I looked up just as the officer began explaining. “Your cousin suffered a gunshot to his abdomen. The ambulance took him out of here a couple minutes ago. John went with him. He wasn’t harmed.”
I jumped up out of the car. “You have to get me to the hospital!” I wasn’t asking. I was ordering Colt to take me. “Colt, please!”
“Ma’am, we will need you to make your official statement. I suppose we can meet you at the hospital. Since you are all so close to the sheriff, I can count on him to keep track of you until I get there.”
I nodded. “Yes, meet us there.” I grabbed Colt’s arm and pulled him toward his truck.
“Get in and get buckled!”
We took off and headed for the hospital. My whole body was shaking. The last time I saw Conner, he was laying lifeless on the floor. I had to see him. I had to know he was okay.
What if he wasn’t? What would I do without his love? How could I go on without him being there with me? I buried my face into my hands and bawled my eyes out. Conner was everything to me. He was my best friend, my partner and the father to our unborn child. As much as I had always wanted to be a mother, I didn’t want to do any of this without him.
My world revolved around that man. His love for me is what had kept me sane. How was I going to raise a beautiful child alone? How could I live with the guilt that would come from him dying? All of this was my fault. I brought Rick into all of our lives. I did this.
If I never would have let myself fall for Conner, he would still be out there living his life. Instead he was fighting for it.
“Amy, did they catch Rick? Tell me they got his ass.”
I sniffled and wiped the tears from my eyes. “You don’t have to worry about Rick ever again.”
“They killed him? You know, I try to live my life as a good Christian, but that man was evil. His fate was set a long time ago. I don’t think anyone will miss that man.”
I agreed. “The police didn’t kill Rick.” I looked right at Colt. “I did. I shot him.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand. I knew it was a kind gesture. It was a shock for me to be able to say that I took the man’s life. “Are you alright?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter right now. I just need to get to Conner. I have to know…I have to know he’s going to be okay. I can’t live with myself if I lose him. This is all my fault.”
“Conner is a grown man, Amy. He made his own decisions. There’s no tellin’ what people are capable of. Conner did what he wanted. He wanted to protect you and his unborn child. There ain’t no good man that would turn their back on that situation. He wouldn’t want you thinkin’ that and you know it.”
He was right, but it didn’t make me change my mind. “Please just drive faster.”
“I’m nearin’ a hundred, darlin’. I’d like us to arrive in one piece if that’s alright with you.” I knew he was doing the best he could. “How are you feelin’? I think when we arrive and find out about Conner, you should get checked out yourself. You’ve been through a hell of an ordeal.”
I nodded. “Yeah, maybe I will. I’m not doing anything until I see him though.”
“I know.” We finally pulled into the hospital parking lot. Colt hadn’t even turned off the truck before I was jumping out and running toward the entrance. The information desk was straight ahead and I ran up and cut in front of these two women. “I’m so sorry. This is an emergency. Where can we find Conner Healy? He was brought in by ambulance.”
“Go to emergency and check in with them.”
I didn’t wait for the woman to say anything else. I grabbed Colt by the arm and rushed toward the emergency department. The triage nurse was reading a book as I approached. She looked up with beady eyes and smiled. “Can I help you?”
“Conner Healy. He was shot.” I realized I could have worded it better, but all that I cared about was finding him.
She stood up and walked over to a computer. I saw the concerned look on her face. My stomach started to feel queasy. I didn’t know what I was going to do if we didn’t make it in time. “I will have someone come out to talk to you shortly. Have a seat over there.” She pointed to the waiting room.
This wasn’t good. Why couldn’t she tell us?
Colt grabbed my hand once we were sitting. Neither of us knew what to say. I knew he was probably fearing the same outcome as I was. We would all be devastated. Tears fell down my cheeks and I didn’t care about the people that were staring. My boyfriend was back there somewhere and we didn’t even know if he was alive.