Page 70 of Rascal

“Bitch has a suicide wish,” King muttered. I finally realised Hallie didn’t have a top on, so shrugged off my cut and ripped my tee off. I handed it over as fire engines came into sight. Well, they’d taken their time. Problem was, with an active shooter, they couldn’t tackle the blaze.

More sirens wailed, and police cars sped into view. An unmarked skidded to a halt near Richards as several black and whites moved down the road.

“Anyone injured?” Lio called.

“King has a bullet wound to his shoulder. Hallie keeps coughing from smoke inhalation,” I shouted.

“I took a bullet to the ribs. Bitch shot my car up,” Richards added.

Jesus Christ. She’d shot a cop. Kira was toast.

“Uniforms are checking the neighbourhood. Ambos are on their way, but we can’t let anyone in until the area’s secure,” Lio informed us.

“Bet you’re loving this, detective. Coming to rescue me,” Richards quipped.

“If I’d known it was you, I’d have taken my time!” Lio retorted.

“You’re an asshole, detective,” Richards retorted.

“Yup, comes with being a Hawthorne.”

“Lio! You’ve got injured,” someone called.

“Yeah, Miguel, but you can’t approach; the shooter’s not secure.”

I struggled to place the name.

“The cop needs attention,” Miguel argued.

“Don’t you dare move, cousin!” Lio ordered.

“But—”

“No. You do, and I’ll arrest you!” Lio threatened. Ah, Miguel was one of the Hawthorne cousins, I realised.

“You’ve two injured people and the lieutenant sounds serious,” Miguel argued.

A cackle came over the radio. “All clear. We’ve found where the suspect was shooting from, and she’s gone,” a guy said.

“Thanks, Carter,” Lio replied.

“We’ll stay here; Deveraux’s with me. I’ll keep a couple of uniforms to secure the scene. Guess you’re taking point?” Detective Carter asked.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

“No skin off my nose,” Carter answered. Moments later, the fire engines moved, and paramedics rushed forward. Richards and King were piled into one, and Hallie and I followed behind. I was worried about Hallie’s cough. It didn’t sound great. This was the last thing she needed.

I ground my teeth. Kira Barnes needed ending.

Hallie

Wearily, I crawled into bed after showering. My lungs still hurt, which didn’t make sense considering Rascal and I had swallowed the same amount of fumes. King was released with his arm in a sling to immobilise his shoulder, and Richards had been kept in. Kira was unravelling. She was beyond dangerous now. I couldn’t imagine what was happening in that warped mind of hers.

Rascal lay in bed already and hauled me close. “King settled?”

“Yeah. I shoved painkillers down his throat too,” I murmured as I wrapped my arms around him.

“You okay?”