Page 86 of Broken Wheels
“Yeah, well we can’t all be lovey-dovey now, can we?” Chalmers stood. “Dr. Malone—Josh—thank you for coming.”
“What are you going to tell your boss?” Doc demanded.
“That unless he has evidence he hasn’t shown me, I think he’s on a wild goose chase.” He held out his hand and shook with Josh, then turned to Dix and repeated the gesture. They walked out of the bakery, Chalmers leading. The sidewalk was busy, shoppers going about their business. He pointed left. “I go thataway.”
“And we’re in the opposite direction.”
“I nailed it, didn’t I?” Chalmers smiled. “You two are an item.”
Dix grinned. “You worked that out all by yourself?” He glanced at Doc, who stood with his back to the traffic. Despite his recent attempt at a lighthearted comment, Dix could see he was still a little shaken.
He slipped his arm around Doc’s shoulder, pulled him in, and leaned closer. “Mind if I test out my own theory?”
Doc’s eyes widened. “And what’s that?”
“Whether coffee-flavored kisses are even better than the original recipe.” He cupped Doc’s chin and held it steady as he brushed his lips against Doc’s.
A crack rent the air, and Doc was shoved into him, sending Dix falling to the ground, landing on his back on the concrete, Doc tumbling with him. Dix reacted automatically, covering Doc with his own body, aware of the screams of the passers-by, the sound of feet as people scuttled for safety.
“Keep the fuck down!” Chalmers yelled.
Dix’s ears were filled with Doc’s erratic breathing. “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “Just stay down till I say, okay?”
“Dixon….” Doc’s eyes were huge.
He wasn’t sure how long they laid there. So many screams…. It reminded Dix of the mall incident. Then came sirens in the distance. Finally, everything around them blurred into one big noise, until Dix was conscious only of Doc beneath him.
“Dixon? He’s gone. We’re searching the area, but we doubt he’s still here. Is Josh okay?”
No, he fucking isn’t okay, asshole. He’s just been shot at. Dix stood slowly, in case he needed to cover Doc again. When he got up, he was ready to pull Doc to his feet when Chalmers gasped. “Oh my God.”
It was then Dixon saw the blood covering his shirt and Doc’s back, staining the sidewalk a deep brick red.
Dix found it hard to breathe. Why the fuck had he agreed to this? Yet he had, and now Doc was lying on the ground, in a pool of his own blood.
When Dix found out who did this, someone was going to fucking pay.
Chapter 26
Dix paced the waiting room. Gary and Michael sat together in a corner, conferring among themselves. Chalmers stood by, his expression grim, and every time Dix so much as glanced at him, it was as if someone turned the gas up under his already-simmering rage.
That fucker. If he hadn’t come, Doc wouldn’t have been shot. If he hadn’t come, Doc wouldn’t be in surgery. If he hadn’t come....
Dix clenched his fists. Down boy. Cool your jets. He knew it was circular thinking, but the more he dwelled on it, the angrier he got.
Concentrate on Doc. He’s what matters now.
He could still hear the Emergency Room doctor, his voice calm and even, telling them Doc was in the best hands. It was all he had to hold on to while they waited to hear how the surgery had gone.
Be okay, Doc. Please?
The Kevlar vest hadn’t been any real help. Or, maybe it had. If Dix hadn’t moved Doc right before the blast, who knows where the shot would have hit. Either way, Dix was grateful to whoever wanted to take fucking credit that Doc wasn’t lying on a slab instead of an operating table. And as soon as the surgeons retrieved the bullet, Dix would be on the hunt for the bastard who’d tried to kill Doc.
He caught the murmur of voices. Chalmers was deep in conversation with Gary and Michael. Dix’s curiosity got the better of him, and he went to join them. When he got near enough to make out what Chalmers was saying, his blood boiled.
“I told them this would happen.”
You motherfucker.