Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) (15 page)

Bill was standing at the helipad, waiting for
them to land. They were going to have to operate
to get the bullet out, but he wasn’t sure what else
he had to do. He hoped he didn’t have too many
repairs. He didn’t want to see her hurt, but he
didn’t want to have her close to death on his
table.

He heard the chopper coming and knew they were
close. Getting his bag, he stood ready to get to
work.

When it landed, he didn’t waste a second. He
jumped on because he wanted to get a good look at
her. When he saw her, he started to worry. She
was really pale, which meant she'd probably lost a
lot of blood.

“I need to get her to my house. I have the
equipment I need there,” he shouted over the
blades.

Paul and Emily nodded, both working to get
Stacy out without causing more damage. Thankfully
she stayed unconscious the whole time. He knew it
would really hurt if she were awake.

They managed to get her into the back of the
van Bill had brought. He climbed into the back,
taking full inventory of her injuries.

Emily, Paul, and Martha climbed in the back
with him while Jason got in the front. It was
crowded in there, but he knew why they had to be
there. Paul didn’t want to leave Emily, and Emily
and Martha wouldn’t leave Stacy. He just hoped
they stayed out of the way.

He lifted the gauze and saw the hole where she
was shot. It was silver: he could tell that much
by the edges. That was the first thing he had to
work on. She couldn’t heal with it in her. She
was lucky she had passed out.

Bill felt around her ribs, seeing the bruising.
She had some cracked, if not broken, ribs. He was
going to have to check to make sure they didn’t
puncture a lung. Shifters could heal well and fast
as long as things were in place. When they
weren’t, it could heal wrong. A lung healing with
a rib in it was not good. If that was what had
happened, Stacy was very lucky she'd been shot. It
could have saved her a lot of problems.

Pulling out his stethoscope, he listened to her
breathing and it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
The rib definitely needed to be checked first. He
couldn’t let it heal wrong.

The van pulled to a stop and a moment later,
Bill heard the van door open. He was relieved to
be home. That meant he could do something.
“Emily,” he heard Stacy moan.

“Hey, Stacy, it’s Bill. I’m going to take care
of you. Emily and Martha are here, but I need to
get you taken care of.”

She nodded, and Bill knew he had to get working
on her quickly. He had no idea how she was
talking. He couldn’t imagine how much pain she was
in.

Picking her up, he carried her into the house.
He wanted to be in the exam room and get the wounds
taken care of. Her ribs were a huge concern, and
he wouldn’t feel like she was out of the woods
until they were fixed.

He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t let Emily
lose her. She’d made everyone’s lives a living
hell, and he couldn’t bring that down on anyone.
He had to save her.

***

Stacy was so happy to see Bill’s face. She
knew she’d be okay now. He’d make her better. He
always did.

She could feel someone picking her up. She had
no idea who it was and she really didn’t care. All
she wanted was for the pain to stop. She closed
her eyes, hoping to pass out again.

“How bad is it?” she heard a man ask.
“It’s not good, but I think she’ll be okay,”
she heard Bill answer.
She hoped to hear the man speak again. His
voice soothed her. “Who?” she asked.
“I’m Jason. I’m a friend of your sister’s and
I work for Bill,” he answered.

That voice. It made her not care about the
pain, even if it was just for a moment. She needed
to see the owner of the voice. She fought to open
her eyes. It took her a minute, but by the time
they reached the door, she had them open.

Standing there holding the door was the most
beautiful man she’d ever seen. He had blond hair
and hazel eyes. His muscles were drool-worthy and
tan. Very tan. She wanted to run her hands over
every inch of his body just to see if his skin was
as soft as it looked.

She was carried past him, but she couldn’t seem
to take her eyes off of him. There was just
something about him.

“I’ll come see you later,” he said with a
smile.

She couldn’t believe how much that smile
changed his face. Before, he looked hard, like a
fighter. He had the same look Emily often did, but
that smile. It lit up his entire face. She wanted
to see more of that.

