Blood thundered in his ears, drowning out all other sounds. A deadly calm filled him. He heard himself yell, “Mandaline! Sachi! Down!”
Mandaline turned. She grabbed Sachi and threw herself down the stairs, her arm around the other woman. They landed four steps from the top.
He pulled the trigger twice, the first round peppering the wall by the stairs with lead shot, the second catching the man in the chest and driving him back and off his feet.
As the shots roared in his ears and took away all other sounds, he edged toward the stairs. “Mandaline! Sachi! Run!”
He saw Mandaline trying to pull Sachi to her feet. Both women were naked, but he didn’t take the time to try to figure that one out. With shaking hands, he fumbled the shotgun open and dumped the spent shells. He dropped two shells from his pocket in an attempt to jam them into the barrels while Mandaline pulled Sachi to her feet.
He thought he heard Mandaline scream, “She’s shot!” but between the temporary deafness from the gunshots and his own frantic heartbeat he wasn’t sure.
He couldn’t get the gun to close again. He broke it open, accidentally ejecting one of the shells in the process. He threw it to the side and raced up the stairs to grab Sachi from Mandaline. He shoved Mandaline down the stairs. “Go!” he yelled. He scooped Sachi into his arms.
Ahead of him, Mandaline had hit the base of the stairs and turned. She screamed something and pointed, but he couldn’t understand her. As he looked back, he saw the man sit up and point a gun at them.
He started down the stairs, praying Mandaline got the fuck out as a dark figure materialized behind her and shoved her toward the kitchen.
He dimly heard what he thought was a man’s voice yell, “Get the fuck down!”
He launched himself toward the bottom of the stairs, his arms tightly wrapped around Sachi. From the base of the stairs in front of him, six shots exploded in quick succession, further ruining his hearing.
The dark form he recognized as Ellis rushed up the stairs past him.
He felt arms pulling at him, trying to take Sachi from him. He almost struck out against them until he realized it was Mandaline.
She was screaming at him, but he wasn’t sure what. He rolled to his feet, grabbed Sachi, and headed toward the kitchen.
* * * *
Ellis felt his heart seize in his chest when he pulled up short behind Sachi’s car blocking the driveway, parked behind another, strange vehicle. No way his car could go off-road through the brush around them.
He shoved the spare clip and box of shells into the pocket of his jacket and ran past Sachi’s car.
When he spotted the Montana tag on the back of the other car, he knew.
The rain beat down on him as he dialed 911 and took off running toward the house. The three rings it took before the operator answered felt like infinity.
“911. What is your emergency?”
He gave his name and said their address twice so the operator could get it down. “Intruder with a gun and my girlfriend is in the house with him!” He didn’t know that for sure, but it was an educated guess and would likely get deputies there faster.
As he made it into the clearing, he heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle blast through the living room window. “Shots fired!” he screamed. “Shots fired! Get here now! I have a gun and I’m going in after him!”
“Sir! Don’t go in!”
As he heard a double shotgun blast, he screamed, “Fuck that shit! He’s killing them! I’m going in!” He didn’t bother hitting end as he pounded through the kitchen door. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket and held the gun with both hands.
He spotted Mandaline first. He didn’t take time to figure out why she was naked, because she was screaming and pointing up the stairs. He grabbed her and yanked her through the doorway and into the kitchen. On the stairs, he spotted Brad trying to get Sachi downstairs.
Above them a man sat up, pointing a gun at them.
“Get the fuck down!” He prayed he didn’t hit Ellis or Sachi as he fired, emptying the gun into the intruder. He rushed up the stairs, past Ellis and Sachi as he dumped the empty clip and slammed the fresh one into the gun.
At the top of the stairs the man lay splayed back in the hallway. He couldn’t tell for sure, but he thought he’d killed him.
He found the man’s gun and picked it up, backing down the stairs as he kept his gun trained on him. At the base of the stairs he put the man’s gun down and grabbed his cell phone. He could barely hear, but the 911 dispatcher was yelling at him.
