  I throw my head up from the cushion of the couch and see Donovan Garrett, only feet away, directly in front of me, gun drawn and pointed at Randall.

“Freeze!” he yells.  Donovan begins to slowly move forward, “Randall Ireland, you are under arrest.  Drop your weapon and move away from Ms. Brandon…”

I no longer feel the gun barrel on my back and then I hear shots.  I can’t keep track of how many.  I ducked my head with the first one, but now they’ve stopped and I look up.  Donnie Garrett is on the floor leaning against the table in the foyer.  There is blood covering his left shoulder, but his gun is still up and pointed over my head.  I hear unintelligible screaming and see a gun next to the sofa.  I reach down and grab it.  It’s the gun Randall had. 

In a weakened yell, Donnie says, “Biz! Get up! Behind you!”  I scramble to my feet and spin around in the direction Donnie’s gun is pointed.  Without thinking, I bring the gun I am holding up and point it in the same direction.  Before me is Randall, screaming, holding his right hand with his left.  Blood is pouring down his arm.  He lunges toward me.  I move to the side, he falls and now it is Randall over the arm of the sofa.

I don’t know what overtakes me, but I’m suddenly not scared.  No, I am FILLED with rage.  The roles are now reversed and I stick the gun barrel down onto Randall’s neck. I growl at him, “I should kill – ”

Davis’ voice stops me. “Biz, don’t.”

The gun still pointed at Randall, I glance up to see Davis in the open doorway to our home. I have to be dreaming.  Dreaming in the middle of a horrible nightmare.  Standing paralyzed, in my underwear, splattered with blood, in a dream, in a nightmare.  I can’t speak.

Donovan yells to Davis, “She’s in shock, man!  Get my cuffs, get them on Ireland and get that gun away from her.”

“You’re hurt.” I hear Davis say to Donovan.

“Never mind about me.  Go to Biz!”

Davis slowly moves to the opposite side of the couch.  I maintain eye contact with him, even though I am still very much aware that I have the gun pointed at Randall.  Davis’ eyes are the only thing holding me together. The feeling I have when I’m in a panic attack is upon me, but not physically.  Just inside.  Inside I think I will shake and crack into a million pieces.  On the outside, I am granite.

I hear the sound of metal handcuffs ratcheting closed.  I look down and see Randall flailing side-to-side on the sofa, but unable to move really.  He’s still screaming, but none of it makes sense to me. 

There’s a hand on my arm.

“Give me the gun, Biz.  You don’t want to do that.”  It’s Davis.  Davis is talking to me.  I think I might not be dreaming.  I don’t know.  I’m so confused.

“Davis?” 

“Yeah?”

“I think I could have killed him.  I really think I wanted to kill him…” I cry out.

Davis’ hand is over mine on the gun, “Let go,” he says calmly.

I let go.  Davis takes the gun.  Suddenly, the room is filled with people in uniforms and noise and more screams from Randall, I think.  There is movement everywhere.  Randall has been pulled off the couch by two police officers.  They are reading him his rights,
“You have 
the right to remain silent
. Anything you say can and will be used against you in
a
… “

The room spins and begins to darken.  I put my hand up to my mouth.  I taste something metallic.  When I pull my hand away, I see blood on it.  What?  Then I feel a gush from my nose and blood splashes down onto my chest. 

I sense my legs coming out from under me and then I’m looking into Davis’ eyes again. He catches me and holds me like a baby.  Davis’ eyes look scared.  He starts walking to the front door.

“Biz, you’re bleeding.”

I want to say “I know,” but instead I say, “Jules… In Bedroom,” right before my world goes black.

Chapter 19-Present:  Biggest Surprise of All

I’m on a bed, but the bed is moving fast.  It’s the only description I have for the sensation I’m experiencing as I come to.  I start to sit up and am stopped by a hand on my shoulder.  I know the touch.  It’s one I haven’t felt in a while.

“Davis?” I ask as his face comes into view above me.

Davis squats down so he’s face to face with me.

Looking around, I continuing my questions, “Are we in… in an ambulance?”

