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ied to make it around the Escalade for better cover and he went down.
When Shy opened up with the plr22, their attackers dropped back for cover and then they returned fire. She killed one before she emptied the magazine and went to her Beretta.
Jada leaned over the hood of the Escalade and began firing. She killed one of their attackers and kept firing until she emptied her clip and then dropped down to reload her Glock with her last remaining clip.
Shy kept firing the Beretta until she had emptied that clip and then went to put a fresh clip in the plr22 while Jada covered. One of the attackers had worked his way around to the side and once he had a clear shot at Jada, he fired. When she turned to return fire, Jada was shot in the stomach.
Shy watched Jada’s body hit the ground, she slammed the magazine in, stood and lit up the man that shot Jada with multiple shots as he moved toward her. Then Shy turned and continued firing at the last shooter. When the plr22 was empty, the last shooter stood up and smiled at Shy before raising his weapon. But before he could fire and kill Shy, Chuck walked up behind him and shot him in the back of the head before he fell out again.
When Victor arrived at the scene and stopped the Acura, Black jumped out to find Chuck on the ground unconscious, Jada holding her stomach gasping for air and Shy holding her. Victor went to check on Chuck.
“Stay with me, Jada,” Shy said and looked up at Black.
He took a breath. “Get in the car, Cassandra.”
“We can’t just leave her.”
“Get in the car, Cassandra,” Black said and held out his hand for her.
“He’s right,” Jada managed. “You need to go.”
Shy accepted Black’s hand and got up.
“How’s Chuck?” Black asked Victor.
“He’s alive,” Victor said as Bobby arrived at the scene.
“Take Cassandra to Bobby’s car.” Black crouched down next to Jada.
“You need to leave too, Mr. Black.”
“I’m not gonna leave you here, Jada,” Black said as Bobby joined them. “Help me get her to her car.”
Black and Bobby lifted Jada up and carried her gingerly to the Acura and laid her across the back seat. As Bobby went to get Chuck, Black leaned in.
“I need to look at that.”
“Okay,” Jada said and slowly moved her hands.
“Sorry about this,” Black said and ripped the Elie Saab beaded sequin dress enough to get a look at the wound and then he felt for an exit wound. Black tore off the sleeves from his shirt, tore it again and covered the wound. He put the other piece under Jada and then tied it off as gently, but securely as he could.
“Try to keep as much pressure on that as you can.”
Bobby and Victor put Chuck in the front seat as the sounds of police sirens began filling the air.
“You need to leave, Mr. Black,” Jada said softly.
“Take them to the nearest hospital, make sure they get help and then you get out of there; understand?”
“Understood,” Victor said and got in. When he drove off, Bobby drove Shy to the airport and once she was safely aboard, he and Black went to see about Barbara.
Chapter Twenty-six
When Barbara got home with Tahanee, she was unusually calm for somebody that had experienced what she had that afternoon. It was evident when Pam hugged and tried to comfort her. Barbara could feel her mother’s arms around her, and could hear her talking, but it might as well have been Charlie Brown talk because the words just weren’t registering.
“You just need rest, baby,” Pam said, and it made her think back to the night that she killed Cat and Melinda and the issues that she had dealing with what she had done. Pam struggled with that for years and she didn’t want that for her daughter.
When Barbara started to go up to her room, Tahanee said that she was leaving. “No,” Barbara said quickly. “Could you stay with me for a while?”