“I think I killed him. We need an ambulance, I think she’s hurt.” He didn’t want to take the time to explain that he thought Sachi had been injured or who she was. He just wanted to see an ambulance in his yard.
Now.
“The driveway’s blocked by three cars,” he told the dispatcher. “Fucker parked there and we couldn’t get around him.” His hand holding the gun trembled. He flipped the safety on it and lowered it.
The guy wasn’t moving.
He looked into the kitchen where Brad and Mandaline were bent over Sachi. She was moving, and appeared to be talking, but he still couldn’t hear very well. “I’m putting the phone down but I’ll keep the line open.”
He was aware of the dispatcher trying to tell him not to do that, but he did it anyway. He picked up the guy’s gun and took it over to the table, where he broke open the cylinder and dumped the other five rounds in it.
Mandaline had a shirt or something pressed against Sachi’s shoulder. He was aware of the rain finally slacking off outside. “Where’s your keys?” he asked her.
She looked up and pointed through the living room door. He walked back in there, his foot hitting something. He reached down and picked up the Maglite. It came on, and when he trained the light at the top of the stairs the guy looked like he hadn’t moved.
He found her purse and keys and took them back to her. “Get some clothes on. Then move your car and turn the lights on so they shine through the door.” She jumped up to do it. Brad took over holding pressure on Sachi’s wound. It looked like it was through her right shoulder.
He knelt down beside Sachi as the ringing in his ears began subsiding a little. He kept the light from shining in her eyes, but couldn’t see any other injuries on her other than the shoulder wound.
“What’s with the naked stuff?” he teased. “You trying to move in on our girlfriend?”
Sachi looked up at him, then gave him a pained laugh he knew meant she couldn’t be too seriously injured. “Fuck you. Boss lady wanted skyclad rain dancing.” He put the gun in his pocket and took her hand. She squeezed, painfully. “Fucker better be dead, chief, or I’m never taking you skeet shooting again.”
The Element’s headlights illuminated the kitchen. Mandaline ran back in and dropped to her knees next to her.
“I think he’s dead,” he said.
Sachi looked toward the living room. “What the fuck you in here for, then? Watch his fucking ass! Haven’t you ever watched a goddamned horror movie?” She dropped his hand. “Fucking move your ass!”
He stood and walked back to the doorway, where he trained the flashlight up the stairs again.
Still in the same position.
He slowly advanced, watching for any sign of movement. When he got to the top of the stairs he saw the man had no face left.
He reached down anyway and felt for a pulse in the man’s throat.
Nothing.
He made his way back to the kitchen. The sirens sounded louder now, like they were close to their driveway. “He’s dead. Dead-dead.”
Sachi looked at him for a long moment. “You sure?”
He nodded.
She nodded back before she burst into hysterical tears.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
A deputy fished the keys to the dead man’s car from his pockets and moved the vehicle so they could clear the way for the ambulance to get through. The first three cruisers to respond had simply plowed t
hrough the palmetto bushes and thin saplings next to the driveway to get around the vehicles.
Another deputy accompanied Mandaline and Sachi to the hospital in the ambulance. Ellis and Brad stayed behind and answered round after round of questions until the detective in charge was satisfied. Ellis’ gun was taken into evidence, as was Sachi’s shotgun.
Ellis successfully stifled a snicker. They better hope they give it back soon or she’ll be livid.
* * * *
The good thing was the bullet had only been a .22 and luckily gone through Sachi’s right shoulder without hitting any bones or a lung. Two hours after Sachi was admitted, Mandaline had completely sobered up and was allowed to rejoin her friend at her bedside after they’d both been questioned again by deputies.
With a good dose of painkillers in her, Sachi’s eyelids drooped as she looked up at Mandaline. “You okay, boss?”
She choked back a sob and grabbed Sachi’s good hand. “You damn idiot! What the hell did you think you were doing trying to draw him away from me? And throwing yourself in front of me?”
