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“I was glad as hell when the Marines got there. MIA is tough on families.” His whole body visibly tightened as he scanned her face. “Am I hurting you?” Nutsbe looked down at her leg in his hands.
Her heart squeezed so tight it hurt. “That’s gratitude you see on my face. I’m thankful to your Nan, that you made it through, and selfishly, but honestly, I’m so glad you’re here with me right now. But no tears. I keep my promises.”
That seemed to reassure him. But Olivia knew the rest of his story wasn’t a secret because he unmuted the phone. “Those Marines called in the PJs. That was the start of the next set of miracles.” He turned and slid closer to the judge. “Checking vitals on Judge Greenway, over.”
“Standing by, over.”
With her knees cleaned and bandaged, Nutsbe pulled off his gloves, did the checks on Judge Greenway, and called out the numbers.
When Nutsbe settled back beside her, he reached for her hand again, and they laced their fingers. “Next miracle,” he said. “A group of researchers had come to Afghanistan to see the state of the wounded soldiers as they were brought from the battlefront to surgery. Right doctors with the right skills at the right time for me. I was a very lucky guy. I got to be a guinea pig for some new amputation protocols that made all the difference in my recovery and ability to ambulate.”
“Thank you for telling me. A Live Day is a wonderful thing to celebrate.” She squeezed his hand, then looked over at the Judge. “How do you think Judge Greenway’s doing?”
“Air going in and out, heart pumping. From there? Hard to tell,” Nutsbe said.
Beowolf’s head popped up at attention, and they both jerked around when an officer yelled, “Hands! Hands!”
Chapter Eighteen
Olivia
Beowolf lay at Olivia’s feet as she stood by her car.
She had given her name, but Nutsbe had cleared his throat before she said anything else. She was the witness to a crime. From her prosecutorial work, Olivia knew well that it was best to be quiet. She needed two solid nights of sleep and time to process before she should open her mouth. And she said as much to the officers, then she turned away.
Nutsbe said, “Beowolf follow.” It was his turn to give his name, and it was sweet that he was sending Beowolf along as her guardian angel. “You are, aren’t you? An angel?” she asked, and Beowolf raised both eyebrows. “You knew what was happening. I wonder how. Nutsbe knew you’d locked onto something. You were pulling, and he was tackling. And I’m alive.” She put her forearms on her hood. “I might not be alive,” she whispered.
Because her car was part of the crime scene, the police wouldn’t allow Olivia to drive away until after the CSI had collected their forensic evidence.
That would take at least a few hours.
A television crew pressed against the yellow crime tape that the police had strung. They had their cameras rolling, and Olivia noticed that Nutsbe had produced a baseball cap from his magic bag and pulled the bill low over his eyes. He also kept his face averted.
Olivia thought back to Jaylen trying to look Nutsbe up on social media under the name Tad Crushed and talking about how Iniquus kept a zero profile.
Jaylen! Olivia lifted her phone, swiped, tapped, and was instantly greeted with an “Olivia?”
“I’m alive and, for the most part, unhurt,” she said in a rush. “Are you listening to the news?”
The phone was silent longer than expected, and Olivia had to look at the ticking timer to ensure the line was connected.
When Jaylen spoke, fear painted her words. “You were there for that? I told myself that you were in some safe room inside the courthouse. What the heck was happening?”
“Shit, Jaylen, can I just start off with what a freak I was?”
“How’s that?” Tilly screamed into the phone, and Jaylen raised her voice to talk past it.
“What’s wrong with Tilly?”
“She’s mad that she asked me for an egg, and I made her an egg, but she didn’t like how I took the shell off. Ignore her. She just needs to let go of some stress. I’ve got her in my lap now, and we’re rocking. I’m wearing my earbuds, so I can hear you if you can hear me.”
“Did you see that Judge Greenway was hit?”
“They’re speculating on the news that it might be about this big case he has running with Chinese Mafia ties.”
“That was fast. I mean.” Olivia looked over at the press, then looked up at the faces pushed into the windows watching from above. Law offices. Anyone with a smartphone could have focused in and seen his face anywhere along the timeline.
“Go back. How are you a freak? Did you pee on yourself? I would have.”