I Heard A Rumor (26 page)

“Are you all right?” Zach asked, not taking his eyes or the gun off Robert.

“Yeah,” Chante said. When she heard the sirens, she released a sigh of relief. Within seconds, two officers burst in the office. “Drop the gun!” one of them yelled as he eyed the scene. Zach dropped the gun and put his hands up. When the officer crossed over to Zach, Chante yelled.

“No, he's not the one who tried to kill me! It's that fool on the ground,” she said.

The other officer nodded and grabbed Robert, then slapped handcuffs on him.

“Are you two all right?” an officer asked as he collected the gun from the floor.

“Yes, but what about Gabby? She was in the parking lot, and I don't know what he did to her.”

“Medics are out there with her now.”

Zach crossed over to Chante and pulled her into his arms. She was trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. He kissed her on the forehead. “It's all right, babe, it's all right.”

“Ma'am,” one of the officers said, “I think you should go to the hospital and get checked out.”

Zach nodded in agreement. “You do need to get checked out,” he said.

“Come with me,” the officer said to Zach.

“Of course,” he said. Zach and Chante waited until Robert was led out of the office before heading out themselves. A second ambulance pulled up, and the paramedics rushed over to Chante. She looked at the first set of paramedics who were attending to Gabby. When she saw movement from the stretcher, she expelled a sigh of relief.

As she was loaded onto the ambulance, Zach climbed in with her, holding her hand tightly.

“I'm guessing this isn't the surprise you were talking about,” she said.

“Not at all.”

It didn't take long for word of the shooting to get out. When Chante arrived at the hospital, there were media trucks in the parking lot and Chante's phone was ringing nonstop. Zach was beginning to regret not putting a shirt on before hopping into the ambulance with Chante, but he'd been totally focused on her well-being.

“This is just great,” she muttered as an intake nurse approached her with a wheelchair. “I can walk.”

“Hospital policy, ma'am,” the woman said. “I have to wheel you in.”

“All right.”

Zach nodded at the nurse, then said, “Let me push her.” The nurse pointed him toward the registration area.

“I should've never said I wanted to come to the hospital,” Chante whispered. “I'm fine, and . . .”

“Chante,” he said, “you were trembling and could barely breathe. Even if you hadn't come in the ambulance, I would've brought you here to make sure you were all right.”

Her cell phone rang before she could reply. Looking down and seeing it was Liza, Chante answered the call.

“Chante, where are you?” Liza asked frantically. “And please tell me this is a joke.”

“I'm at Carolinas Medical Center.”

“We're on our way.”

“Liza!” The line went dead. Zach kneeled down beside Chante's chair.

“Your friend is coming, right?”

Chante nodded, then wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt her warm tears on his shoulder. Stroking her back, Zach kissed her cheek. “Chante, it's fine now. He's locked up, and you're going to be all right.”

“I just can't believe this happened. He tried to kill me. I thought I was going to die in that office.”

“I wasn't going to let that happen,” he said. “If I had to stand in front of that bullet, I was ready.”

“You saved my life,” she sobbed. “If you hadn't been there . . .”

He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “But I was there, and I'm always going to be there. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Zach kissed her gently and wiped her tears away with his thumb.

After registering, Chante and Zach sat in the emergency room waiting area until a doctor could give her the all clear. Before the doctor came to see them, Liza and Jackson burst into the room. Jackson pointed at Chante and tapped his wife on the shoulder. They crossed over to her and Zach.

“Chante,” Liza said, “are you all right?”

Chante, who had her head on Zach's shoulder, looked up at her sorority sister and started crying again. The women hugged tightly.

“He looked so crazy, and I think he tried to kill Gabby.”

“Are you serious? My God.”

“He kept ranting about his mother and how we ruined his life.”

Liza shook her head. “That sick bastard.”

“Chante Britt,” a nurse called out. “Chante Britt.”

Zach rose to his feet and touched Chante's elbow. “Come on, babe. We'll be back,” Zach said.

Liza smiled at Zach. “Thanks for taking care of my sister.” He smiled and nodded at her.

Once Chante and Zach were in the exam room, he held her hand. “Your surprise is going to be even better now. You're going to rest for at least two days, and I don't want to hear anything about it.”

