Page 54 of Gone in the Night (Detective Morgan Brookes #16)

FIFTY-FOUR

Morgan, who had needed some fresh air, was sitting outside on the stone steps to pull herself together.

The Montgomerys’ beautiful glass and slate lakeside mansion behind her, she closed her eyes.

She felt the cool breeze that came off the lake revive her enough to stop feeling faint.

The sun was setting fast, dipping behind the mountains in the background, and she knew once it had disappeared that the air would become chilly.

She was cold to the bone with the horrors she had just witnessed.

It was going to take time for her already full mind to process the last couple of hours.

As the ambulance pulled into the drive she felt a tiny flicker of relief to see Nick, her favourite paramedic, behind the wheel.

He took one look at her and shook his head as he climbed out of the truck.

‘Morgan Brookes, what a surprise. I thought it was too good that you’d settled down and had managed not to get yourself injured for a while. I was hoping you were over this kind of thing.’

She grinned at him. ‘What can I say, I tried, I really did.’

He carried his kit towards her, shaking his head.

‘You clearly didn’t try hard enough, let me take a look at that.

’ His gloved fingers were gentle as they moved her hair to get a better look at the wound.

Snapping open the bag, he took out some gauze and bottles of something she couldn’t read from the angle he was holding her head.

‘Ouch, that stings.’

Nick was cleaning her head wound, that had thankfully stopped bleeding, with some wound wash. ‘Hospital.’

‘No.’

‘Thought not, that’s why I have my special Morgan Brookes kit with me.’

‘You do?’

‘Yes, I always have it with me in case you can’t keep yourself out of trouble. I’ll have your head glued back together in no time.’

‘Thanks, Nick.’

‘You don’t need to thank me. I’d much rather be sorting you out than the woman on the floor in the kitchen who my friend is running a line on.’

‘Yeah, you got the better end of this job.’

Ben, Marc and the officers were dealing with the carnage of the scene inside the kitchen. Amber was leaning against the hall wall watching them.

‘Am I going to need one of your special kits if I take a job working with them?’ She pointed to Morgan.

Nick shook his head. ‘I don’t think so, they’re reserved for Detective Brookes.’

Morgan smiled at her. ‘Not if you have your taser on you at all times. How come you have it anyway?’

‘I told Madds I wasn’t working with you lot without it.

He agreed and let me bring it out. Good job I did, although I never got the chance to use it on her, but I would have in a heartbeat.

You missed all the fun earlier when her husband punched Ben and I tasered him; he dropped to the floor like a rock. ’

‘Yeah, thank you, it sounds like it’s been nonstop action. Welcome to the team, Amber.’

Amber smirked at her, and Morgan grinned back.

Ben came to see how they were getting on. ‘Are you taking her in?’

Nick shook his head. ‘No, she’s the stubbornest patient I ever did treat. There, you’re good to go, Morgan.’ He’d finished taping gauze over the wound. ‘I better see if Trev needs a hand. You know the score, any dizziness, fainting or blank spells you get straight to A her nose was wrinkled, and she had the cutest face she’d ever seen for a baby.

‘Oh, Amy, she’s perfect.’

Amy grinned. ‘She looks good in your arms.’

Morgan looked at Ben who had tears in his eyes that he was blotting with his shirt sleeve.

He smiled. ‘Amy, she’s perfect. Congratulations, you did amazing.’

‘Thanks, boss.’

‘Amy, I’m not your boss when you’re not at work. I’m your friend.’

‘Thanks, Ben.’

Cain was beaming as he looked around the room at his friends. ‘Well then now we’ve all realised how wonderful babies are, who is going to tell me what the fuck happened to Morgan’s head, again, and who punched you?’

‘Cain,’ said Ben and Amy at the same time.

Morgan laughed. ‘It’s a long story, not now. Let’s not spoil this with talk of violence.’

Cain shrugged. ‘Okay, but you better fill me in later.’

‘I will, I promise.’ Morgan reached down and stroked Ava Rose’s cheek with her finger. It felt like a peach, all soft and fuzzy.

She sighed, this had been exactly what she needed, and she was so grateful she had friends to make her realise that life wasn’t all bad, that not all people were evil.

Ava opened her eyes and looked at Morgan for the briefest of moments, releasing a rush of love so strong she knew she would always be there for her, Amy, Cain and Ben no matter what.

They were a team, and she wouldn’t let anything tear them apart.

Between them they would look after this precious little girl, and she would want for nothing.

Looking down at her, Morgan realised that her life did have meaning and it filled her heart with so much love.