“Sh-she’s breathing.”
“Good!” he bellowed. “There’s two more houses affected. I’ll be back! Checking on them.”
I heard him run off and looked down at Lily.
“When are they gonna be here?” I asked, examining her closer.
“Estimated three minutes,” she said. “Is she still breathing?”
“Yes, still breathing.” I felt her pulse. “Her pulse is shallow. Really shallow. Please, God!” I shouted. I leaned over her. “Lily, can you hear me? Lily, wake up, baby.”
“Sir, keep applying pressure. When the paramedics get there, we’ll disconnect. They should be there soon.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My hands kept pressing wherever I found fresh blood but I couldn’t keep up with it and I knew she was bleeding out.
“Lily!” I screamed at her. “Wake! Up!”
Her face never reacted, not once.
I sat up when I heard the sirens down the street. Not able to wait a second longer, I gingerly scooted my hands under her knees and back and lifted her up. She weighed practically nothing. I sprinted out the door, down the deck, just as the ambulance pulled up.
Two men hopped out and immediately began working around us; one took a gurney out from the back of the ambulance while the other approached me.
“What happened?” he asked, laying down a duffel bag.
A large fire truck and several police cruisers came barreling down the street.
“Other side!” the paramedic at the gurney yelled at the truck, swinging his arm around toward Trace’s house.
The truck sped off, along with one of the cruisers. The other stayed; one officer gathered all the neighbors who’d come out of their houses when the explosion set off, I can only assume, to keep them away from the scene, and the other ran from house to house to check for more injured.
“All clear!” he shouted and ran up to the ambulance. “Couple of minor cuts. They’re coming this way.”
I helped them lay Lily on the gurney then stepped aside for them to work.
“Sir, can you tell me what happened?” he asked once again.
I shook my head clear.
“I was sitting at the red light waiting to visit her, actually, when I heard this incredible explosion, so I just sped here. I have no idea what happened next door, but it must have blown out all her windows and knocked her out. I found her on the floor like this.”
They leaned over her, checking vitals, treating any obvious wounds. Within thirty seconds, they’d strapped her in and had loaded her in the ambulance.
“Can I ride with her?” I asked.
“Not that kind of vehicle, son.”
“Where are you taking her?” I asked.
One jumped in with her while the other closed and secured the doors.
“She’s got a bleed that will probably need a surgeon. We’ll medevac her to Smithfield Methodist.”
He ran to the front and drove off.
I hauled ass up the deck again and saw my phone, its flashlight still on. I picked it up and used it to find Lily’s phone. When I found it, I ran back out and jumped in my Jeep. My phone was almost dead, so I plugged it in and searched directions to Smithfield Methodist. I opened Lily’s phone and dialed Ansen, putting it on speaker, and backed out.
I noticed the firefighters were still fighting the fire at Trace’s house.
“What’s up, goof,” Ansen answered.
“Ansen, it’s Salinger.”
“Oh, hey, Salinger, what’s up?” he asked.
“Lily’s been hurt—” I began, but he interrupted me.
“What the hell! What happened?”
“What’s going on?” I heard Katie ask him in the background.
“Some kind of explosion at Trace’s. It blew out all her windows, tossed her to the ground. Sh-she’s been cut up. They’re flying her over to Smithfield Methodist right now.”
“I’ll meet you there,” he said.
I hung up and raced through the streets to the main intersection down the country road where her neighborhood sat. The light turned red right as I got there. My hands straining against the leather of my steering wheel, I turned to Lily’s phone.
Would she want me to call Hollie and Matt?
Without thinking, I picked up her phone and searched her contacts for Hollie’s name. It rang three times before she picked it up.
“Hello? Lily?” she asked as the light turned green.
“Miss Hollie, we don’t know one another, but I’m a friend of Lily’s. Unfortunately, the house behind hers caught fire and there was some sort of explosion, and Lily was wounded.”
I heard rustling and a snap, like she was turning on a light. “Is she all right?”
“I-I think so. I don’t know,” I told her truthfully. “They’ve medevacked her to Smithfield Methodist. I just thought I’d let you know, if you, well, if you wanted to inform her sisters.”
“I’ll wait to tell the girls until we have more information. I’ll be sending my husband down to meet you. Does she need anything?” Her voice broke. “Do you need anything?”
“Not at this time. Thank you.”
“I’ll be in touch through Lily’s phone then. Please let me know as soon as you have anything?”
“Yes, of course.”
I hung up the phone and stuck it in the back pocket of my jeans. With adrenaline pumping, I sped through the small bits of traffic caught up on the highway into Smithfield and landed at the hospital in record time. I parked, ran through the ER sliding doors, and landed at the nurse’s desk, severely out of breath.
“Lily Hahn,” I said, gulping in air. “Is she here?”
“Oh,” the woman said. I could tell she recognized Lily’s name immediately. “She’s in surgery. Are you a friend or relative?”
“Relative,” I lied.
She smiled kindly at me. “No worries, sweetheart, they’ve gotten her stable, and she’s had a transfusion. Surgery should be less than an hour. They’re just fixing a nicked artery and cleaning anything up that requires attention.”
“So, she’s fine?” I asked. I wanted to hear it again.
“Yes, sir. Just fine. I’ll come get you when she’s out.”
All the adrenaline that had been pumping through my veins surged in relief. Suddenly more tired than I’d ever felt, I plopped myself down and took out Lily’s phone. I texted Hollie what the nurse had said then called Ansen.
“Salinger,” Katie answered.
“Yeah, it’s me. She’s in surgery now—”
“She’s in surgery,” Katie relayed to, I assumed, Ansen.
“She’s stable and will be out in less than an hour,” I explained.
“Stable and will be out soon,” she told him.
My hands shook as the adrenaline left.
“What happened?” she asked me.
“I was going over to her house when I heard this incredible noise, like a bomb had gone off. I sped to her house and found her lying there.”
“Jesus,” she whispered then sighed. “I’m so glad she’s stable.”
I ran a hand down my face. “I’ve lost ten years off my life.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “The thought of something happening to her makes me break out into a cold sweat.” She paused. “Lily is too easy to love, isn’t she?”
I thought about what she’d said.
“So easy to love it frightens me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Lily
“Miss Hahn,” someone whispered. “Miss Hahn, it’s time to wake up. Can you hear me?” they asked.
I peeled my eyes open to see the face of someone who looked like a nurse.
“Hi, darlin’.” She smiled. “Know where you are?”
“No,” I scratched out.
“Well, there’s been an accident, although I’m not too clear on the details, but you were caught up in it, child. You had a little surgery and now you’re out and will be right as rain pretty soon here.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure what she was talking about.
“Do you have any family, baby? Anyone who would be here?”
My eyes began to water. “No, ma’am.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay, baby. I’ll be here. See this little button?” she asked, handing me a remote. “Just press that button if you need anything.”
“Okay.” I nodded, thoroughly confused as to how I’d gotten there.
We both turned toward the door when we heard some light rapping.
“Come in,” she said.
Katie pushed through, running to my side, bawling her eyes out. Ansen quickly followed, as did Matt.