Page 149 of The Secrets We Hide
“Let’s go.” Cole scooped Emmy up in his arms before she could tell him not to.
Jude walked backward, maintaining pressure as he carried her down the stairs. They had reached the kitchen when brakes squealed in the street. The sirens were deafening. Boots pounded onto the front porch.
“Put me down,” Emmy said. “Please.”
She was back on her feet when the door busted open.
Gregg had taken point. Julian and Levi were behind him. Jude recognized the rest of the deputies from Emmy’s force. They all came to a standstill when they saw Emmy. Blood had soaked through the towel and wicked into her shirt and pants.
“I’m okay,” Emmy said, but no sane person would’ve believed her. “Russell’s dead. Secure the scene. Call the GBI.”
They didn’t move.
Cole said, “Make way for the boss.”
The men parted so they could pass. Jude walked backward again. Cole put his shoulder under Emmy’s arm, taking her full weight so that her feet barely touched the ground. They had almost reached the cruiser when she started to slump over. Jude climbed into the back, pulled Emmy’s head into her lap. She pressed down hard on the wound. Emmy groaned again.
“It takes ten to fifteen pounds of direct pressure to stop bleeding. Your adrenaline is ebbing. The pain will bring it back.”
“Please,” Emmy whispered. “No lectures.”
Cole pulled away from the curb. Rolled his lights, turned on the siren. They were on the road when Jude heard more sirens behind her. Two cruisers whizzed ahead of Cole, taking up both sides of the street. Jude looked out the rear window. She counted two more cruisers. They were escorting Emmy to the hospital.
Jude looked down at Emmy in her lap. Stroked back her hair. “The cavalry is here.”
Emmy didn’t chastise her for bringing up horses. She coughed. A guttural sound came from deep inside her chest. She grabbed Jude’s hand. Held on tightly. She was scared.
Jude pressed her lips to Emmy’s forehead. “I need you to breathe for me, sweetheart. Focus on your breaths.”
Emmy inhaled through her nose. Shushed out the air between her trembling lips. The sirens wailed. Lights strobed into the back of the car. Jude cradled Emmy Lou in her arms. She looked down at her beautiful daughter. She couldn’t get over her delicate eyelashes. The clear, startling blue of her eyes. The perfect shape of her face.
Jude leaned down close. She sang their song again, but this time, she took out the sadness—
“Sweet dreams of you. Every night I go through. I’ll beg your forgiveness and start my life anew. And one day start living sweet dreams with you.”
FIVE WEEKS LATER
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Emmy sat offstage trying to ignore the murmur of the crowd in the packed auditorium. The debate had been rescheduled while she was in the hospital. The election was in two days. Half the town had shown up to see if she could stand upright. The other half would post something nasty about it later.
Mayor Carly Clifton was at the podium talking to the crowd about fundraising for the school and begging for food donations to the pantry. If Emmy hadn’t already been sitting in a chair, her knees would’ve been wobbly. Sweat was dripping down her face. This was not another panic attack. It was stage fright. The last time Emmy performed in front of a crowd, she’d been six years old, dressed as a carrot, and battling explosive diarrhea.
Jude said, “You don’t have to do this.”
Emmy felt the familiar sensations of irritation and gratitude. The pendulum had turned into a circle. She was finding it hard to hate a woman who’d done everything but wipe her ass for the last month. Jude hadn’t once left Emmy’s side. It was enormously suffocating, but also a relief. Emmy had forgotten what it felt like to be cared for.
Jude said, “You could get a job anywhere. I could help you.” Emmy nodded, but she had realized that this was the job she wanted. Not because her father had wanted it for her, or to piss off Brett Temple, but because it gave her purpose. She helped people. She did good in the world. Jude kept telling her to try therapy, but getting shot in the gut had a way of making you re-examine your life.
“Emmy Lou.” Jude put her hands on her hips. “I need to tell you something.”
Emmy braced herself for another lecture.
“Now that you’re better. Now that you’re healing—” Jude stopped. “I need to go back to San Francisco for a while.”
Emmy felt her heart start to rattle in her chest. Jude hadn’t talked about going home since the night Emmy had been shot.
“It’s only temporary.”
