“He’ll need an X-ray,” Claire answered the LT. “But I’m guessing they’re just bruised.”
“Good.” Blessard strode toward the arriving ERU members. “I’ll check in with you later.”
“Enough.” Theo twisted away from an especially vicious poke. Unfortunately, the evasive movement hurt even more than Claire’s examination. “Can we just get to the hospital already?”
“You’re going willingly?” Claire’s eyebrows shot up to hide behind her bangs. “I figured we’d have to strap you down and sedate you like an ill-tempered wild boar.”
Standing up, Theo decided he didn’t really care for jokey Claire. He headed for the only remaining ambulance, the one he assumed would be his ride. “Let’s go.”
Before he climbed in, he sent a glance toward the front of the school. It sat silent and looked as empty as if it were the middle of July. He knew the kids and teachers were huddled inside locked classrooms. Theo wondered about Jules, her little sister, and Viggy. Where had they ended up hiding? Were they scared?
Shaking off his useless preoccupation, he stepped into the back of the ambulance, a breath catching in his lungs as his ribs screamed from the movement. Why was he so concerned about people he barely knew? Theo couldn’t answer that question, any more than he could stop worrying about them the entire ride to the hospital.
* * *
When Theo turned and ran back toward the sign, Jules had to keep herself from lunging after him. He’d been her shield, and now, standing behind fragile glass doors, Jules felt horribly exposed. She shook off the desire to chase him. With Dee and Viggy to think about, Jules needed to be their protector now.
Clutching Dee’s hand and Viggy’s leash, Jules tore through the empty hallway, automatically heading for the office. Theo’s absence made her feel raw and vulnerable, as if she’d had body armor that had been stripped away. Jules had to resist the urge to glance behind her, but focused on her goal instead, Dee and Viggy running on either side of her.
The office door was locked. Jules gave a short sob of fright and frustration, but then forced herself to think. The school must be in lockdown. Jules huddled against the wall for a moment, but the hallway didn’t feel safe. Someone could come at them—the shooter could come at them—from too many directions. Her hunted gaze scanned the area, the sure-to-be-locked doors lining the hall mocking her with their close inaccessibility.
“There!” she cried, hauling Viggy and Dee past the office and down the hall.
“Where?” Dee gasped.
“Here.” Darting into the girls’ bathroom, Jules didn’t stop until they were in the farthest stall, huddled against the wall. It took forever for her breathing to slow enough to hear any sounds other than her oxygen-starved gasps. Finally, she was able to listen. There was only silence. They sat for what seemed like an eternity. Viggy was the first of the three of them to shift, lying down and putting his head in Dee’s lap.
“JuJu?” Her sister’s voice was tiny, despite the echo in the tiled bathroom.
Resisting the urge to hush Dee, Jules looked at her solemn face.
“Viggy shouldn’t be in here,” Dee whispered, massaging the dog’s ears. “He’s a boy.”
For some reason, Dee’s lame joke struck Jules as hysterically funny. Pent-up adrenaline pushed for relief, and she struggled to silence her laughter. It didn’t help when Dee began to giggle, as well. They eventually trailed into silence, and they waited, still and quiet, not even shifting positions on the hard, uncomfortable floor.
After what felt like hours later, a loud tone sounded over the PA system, making all three of them jump. Dee let out a tiny scream, and Viggy lifted his head. A few minutes later, small sounds came from the hallway outside. The noise gradually grew in volume until it sounded like a normal high school between classes, with an added note of anxiety that Jules attributed to the lockdown. Blowing out a shaky breath, she climbed to her feet and offered a hand to Dee.
It was over. They’d survived. As Jules’s brain processed this news, her legs went a little rubbery with relief. Niggling worries remained, though, growing until she couldn’t ignore them.
Were Theo and Hugh okay? And who had just tried to kill them?
Chapter 12
Even lying in a hospital bed, Hugh looked enormous. The only sign of his brush with death was the greenish-pale cast to his skin, and that was mostly hidden under his tan. Theo scowled down at the sleeping man. For some reason, Hugh’s oddly healthy look bothered him, made Theo feel like the whole nightmare hadn’t happened less than a day earlier.