Page 78 of Disarming Caine

I punched the gym’s address into Antonio’s GPS and mouthed,Drive!

A quick shoulder-check and we were moving, fastening our seatbelts as he got underway.

Don’t spook her. Keep the tone light.“Are you closer to your car or the gym?”

“The gym… uh, Sam?” Her voice quavered. “He’s coming around again. His face is covered up…”

Antonio made a corner and sped up.

I braced a hand on the dash as we veered around another vehicle. “Get back inside the gym!”

We could hear her over the phone, her feet hitting the ground in rapid succession. My chest constricted. The gym was in a strip mall with an overhang and thick concrete posts. That would give her cover if she got there in time.

Please be wrong. Please be overreacting.

“Lucy! What’s going on!”

I heard a clattering noise like her phone dropping, and the shots began.

She screamed.

Someone else screamed.

Panicked voices.

The goosebumps reached my legs.

Antonio tossed me his phone as he hit a dangerous speed on the frozen roads. “Call 9-1-1.”

I made the call, while trying to make out any distinguishing sounds on the open line with Lucy. I wanted to grab hold of Antonio, but he had to focus on the road.

The sound of tires squealing.

“It’ll be alright.” A woman’s voice, distant over the phone. Was that Lucy? I couldn’t tell. “We need an ambulance!”

Chapter 26

Antonio

“Goddamnit,Janelle!”Samanthaunlockedthe front door of my condo and shoved it open. “What exactly is the Brenton PD doing about this?”

“Calm down, Sam.” Janelle was hot on her heels, slamming a hand into the door. She was off duty but had arrived on-scene after Samantha called her. “At least the guy who was shooting at you and Dr. Ferraro is still behind bars.”

“I’m telling you: You’ve got the wrong guy! There’s no way we have two different shooters in this little town within the same week.” They both tore off their boots. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t bring any of the evidence with us.”

“Be serious, Sam. There are rules.”

I held the door open as Lucy stepped in behind me. “You’ll be safe here.”

She was pale, the difference between Samantha and her best friend never as clear as at this moment. Samantha was on the warpath while Lucy retreated into a shell. My heart ached for her; she was normally so outgoing and full of life. But violence could do that to a person unaccustomed to it.

I put an arm around her, and she clutched onto me, shaking. “Shh, now. You did everything you could for him.”

“I swear—” Samantha’s jaw flexed. “If Lucy hadn’t called us…”

“How many times do I have to say this? You don’t even know Lucy was the target!” Janelle dragged her hands over her close-cropped hair, while Samantha did the same over her face. “It could have been Paul or any of the other people wandering around. Hell, you’re normally there with her, aren’t you? Maybe it was you again. Stop making all these assumptions!”

“Come upstairs, Janelle. I’ll show you what I was talking about.”