Sachi smiled. “Job security. You can’t ever fire me now. Not only do you luuubs me, you’d feel too damn guilty.”
Mandaline let out something between a sob and a laugh as she laid her head on the bed and laughed until she cried, then laughed some more.
“Hey, boss. Don’t drown us,” Sachi mumbled.
Mandaline sat up and blew her nose. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. How the fuck am I supposed to shoot skeet with a bum shoulder? Fucker. Couldn’t have shot me in the ass or the leg. Nooo. Had to shoot me in the shoulder.”
She knew what Sachi was trying to do. Mandaline realized she had to short-circuit her now, or her friend would struggle later trying to keep it buried.
“Sachi. He could have shot you in the head or the spine.”
She fell silent. “Yeah,” she softly said. “That would have sucked.”
She grabbed Sachi’s good hand again. “Let. It. Out.”
She looked into Mandaline’s eyes and took a deep breath. She started to speak, stopped, then tried again. “He’s really dead?” she softly asked.
She nodded. “Really.”
“Dead-dead?”
“Dead-dead. I heard them talking about needing the Medical Examiner to be called. Everyone’s said he’s dead. Dead-dead. Really dead.”
Sachi took another deep, shuddering breath. In barely a whisper, she asked, “Can you please call my father for me?” Tears welled up in her eyes.
Unable to hold back her own tears, she nodded, fumbling the phone from her purse. She had to keep blinking back tears as she punched in the number Sachi gave her, then Mandaline held it up to her ear for her.
Sachi’s eyes met hers. From where Mandaline sat, she could hear a man answer the line.
“Daddy?” Sachi sounded like a lost little girl. She closed her eyes and began sobbing. “Daddy, it’s Miki. I need you. Please. He found me… He…he found me…”
* * * *
When Sachi couldn’t talk anymore, Mandaline took the phone out to the hallway and talked to Michael Bloomfeld.
“Is she really okay?” he asked, sounding shaken to his core. “She’s not bullshitting me, is she? Trying to downplay it?”
“She’s really okay, sir. They might discharge her tomorrow.”
“I…I’m on the computer now. I can get a direct flight from Spokane to Tampa.”
She dug a pen and notepad out of her purse. “Give me the info. I’ll either meet you myself or have someone meet you.”
They got it arranged. She got his cell phone number, and she gave him not only her cell number in case he couldn’t retrieve it from his phone, but Ellis and Brad’s, too. When she got off the phone, she returned to Sachi’s bedside.
She was asleep.
Exhausted, she collapsed into the recliner chair next to her bedside, put her feet up, and turned on the TV.
It was almost four in the morning when Brad and Ellis appeared in the doorway, where the deputy on guard as a precaution stepped aside to let them in when Mandaline nodded at him that it was okay to let them in. Cried out, Mandaline let out a relieved sigh at the sight of them.
They moved across the room as one. She sat up, and they both dropped to their knees in front of her, their arms around her as she cradled their heads against her. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay?” Ellis asked.
“I’m fine. Are you both okay?”
“He’s a little banged up from the stairs,” Ellis said, “but other than that he’s fine.”
Something felt off with Brad. She stroked the back of his head. Stupid! she chastised herself. His PTSD.
When Brad did speak, he sounded like the “other” Brad, the “less there” one. “Is Sachi mad I took her car?” he asked.
She somehow managed to suppress her laugh. “No, sweetie. She’s not mad at all. I’m sure when our Queen of Snark wakes up, she’s going to want to give you a hug and a kiss.”
He let out a deep breath. “Okay.”
Ellis looked up at her, locking gazes. He pointedly looked at Brad, then back to her, and gave a subtle shake of his head.
She understood. He’s not doing well.
She released Ellis and wrapped both arms around Brad, drawing his head into her lap. He curled his body around her legs as Ellis draped an arm around his shoulders.
She kept her face buried in Brad’s hair. “You did good,” she told him. “You did really good, sweetie.”
