I see the gun in his hand the same time I hear the door being kicked open. I blink and then see Daniel raise his gun and shoot three times straight at Mick. Two hit him in the chest, protected by his vest, but one hits him in the side of the stomach where he has no protection and just like that, he's slumped on the floor.
I close my eyes just to rest for a second when I hear yelling and more gunshots. I try opening my eyes to see what's going on, but it's getting harder and harder to breathe. Till I'm soaring.
Chapter Forty-One
Mick
Eyes I could never forget stare back at me with blood leaking down his hands. "Hello, Son," is the last thing I hear before a gunshot brings me back into the now.
I didn't see Daniel standing in the corner with his gun drawn. One shot gets me in the chest, knocking me back, making my breath hitch. Another shot gets the other side of my vest, jerking me that way. By the time I aim my gun he's shot off another round, landing in my side. I look down at my side, the blood coming out. Holding my side, the blood seeps out of my hands. I fall to my knees while I hear yelling all around me.
I hear another gunshot go off, but this time I see the knife fly from my father's hand, his shoulder being hit, and his hand going to the wound while another hits his leg. He falls to the floor. If I had my way, I would put a fucking bullet in between his eyes.
I close my eyes, pressing down on the wound when another shot is fired. I don't open my eyes for that one because I'm just too tired.
I hear Jackson next to me, talking to me.
"Wake up, Mick, open your fucking eyes."
I try, but I'm just too tired. I hear yelling around me.
"Get in here, I can't feel a pulse."
Who are they talking about? I can't hear anyone anymore. The bright light is shining in my eyes.
I open them slowly, and I'm suddenly in a huge flower field, the flowers reaching mid thigh. The sun high in the sky makes the flowers' color bold and beautiful. I walk in the field, my hand grazing over them. They feel like satin in between my fingers. I continue walking, hearing laughing in the distance.
I can see a woman in the distance, so I walk to her. She twirls a baby girl in her arms, her brown curly hair flying with them. I put my hand over my eyes to block out the sun and to get a better view of the two.
When she stops twirling, she looks straight at me. "Mom," I whisper. She's healthy, she's happy.
She smiles at me. The little girl in her arms looks exactly like I did when I was younger. The little girl looks at me, smiling also. "Look, it's your brother," my mother says. The little girl puts her head on my mother's chest. I try to get closer, but my legs don't move.
"Mick, you shouldn't be here," she says with her voice low and soothing.
"Mom," is all I can say because she continues.
"You can't be here. It's time for you to go back."
I feel peace fall over me, a feeling of being free, a feeling of flying through the world. "I just got here." I try to get closer and closer to them, but no matter how much I try to run they just get farther and farther. "Mom," I yell out, and then she waves one last time and turns around to walk.
She smiles over her shoulder. "Go back to your family, Mick." And she disappears in front of me.
"Clear." I hear my body shocked back to life. "We got a pulse." My eyes try to open, but they can't do it. "We need to get him into the OR and stop the bleeding." I hear when all of a sudden I'm flying again.
Chapter Forty-Two
Marissa
I'm sitting on the couch next to Lori, trying to watch this show, but my mind is going a million miles a minute. I get up to get water for the fiftieth time.
I look out of his kitchen window at the water. The sun is shining in the sky. Looking to the left, I see a woman standing with brown curly hair, holding a baby girl in her hands. Eyes I've seen before, eyes I've looked into before. She sees me and waves at me the minute that Brian's phone rings, and I turn to him.
I turn back around to search for the woman, but she isn't there. I look back at Brian, and his eyes rise up to mine. The way he looks at me I know the phone call is about Mick.
His face goes hard and all I hear him say is, "I'm on my way."
Then I hear yelling in the background. A shrilling yell that rocks me to my core. I don't even realize it's me making that noise before I see black.
"Mom, Mom, wake up," is the next thing I hear. "Mick, Mom, he needs us," she says, and I blink my eyes till I don't see blurry anymore.
Brian is right there with her.
"Are you okay?" he asks, and I shake my head no. "We need to go. You want me to call an EMT or can you get there on your own?"