“This is one time when you won't get an argument from me. I'm not even going to ask what the surprise is anymore. I just can't get over all of this.” Chante closed her eyes and saw Robert standing there with the gun. He didn't even look like the man she'd known. The expression in his eyes was crazed and scary. What did he think killing her would've done for him?

“Chante?” Zach asked. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw the face of her savior, the man she loved.

“Yes?”

“You were breathing funny,” he said.

She stroked his cheek. “I was just thinking about that moment in my office. I just don't . . .”

“Shh,” he said. “Don't think about what could've happened, all right. The what-ifs don't matter.” Leaning in and kissing her, Zach knew they were going to stay in their hideaway for at least two weeks when the doctor gave her a clean bill of health.

Finally, the doctor entered the exam room. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Britt,” he said.

Neither of them bothered to correct him. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Britt? Any shortness of breath?” He pulled out his stethoscope and checked her heart and lungs.

“Earlier she was having some choppy breathing,” Zach said. The doctor nodded.

“That's expected. I can prescribe a sedative if you're going to have an issue sleeping tonight.”

“No,” she said. “I don't want a sedative.”

The doctor nodded. “There is only one thing I want you to do, and that's talk to a counselor. I can get a list of names for you and even set up an appointment.”

Chante nodded. “I'd like that, thank you.”

The doctor touched her shoulder and walked out of the room. She turned to Zach and noticed for the first time that he didn't have a shirt on.

“I can't believe you've been running around this place with no shirt on,” she said with a smile.

“The shirt didn't matter, I had to make sure you were all right,” he replied. “I just hate that I'm meeting your friends like this.”

A nurse walked into the exam room with discharge papers and a T-shirt, which Zach was very thankful for.

When the couple returned to the waiting area, Liza and Jackson approached them. “We've got to figure out how to get out of here while avoiding the media,” Liza said.

“I hate cameras, and I don't want to talk to anyone about what happened,” Chante said.

“I'm sure we have to give the police a statement before we leave town,” Zach said.

“And where are you going?” Liza asked. “By the way, I'm Liza Franklin, and this is my husband, Jackson.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Zach Harrington.”

“You were there?” Liza asked as she blinked back tears. “I feel so responsible for this.”

“Liza,” Jackson said as if they'd been having the conversation. “You didn't do this.”

“He's right,” Chante said. “Who knew Robert was psychotic?”

Liza ran her hand across her forehead. “I never thought he was dangerous, and if he'd hurt you, I think . . .”

“I see why you and Chante are so close,” Zach said. “You two are just alike. Listen, he didn't hurt her. And we're not going to focus on what could've been when we need to focus on what is right in front of us.”

“Amen, brother,” Jackson said. “Do you guys need a ride to the police station, or are you going back to Chante's office?”

Chante shivered as she thought about going back to that office. A place that was supposed to be her salvation, her difference maker. Now she wanted nothing to do with it. At least not today.

“Just take me home first,” Chante said. “I can't . . .”

“All right, I'll stay with you,” Liza said. “And Zach can pick up your car or anything you need from the office.”

“Yes,” Zach said as he kissed her cheek. “And if the police are there, I'll let them know you aren't ready to give a statement.”

“No,” Chante said, “I want to get that over with as soon as possible. Just have them meet me at my house.”

Zach nodded. “Whatever you want.”

As they got into Jackson's SUV, Chante squeezed Zach's hand. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I'm sure this isn't what you expected when you came down here.”

“Doesn't matter,” he said. “I'm glad I'm here for you. I love you.”

“Love you too,” she said, then leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

 

 

Robert sat in the interrogation room at the headquarters of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. How did he let those bitches bring him down like this? He'd never been on this side of the table. Most of his clients didn't even get arrested. Now here he was, looking like a common criminal. Leaning back in the cold steel chair, he wished he hadn't missed when he'd fired at Chante. The only thing that would've made it better would've been for Liza to be on the other end of the bullet. This was all their fault.

His career was over, both law and politics. Part of him regretted hurting Gabby. She was just a dumb little girl. But she should've known better than to team up with Chante, of all people!

The door to the interrogation room opened, and a burly detective walked in with two cups of coffee.