The space between Davis’ eyebrows pinches together. “Yes.”  He sounds like he can’t believe I’m even asking this question.

“Why? I feel fine.”

Davis cradles the side of my head in his hand, “Don’t you remember what happened.”  He rubs my head gently with his thumbs.

My thoughts and words start to come fast and frantic.  “Yeah, Randall…” And then with actual joy, I proclaim, “We got him!” Davis is nodding his head rapidly and making soothing shushing sounds.  My emotions switch again to concern, “Donovan… he got shot.  Is Donovan okay?”

“He’s on his way to the hospital.  It looks terrible, but he swears it’s ‘fucking nothing.’”  Davis imitates Donnie’s gruff voice when he says the last part.

I let go a chest full of anxiety with a long sigh and then keep talking,  “And Jules, what happened to Jules?  Oh my God!  Please tell me she’s okay.”

Davis smiles tightly and then Jules’ face appears over his shoulder, “I’m fine.  A little shaken up but fine.”  Jules really does look fine.  Pale, but fine. 

“The baby?” I ask fearfully.

She puts a hand on Davis’ shoulder and one on her belly, “He’s doing great.”

“It’s a boy?” I ask without thinking. 

“Shit!” Jules laughs, “I wasn’t supposed to tell.”

Tears of relief flood my eyes.  Jules is fine.  The baby is fine.

If everything is okay, why am I being transported in an ambulance?  I bring my hand up to wipe away my tears.  Why is there blood on my hand? I bring the other one up to join it in front of my face.  It’s bloody, too.  There is blood all down my arms.  I feel fine.  I can’t have been shot, can I?

I sit up with a start and begin the barrage of questions again.  “Davis, what’s going on?  Why am I covered in blood?”

Davis’ expression shifts to relieved and confused as he whispers, “I’m so glad you’re awake.  I’m so glad you’re chattering.”  But he hasn’t answered my question.

I feel a squeeze on my other arm and look up.  An EMT is taking my blood pressure and he answers my question, “Ms. Brandon.  You had a massive hemorrhage from your nose and then you passed out.”

I’m incredulous. “Massive hemorrhage?  From my nose?  You mean… a nosebleed? I’ve never had a nosebleed in my life.” 

The EMT qualifies, “It was pretty severe.  You lost consciousness.  And you witnessed two people being shot…” The scene at the condo begins to replay in my head, clearing up any confusion or slowness of thought I’d just experienced.

“But I feel fine!” I protest.

Davis and Jules surround me, each holding me with both hands somewhere.  Davis runs a hand through my hair.  The feeling calms me more than the shushing.

“Shhh. Good, Lizard baby.  It’s so good that you feel fine, but it looks like you lost a lot of blood. We just need to get you checked out.”

The ambulance stops moving.  I assume we are at the emergency room, which is not far from our condo.  The EMTs ask me to lie back down, which I do, and they start preparing to move me.  One of them, not the one that took my blood pressure, tells Davis, “Mr. Brandon, when we get your wife in, you’ll need to go to the registration desk while we get her settled.”

Davis opens his mouth to disagree, when Jules pipes up, “I’ll go with her Davis.  You take care of all that paperwork stuff.  She’ll be all cleaned up when you get back to her.”

He tells me, “I don’t want to leave you!”

I say softly to reassure him, “It’s okay.  I look terrible.  Go!”

“Terrible? You’re the best thing I’ve seen in weeks.”  Davis motions for the EMTs to hold up on moving me. “I love you, Lizard. I’ll be right there, okay?”

“Okay,” I mouth and nod my head that it’s okay for him to leave.  I have a bunch of questions I want to ask Jules in private anyway.