I sit up, shaking my head. "Mick needs me." This is my time to be strong for him. I look over my shoulder, glancing at the water, the lady gone.
We walk out and drive to the hospital, getting there in record time. I don't even wait for him to put it in park before I run into the hospital. The sight that waits for me has me stopping in my tracks.
Jackson is sitting looking at his hands. Hands covered in blood. Hands covered in Mick's blood. I hold on to the railing for support. Gasping out, he turns his head to look at me. Sorrow, sadness, and defeat are written all over his face. His eyes are wet with tears. Thomas is sitting across from him with blood on his shirt. A woman is holding his hand next to him.
Then my eyes find Chris's. He's got blood splattered on his white shirt and hands. His eyes look at me for forgiveness. Look at me for me to tell him it's okay.
These men went into a war zone, and they didn't even know it. They went in there, not even knowing that guns would be blazing. That one bullet would get one of them. Lori rushes in with Brian at her heels. She looks around the waiting room, her eyes landing on Chris's.
He gets up and walks to her while she runs to him. Her hands go around his waist, his arms going around her while she places her head on his chest and he kisses her head. He whispers to her, and she cries into his chest.
Jackson gets up and walks to me, holding out his hand. I put my hand in his, and we go sit down and wait for the heavens above to answer all our questions.
We sit here for what seems like days. The minutes creep by. The hours go slower than a snail. As more people hear what has happened, the waiting room becomes fuller.
Bella shows up with Lilah. Brenda shows up with Nancy, and Phyllis shows up with enough food to feed an army. She sits by my side, holding my hand while Lori holds my other hand. Chris is never far from her side.
Jackson sits in front of me. His hands are clean now, and his clothes changed thanks to Bella bringing some for him. Bella holds his hand, whispering things in his ear, but his eyes never leave mine.
The doctor walks into the room, ripping off his mask and cover-up from his scrubs that are covered in blood. He looks over at us. "Mick Moro's family."
I don't say anything. Instead, it's Jackson who says, "They are right here." He points to Lori and myself.
We both get up, looking at him.
"He's going to make it." Collective sighs fill the room. "He was shot in the side of the stomach. Bullet went right through him, tearing through his liver and kidney. We were able to stop the bleeding. A centimeter more to the right and he would have been a goner. He almost flat lined a couple of times, so we are keeping him in the ICU till I'm comfortable with moving him."
Tears are falling down my face, my hands on my chest, on my heart. The beating finally back to normal knowing he's going to be okay. Lori grabs my shoulders in a hug.
"He's going to be okay, Mom," she says through her tears. "He's such a badass." She laughs through her tears.
"Can I see him?" I ask, afraid they might not let me.
"You can, but it has to be one at a time," the doctor says. "I know that visiting hours are over, but we will make an exception for this one time."
I look over at Jackson. "Do you want to go first?"
He shakes his head no. "You go first."
I don't wait for him to change his mind. Instead, I follow the doctor down the hallway leading to the ICU, leading to my man. Leading to the man who made my dreams come true. The man who saved my daughter from the devil. The man who has given me my own little piece of heaven.
Chapter Forty-Three
Mick
Fuck, this hurts like a bitch. I try to sit up, but the pain is just too much. I open my eyes, blinking them while I get used to the light that is coming through the curtains. I hiss through my teeth when I look down at the hospital gown. I raise my hand to see the IV injected. I touch my side, feeling the bandages on the side. Fucker got me good.
I look around the room and see the chair right next to me with Marissa curled into a ball, her head on a pillow that is on one of the chair handles. The way she's sleeping, I know her neck will be hurting like a bitch.
I look around at the flowers that fill the room, nothing like the flowers from my dream. A couple of balloons also with pictures drawn by Lilah are all around the room.
I press the button next to my hand, hoping the nurse comes before I fall back asleep. My lids are already heavy. The nurse walks into the room. From the look on her face, she doesn't expect it to be me who has pressed the button.
"You're awake, Mr. Moro," she says, and her voice breaks Marissa from her sleep, who opens her eyes and swiftly sits up in the chair.