Stacy nodded, happy she was going to see him
again, then let the darkness take over.
***

Emily saw Stacy pass out again. She couldn’t
stand seeing her like that. She didn’t know what
to do. She didn’t know how to help her. She was
helpless and she hated that feeling.

Paul wrapped his arm around her waist, trying
to comfort her, but the only thing that would make
her feel better was seeing her sister recovered.

“She’ll be okay,” he said to her.
“I hope you’re right,” she said, and put her
head on his shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go and wait inside. Do you
want me to call anyone? Do you want Lucy and
Mike?” he asked.

She thought about it for a minute and
remembered how Lucy was so strange she was. She
would probably be good at keeping everyone’s minds
off of things. “Yeah, call them.”

“Okay,” he said, and pulled out his cell phone
as they sat on the couch.

She wasn’t paying attention to what he was
saying. She was watching the door to Bill’s exam
room. She’d been in there a few times and knew
what was going on. He was taking his time, fixing
her the best he could.

“They’ll be here in a few,” Paul said, pulling
her close. She nodded again and put her head back
on his shoulder, snuggling into him. She tried
taking comfort from him, but she didn’t know how
much he could really give her. Her sister was in
there being cut open.

“Hey,” she heard Jason say. She hadn’t even
realized he was there. When she looked around, she
saw Aunt Martha sitting in a chair across from
them, waiting just as impatiently as she was.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“Why?” she asked.

“Because we used to be close and I still
consider you a friend. I wanted to be here for
you.”

“Thank you,” she said, and she meant it. They
might not have been close for a long time, which
was her fault, but there he stood, there for her
when she needed him.

“No problem,” he said with a smile, and sat
down in the chair next to Aunt Martha.
***

Lucy walked into Bill’s house, not sure what to
expect. She liked Emily and considered her a
friend, but she was surprised to have gotten a call
from Paul. When Mike told her, she insisted on
getting there as fast as they could, which wasn’t
all that fast because she was as big as a whale.

“Hey, how is she?” she asked Emily, when they
walked into the living room.”
“No news yet,” Paul answered.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She didn’t know what
else to say.
“Thank you.” Again, it was Paul who spoke.
“How’s she holding up?” she asked Paul. Emily
didn’t seem to want to talk.
“Okay, I think,” he answered with a small
smile.

“I wish there was something I could do to help.
If you guys need anything, just tell me and I’ll be
there,” she said.

“I know, but right now we’re just waiting for
some news. How’s the baby?” he asked.

“Getting big and moving a lot. I’ve been
kicked so many times I should be black and blue in
there. I think we have a soccer player here,” she
said with a smile.

“How’s the writing?”
“Good, just busy. I know once little Eugene is
born, I won’t have much time to write, so I’m
trying to get ahead.”

“Eugene?”
“I’m trying out baby names,” she said with a
shrug.

“Yeah, and it’s not going to be Eugene. Sorry
Hon, but I think we should stick to Samuel or
Megan,” Mike said with a laugh.

“What’s wrong with Eugene?” she asked.
“Nothing, but can you see a wolverine named
Eugene?” Mike asked.
“Okay, you have a point,” she grumbled.
“Why don't you name one of your characters
Eugene?” he suggested.
Lucy looked over at Paul, who was laughing at
them. “What?” she asked him.
“I thought you'd be a good distraction, and I
was right,” he said with a smile.
“Okay, I can live with that,” she smiled.

“Good. Now why don't you sit down before you
fall over?” Mike said. While most people might be
offended by that comment, Lucy was fine. She knew
she was strange to be okay with it, but Mike was
trying to make her more comfortable. He was a very
loving husband who she wouldn’t give up for the
world.

Lucy looked over at the woman sitting in a
chair. “Hello, I’m Lucy and this is my husband
Mike.”
“Martha Kincade. I’m Emily’s aunt.”

“Nice to meet you. I’d shake your hand, but I
have a feeling you’d end up with a lap full of me,”
she said with a small laugh.

Martha just looked at her like she was crazy.
So what if she was a little off? She didn’t care
and neither did Mike’s parents or her family. That
was what mattered.

“Lucy,” Mike said. She looked at him, trying
to figure out what he wanted. He motioned to the
chair, then looked at her.