***

              “He told me he’d been in your condo plenty of times.  He’d been sneaking in through the garbage chute and picking your lock.”  As Jules helps me into a hospital gown and hands me wet washcloths to clean up, she describes how she, and Randall, came to be in my guest room.  “I had just unlocked the door to your apartment to bring you some flowers and be there when you got home, ‘cause you seemed kind of tired and sad.  As I pushed the door open, I was shoved inside.  I was so pissed and when I finally twisted myself around, Randall was right there, stinking of trash and sneering at me.  He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the guest room.  God, I was so scared.  All I could think of was, ‘How could I call someone?  How could I dial my phone without him knowing.’  I didn’t have a chance.  He took my cell phone, tied me to the chair and taped my mouth.  After that he didn’t do anything to me.  Ignored me really.  He was just texting on my phone like a madman and pacing until you arrived.”

My blonde upbeat friend has been so brave.  I don’t see a chink in her emotional armor right now.  I would be a blubbering mess!  I
am
a blubbering mess as I tell her, “I’m so sorry that happened to you and so glad that you’re okay.  Don’t you need to get checked out?”

“Really, I’m good.  The EMTs examined me.  Charlie is on his way.  I’m more worried about you.”  Ever organized, in control, in charge Jules.  I’m so blessed she’s my friend.

“Donovan?”  As I blurt out the question, I feel guilty, like I have inappropriately forgotten to be concerned.

Jules is going to go find out more about him as soon as Davis gets back.  The nurse that gave me the gown and helped me get onto the ER bed returns.  Her name is Doris.  She has warm, kind eyes and a Jamaican accent, which is unusual for this part of the country.  It’s very soothing.  Doris takes my vitals, asks me a ton of questions, some of them personal, including the dreaded, “Are you pregnant?” one. 

I tell her it would be impossible.  We’ve been trying for over three years and I’ve only been with my husband for one week over the past ten.  

Doris tilts her head to the side, smiles and replies, “Stranger tings
have
happened, Ms. Brandon.”

Doris informs me she’ll need a urine sample anyway.  When I ask why, she says it’s routine and that I’ll also be having some blood work.  I feel ridiculous.  It was just a bloody nose.

***

“Okay, you’re all registered,” Davis says flatly upon entering the exam room.

That is Jules’ cue and she leaves to go find out more about Donnie.  I hope they’ll tell her something, with all the privacy laws there are now for patients.  Maybe one of the other policemen will know something.

“I’ll be back soon,” Jules says and then giggles,  “Give you guys a chance to get reacquainted.” I’m pleased to see when she exits, it’s with the usual Jules bounce in her walk.

I’m finally alone with Davis and I suddenly feel so shy.  We lock eyes and I give him a small smile.  Davis’ head cocks to one side.  His green eyes that I love so much glimmer, “Hi, Lizard.  Hi, Baby,” he whisper shouts as he walks up to me and folds me in his arms.  I push my face into his chest and inhale deeply.  He smells like home.  I didn’t realize how much I’d missed him, his presence, his smell, how our house seemed empty until just his second.

I stop sniffing and tilt my head up so my chin is on his chest, “Hi, Mavis. I missed you so much.  We don’t ever have to do that again, do we?  Tell me.  Never Again.”

“Never
ever
again.” Davis says meaningfully. Then he leans down and kisses me. A soft, full kiss that instantly takes me back to our first kiss, the first time we made love.  The zap.  The buzz.  A feeling down low in my belly I only associate with being close to Davis.

“’Scuse me.”  My nurse, Doris, is back. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Ms. Brandon, I need to get some blood.  And the doctor will be in soon to examine you.”

While Doris is setting up to take blood, Jules returns.  She appears to be out of breath when she comes back in the room. “Hey…Umm… they wouldn’t let me see him.  Detective Garrett. But I did run into his wife, Posey. Wow! She is adorable. And his two boys.  Did you know he had kids?”  I nod yes and wave my hands toward myself, motioning her to tell me how Donnie is.  To give me something.  I feel like she’s avoiding telling me the truth.

“He’s in surgery.”

I feel my eyebrows raise. “Really?”

Jules comes over and stands by the end of my bed, “Biz, it’s not good.  He was shot in the left shoulder.  And his wife said there are lots of arteries… So, she says she doesn’t know too much yet… they are still waiting to hear from the surgeon.”

