Page 56 of No Mercy
And what about Sam? He hadn’t been mentioned in the text. I could only pray that meant that he was safe. A cop in a cruiser that was coming from the opposite direction saw me race by. A glance in my mirror revealed that he was crossing the grassy median and turning in my direction, his lights flashing. He had to know that he’d never catch me. I didn’t slow my speed. In fact, I accelerated and began zigzagging in and around other vehicles. If Jumper was smart he’d do the same fucking thing or he was going to get caught for speeding.
I was coming up on my exit. I took one-twenty-seven onto Kennedy Memorial Drive. Ten minutes later I was rushing through the emergency room doors and straight to the information desk. No one had better get in my way.
“May I help you, sir?” an elderly woman asked in a sweet voice and with a caring smile I had no time to appreciate.
“My wife, Allie Winters, was brought in−” It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know what kind of accident she’d had.
“Rock!” I swung around to see Audra’s pale, ravaged face as she pushed through a door and into the room. It was clear that she’d been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red. She was wiping a tissue underneath her red nose. Her appearance scared the living fuck out of me.
I left the desk and met her. “Tell me,” I said savagely, taking her hand. But she could only shake her head as more tears fell unchecked down her face. Cooper was right behind her, and I released Audra and went to him. I didn’t think. I just reacted. I grabbed him by the front of his cut and slammed him back against the wall, getting into his face. “You were supposed to protect her!” I snarled through my clenched teeth. “Sam−”
“Sam’s okay, man,” Cooper rushed out with his arms up in the air in surrender, smart enough not to fight me.
“Rock, it’s not Cooper’s fault!” Audra made her way over to us.
“Do I need to call the police?” the elderly woman asked from her station. She’d already picked up her phone.
“No, it’s okay,” Audra responded. “We’re all family.”
“Like fucking hell!” I barely gave her a look. “What the fuck happened? Where is she?”
“Rock,” Audra’s small hand on my arm kept me from exploding and ruining Cooper’s face. She glanced around the room. “Let’s go sit over there.” I resisted. “Please,” she whispered tearfully.
“I want to know if Allie is okay,” I gritted out.
“Please, Rock−”
The hospital doors slid open and Jumper came storming into the room. His wild gaze immediately fell on us and his shoulders slumped with obvious relief as he made his way to us.
“Fucking hell.” I turned in the direction Audra had indicated, which was empty of people. I knew she wouldn’t be satisfied until I was sitting, so I sank into the edge of a chair and glared at the small group as they joined me. My eyes were on Audra, who had managed to pull herself together.
“Is she alive?” I had to know that first thing, before anything else. We could get through the rest.
Audra nodded. Closing my eyes, I released a breath of relief and sank back into the chair.
“She’s in surgery right now.”
I opened my eyes. “Sam?”
“He’s good. Carol has him.”
I took another relieved breath, running my hand over my mouth and lower jaw. My hand was shaking. “Tell me what happened.” I glared at Cooper.
“I’m sorry, brother. I never had reason to think that Marnie−”
“Marnie!” What the fuck was I hearing? I clenched my hands. “What the fuck did she do?”
“She came to the house, acting all friendly and happy. Said she had something to drop off. She even had a box, man!”
“Are you saying Marnie attacked Allie?” I’d fucking kill her for hurting Allie.
Cooper confirmed it with a reluctant nod. “I let her go inside. I swear, brother, if I’d known−she didn’t act like anything was fucking wrong!” He glanced down at his hands, which were hanging between his knees, and then I saw the fucking blood on them.
A chill went through my paralyzed body. “What did she fucking do to Allie?” I was terrified at what Cooper’s answer would be. A quick glance at Audra showed a fresh onset of tears filling her eyes. Christ. This was going to be bad.
“She used a fucking knife on Allie,” Cooper admitted in a low tone, confirming my worst fears. “Marnie wasn’t there long when I heard the first scream. I rushed inside. I could hear fighting and yelling coming from upstairs. I rushed up there, but . . .” he paused, taking a breath for his courage to continue. “I was too late. Man, I’m sorry! When I got there Allie was on the floor and Marnie was on top of her, holding a knife. I didn’t even hesitate, man, I fucking shot her right through the head.” He shook his head sorrowfully. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
By the time Cooper was finished I felt fucking numb. Audra’s sob drew my gaze to her. “Cooper did the best he could to staunch the flow of blood until the paramedics got there. He called me to get the boys.”