He shivered. “Julie told me,” he mumbled. “She came to me at the store. Told me. Oh. Ellis?”
He cocked his head. “Yeah, buddy?”
“I dropped my phone and broke it. I need a new one. I’m sorry.”
Mandaline pressed her lips together to force the laugh not to break through. She could tell Ellis struggled to win the same war.
“It’s all right, buddy,” he finally told him. “When you’re feeling better, we’ll go get you a new one.”
“By the way,” Mandaline said. “Sachi’s father is flying in to Tampa tomorrow. I told him someone would meet him.”
Ellis nodded. “I’ll go.”
“I’ll go,” Brad mumbled.
“You can’t drive,” Mandaline and Ellis admonished together before laughing.
Brad lifted his head up. “I’m not supposed to drive. I can drive.” He lowered his head again.
She stroked his hair. “Yes, sweetie, we know you can drive. I think I need you to stay behind with Sachi. She’ll want to be downstairs working and I need someone who can keep her planted on the couch.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Oh. Okay.”
She kissed the top of his head again. “You all right?”
He slowly shook his head.
Ellis looked conflicted. “Do you want me to call Dr. Solomon at the VA and see if I can get you an emergency appointment?” He looked up at Mandaline. Psychiatrist, he silently mouthed.
She nodded.
“No,” Brad softly said. “I can get through it.” He took a ragged breath before lifting his head again. His voice changed. Mandaline felt the shift back to “more there” Brad. “I’ll be okay.” His brown eyes met Mandaline’s. “I won’t shut either of you out. I promise.” He laced his fingers through hers and kissed her hand. “Julie had faith in me. She knew I could do it. If she could have faith in me, I can have faith in myself.”
She sensed Ellis wanted to say something. “This is the moment of truth,” she told him. “Say what’s on your mind.”
He pursed his lips before finally speaking. “Julie came to me twice the past few days. In dreams. She told me to keep my .38 close and showed me a shotgun. I didn’t know what it was about. When Sachi took me out to shoot skeet, I realized it was her gun in my dreams.” He shook his head. “Want to know how I came to be there at the right time?”
“How?”
He glanced over at the bed where Sachi was sl
eeping as he related how he’d put the information together and realized Sachi was in danger.
A nurse knocked on the doorway. “I need to get her vitals.”
From the bed, Sachi mumbled, “Tell her to fuck off. I’m sleeping.”
The three of them burst into laughter. “She’s baaack,” they said.
* * * *
The deputy assured them he or another deputy would stand guard until they returned in a few hours.
Ellis drove them back to the shop. “Now explain to me, exactly, why you and Sachi were butt naked, please?”
She felt her face heat. “I wanted to dance skyclad in the rain,” she mumbled. “Hey, you told me if I wasn’t hurting anyone, you didn’t care what I did.”
He looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh. “That’s right. I did. And I meant it. But…why?”
She sighed. “It’s fun. And it’s not like I can exactly do it behind the shop.”
“Well, you could,” Brad spoke up from the backseat, “but I suspect you’d get arrested eventually.”
“Exactly.” She looked at Ellis again. “Any more questions?”
He smiled. “So, you always dance outside naked in the rain?”
“Not always. Just when opportunity presents itself. Needless to say, Sachi and I didn’t think we had an audience.”
He glanced at her, a tired smile lighting his face. “Babe, feel free to run around naked at the house anytime you like. You don’t need to wait for it to start raining.”
Back at the shop, Mandaline needed to climb into the shower. When she fell into bed with the men, she thought she’d fall asleep, but instead she rolled on top of Brad and kissed him, hard and deep.
Next to them, Ellis moved close, draping an arm over her back and kissing her shoulder. She lifted her head to kiss him, too.
She wanted them both, right then, to end the evening on a good note.
To prove to her heart they were all alive and well and had made it through.
She reached over to the bedside table drawer and grabbed condoms and lube. She handed one and the lube to Ellis and ripped the other one open to roll down Brad’s now-hard shaft.