The last I remember, Donnie was sitting on the floor, wounded, but conscious and holding a gun on Randall.  He was directing Davis what to do and then…I don’t remember hearing him talk again after he told me to look out and I turned around.

“If you’re okay, I’m going to go back and sit with Mrs. Garrett… Posey.” Jules’ words yank me back to the present. 

I encourage her to go, “Oh, yeah, I mean, YES!  Go.  Please go stay with her. I’m fine.  Davis is here.”  Suddenly, I wince and rub Davis’ hand and look at him to distract my attention from Doris sticking me with a needle.

Not long after Jules leaves the doctor comes and examines me.  I don’t remember him introducing himself but his badge says, Dr. Kennedy. He is joined by Doris and a female police officer, who introduces herself with her last name only – Carpenter.  The doctor looks up my nose.  Down my throat.  Asks me how I’m feeling.  Do I have a headache?  I report to him that I really feel okay.  Davis stands next to me through the entire examination, never releasing my hand.

Then the doctor asks very slowly, “Ms. Brandon, I’m going to ask your husband to leave for a few minutes.”

“Why?” I’m baffled. I don’t want Davis to leave.  I have nothing to hide from him.

Officer Carpenter, who has said nothing so far, interjects, “The doctor needs to examine you further…”

“But I’m fine,” I protest.  “I didn’t get raped, if that’s what you think. Randall threatened me and pushed me around, but nothing hap…”

The office cuts me off, “It’s procedure, Ms. Brandon.  We don’t want to miss any evidence.  You
were
attacked.  This is important.  I also need to take your preliminary statement tonight.”  She turns to Davis.  “Mr. Brandon. There is an officer outside waiting to speak with you also.”

Davis looks the female officer square in the eyes “I’m not leaving her.”

I squeeze his hand and he directs his attention back to me.  “Davis. Go. Go talk to the officer.  This will be over soon.  Let’s do this right so Randall can’t possibly hurt anyone else.” 

Davis scowls.

“Your wife is right, Mr. Brandon,” Officer Carpenter tells him.

Davis sighs in mock defeat, “She generally is.”  Leaning down he says, “I’m continually impressed by how brave you are, Lizard.”  He kisses my forehead, my nose and finally my lips.  When he stops kissing he says, “I’ll be right back.”

The doctor’s examination is not unlike going to the gynecologist, except everything he does is carefully monitored by Doris and Officer Carpenter.  It’s uncomfortable and I’m not unaware of how harrowing this could be for someone that was
really
sexually assaulted.  I know how I felt after Randall supposedly raped me years ago.  And that, evidently, wasn’t even a “completed” assault.  I give the police officer my statement during the exam.  My level of calmness is freaky.  Where did my nuclear-level panic go? 

Dr. Kennedy finishes and tells my nurse that Davis can return.  She opens the door a crack and tells Davis it’s okay.  He is by my side in a flash.

The doctor is turned away from us, washing his hands.  Right before he and the others leave, he says he’ll look at my labs and see if I need an IV or more tests.  If it all checks out I can probably leave soon.   

Davis’ phone rings in his pocket.  He pulls it out, tells me it’s Charlie and answers, “Hey, Boxwood.  Yes, she’s fine.”  Davis points at me. “Uh, yeah… she’s here.”  Davis points out the door and mouths, ‘Jules,’ effectively telling me what Charlie’s question was. “Hmm, weird.  Well, she’s sitting with Donovan Garrett’s wife.  He was shot by Randall at the condo.  We don’t know. Waiting to hear. No, no, Randall isn’t here.  He’s at University Hospital across town. In handcuffs.  With a guard outside his door, I’m sure.  He shot a fucking cop! Yeah, I think he’s going away for a long time.  The other charges are nothing compared to this.”  That answers that question.  Randall’s whereabouts were invading my thoughts about every three seconds, but I didn’t want to ask out loud.  Davis is pacing around the room as he talks about Randall.  Then his tone changes and he says,  “I know. I will, man. Oh, okay.  I’ll walk down there and tell her to call you. K. Bye.”