“Mr. Montgomery, would you like some coffee?” he asked.

“I'd like to get out of here,” Robert said. “This is all a big misunderstanding.”

The detective snorted and opened the file folder that lay on the table. “A misunderstanding? Looks like we're talking aggravated assault, kidnapping, and assault with a deadly weapon. That's a hell of a misunderstanding. How did we get here? I mean, not too long ago, I was voting for you to be my senator. Now you're sitting here facing some serious charges.”

“I'm not saying a word until I get a lawyer.”

“So you won't be representing yourself?” The big detective smirked.

“Those women set me up. Ruined everything I worked for, and I'm the one in handcuffs. That makes no sense.”

“Who are these
women
you're referring to?”

“I have the right to remain silent, and that's what I'm about to do.”

“Fine. But if there was some provocation or you were defending yourself, you should tell me, and we can work on making this case more of a misdemeanor than a felony.”

“I know these tricks, and you must think I didn't pass the bar. I've asked for an attorney. You can't question me anymore.”

The detective pushed the cup of coffee over to Robert. “Enjoy your coffee, Mr. Montgomery. It's Starbucks, and it will probably be a long time before you have any coffee as good as this.” He rose to his feet and left Robert alone in the interrogation room.

 

 

When Liza and Chante arrived at Chante's house, she felt as if she was taking her first real breath since Robert burst into her office. Plopping down on the sofa, she brought her knees up to her chest.

“I'm going to make some tea,” Liza said when she looked at her friend.

“How about opening that bottle of Chardonnay in the bottom of the refrigerator,” Chante said.

“My girl,” Liza replied. “Because I don't know a damned thing about making tea.” Liza headed for the kitchen and grabbed the wine, two glasses, and corkscrew. She returned to the living room and set the bottle and glasses in the middle of the coffee table.

“How could we have been so wrong about Robert?” Chante asked as she grabbed the bottle and opened it.

“Maybe he's mentally sick and hid it all these years. I don't know, but when I heard about the shooting at your office, I was beyond scared.”

“Liza, he looked like a madman when he came in there. And poor Gabby. I thought he'd killed her.” Chante filled the wineglasses.

“Just tell me that he didn't walk in on you and Zach doing . . .”

“No! Thank God. We'd just gotten out of the shower and were about to head off on this surprise trip he'd planned. Then we heard the scream. As soon as I picked up the phone . . .” Chante's voice trailed off, and her hand trembled, sloshing wine on the sofa. Liza held her friend's hand and took the glass from her. “Calm down. Maybe you don't need this.”

“Liza, I'm fine,” Chante said. “I just thank God that Zach was there. When Robert shot at me, you would've thought I was with Superman. He smashed him in the head with that ugly lamp of yours.”

“My Tiffany lamp?”

“Yes. I was going to donate it to Goodwill. I guess it's a good thing I didn't.”

Liza thumped her friend on the arm. “Anyway. Well, at least he took that creep down in style.”

“Robert thinks we ruined his life, Liza. Has that man ever accepted responsibility for anything?”

“Robert has always had issues with women, and I know it's because of his mother. But his past doesn't give him an excuse to act like a fool. And he damned sure can't be rolling around Charlotte shooting at people. I guess we're lucky he wasn't a better shot.”

Chante reached for her glass of wine with a steadier hand and took a sip. “And that's why I'm sitting here a ball of nerves. I could've died today.”

“But you didn't, and that's what you should be thankful for. That and Zachary Harrington. He's fine. Not as fine as my husband, but honey, you hit the jackpot with him.”

“Really? Weren't you the one telling me to have a secret relationship with this jackpot?”

“After a man saves your life, you have to tell the world about him. You need to take his last name and all of that.”

Chante laughed. “You're going too far.”

“Anyway,” Liza said, “I think he's a keeper.”

“I know he is, but I'm still wondering how we're going to make this long-distance relationship work.”

Liza sipped her wine. “You two will figure it out. Hell, after what happened today, I get the feeling that he's going to be by your side for a long time.”

Chante set her glass aside and smiled at Liza. “I like the way that sounds.”

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the front door. “I'll get it,” Liza said. “Hopefully, it's the guys.”