Page 16 of Cowboy Heat

It’s locked.

So is the one along the back wall.

That leaves the way Kissy and I came in.

I move past her quickly. She’s talking into the phone just as fast, but I don’t hover.

Moving away from the shadows makes the hallway look like a different space altogether. I can see into the rooms through viewing windows and notice for the first time that the shelter has really been done top to bottom. The paint is clean on the walls, and the doors seem to be made of a solid wood and not anything flimsy.

I try each of the knobs on them as I move past.

All are locked.

I get to the doorway that opens into the smaller hallway that led us in.

The gun goes up, and I peer around the corner then move fast.

My aim is true; the motion of aiming feels off.

I don’t take the time to dissect myself.

Just because I hadn’t heard a gunshot doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Someone has to be around. Yet if they are, they must have locked the door behind them.

Every door except the one we came through is buttoned up tight.

So I go outside and check the perimeter.

I don’t like how exposed I am or the fact that someone might still be hiding inside, but I make quick work of seeing that no one and nothing is throwing any red flags around the shelter. There isn’t even any sign of a second vehicle.

How did Alice get here in the first place?

You’re not a detective anymore,I hear my inner voice say.Get back to Kissy.

It’s a self-initiated directive that I follow with a minimal limp.

I’m back to Kissy and Alice with gun in hand.

Kissy has her phone on the ground on speaker, but no one’s talking.

Alice isn’t either. Her eyes are closed.

“She’s breathing,” Kissy says without me asking. “I think the pain took her under. The bleeding’s stopped, and given the amount of blood, I don’t think anything major’s been hit.” Her hands are covered in blood against Alice’s side. She shakes her head, bouncing her wavy hair. “Then again, I’m not a doctor.”

“But the EMTs are on the way, Kissy,” says a man on the phone. I see she’s on with 9-1-1. “They’ll get Alice set up.” I shouldn’t be surprised that there’s a familiarity there. He knows Kissy. She knows him. They know Alice.

Small towns.

Kissy nods again, more to herself than the dispatcher, and then starts. “Find anything?”

I make sure the gun stays aimed far away from her while I keep my body close enough to pivot between the women and whatever or whoever might try to surprise us next.

I shake my head. “Everything’s locked up except the side door we came in. There’s no one, and there’s no second vehicle anywhere around here that I can see. I’m hanging on to this gun, though, until I see the law come in.” I angle my head down and talk more toward the phone. “Dispatch, let me know when EMT or law enforcement arrives, and I’ll see them in and leave Kissy the gun to defend herself if needed.”

Kissy’s eyes widen a little, but I hear the surprise in the dispatch’s voice as he agrees. After that, though, he starts to go on about gun safety and making sure no one gets hurt, but I tune out.

I look at Kissy who’s back to looking at Alice.

Out of the corner of my eye, she’s there.