“Oh, you want me to sit down. That’s probably
a good idea,” she said with a little laugh.
“I hope you’re getting a babysitter,” Martha
said.

“Don’t worry, I hired a babysitter to watch the
baby while Lucy writes to make sure it’s fed,” Mike
answered.

“Hey!” Lucy said, making sure to sound
offended. She wasn’t really, but they didn’t need
to know that.

“Lucy, you have trouble feeding yourself. How
do I know you’ll remember to feed the baby?” he
asked.

“Okay, you have a point,” she said with a
smile.

Lucy was sitting there, bored out of her mind.
She hoped Stacy would be okay and was happy to be
there for Paul and Emily, but she didn’t have her
computer, book, or even a notepad. She had nothing
to do. Looking around, she tried to find something
she could do.

Nothing. There was a TV, but she thought it
might be rude to turn it on and relax while
everyone was worried.

A song popped into her head and she started
humming it. “Rising it, back on the seat. Did my
thing, took my chance. Went the distance, now I
back on my meat. A man and his will to alive.
It’s the spy of the tiger, it’s the thrill of the
sight. Rising up to the challenge of our survival
and our last gone survivor.”

“Lucy!” Mike yelled at her.
“What?”
“Really? Eye of the Tiger?”
***

Paul watched Mike and Lucy. He loved how much
they bantered. He wanted something like that.
Maybe not exactly like that, but he liked how they
were so comfortable together.

“Lucy, really? And you got the words wrong,”
Paul said. He looked around and saw Jason trying
to hold back his laughter. Emily was looking at
Lucy like she was crazy. He started laughing a
little. He couldn’t help it. The look on Emily’s
face was just great.

“Well, what are the words?” she asked him.
Emily sang them to Lucy.

Paul was surprised that came out of her. He
never thought he’d hear her giving out lyrics,
especially when her sister was being operated on.
And to sing it so well? It was amazing.

“What? I’m a
Rocky
fan,” she grumbled, and
looked around the room to see the surprise on
everyone’s faces.

“I never took you as a
Rocky
fan,” Paul said.
“What did you think I watched? Chick flicks?”
“No, I thought you were more into the horror
movies.”

“I like those too, but I like a good action
movie. I’m also a big
Die Hard
and
Indiana Jones
fan.”

“Really?” Paul asked.

“Oh yeah, and don’t you dare talk through any
of those movies. She will bite your head off, kick
you out, then watch the part you made her miss,”
Jason said.

“Yeah, there’s a reason I stopped watching
movies with you,” she said.
“Why?” Lucy asked.

Paul wondered how much of this conversation was
going to end up in one of her books. He hadn’t
read any of them, but he had a feeling that, with
all the people watching she did, a lot of what she
saw did end up in published books.

“Because he always talked through the movie,
asking why things happened,” Emily said. “The
whole point of a movie is to watch it and go on the
journey with the characters, not ask people what’s
going to happen.”

“I like how you think. That’s how it is with a
book. The whole thing is the journey, not the
ending, not the why. It’s the journey and watching
the characters develop,” Lucy said. Paul never
thought he’d witness anything like that, Emily and
Lucy having a conversation about movies and books.

He could tell Emily thought Lucy was a little
strange and didn’t particularly like her. A lot of
people would tolerate her but wouldn’t want to
spend too much time with her because of her being
so out there. Paul liked her. One thing he could
say was that she wasn’t boring. She was actually
very entertaining.

“Mike, I’m hungry,” Lucy said.

“I’ll be right back,” Mike said, and stood up.
Lucy started rubbing her stomach as she watched
Mike leave.

Paul could tell she was really looking forward
to the baby. She would be a great mom, he could
tell. She was a very caring person. He didn’t
think she would be as bad as they were saying.
She’d probably check it every five minutes to see
if it was hungry, and would constantly check for
dirty diapers. She’d always hold it when it cried,
and would kiss its boo-boos. She would be a
perfect mother.

“How far along are you?” he asked her.
“Five months going on twenty,” she said with a
little laugh.