I hold on to Tess and let her cry, ’cause that’s what she needs to do. By the time the EMTs arrive to take Lu to the hospital, she’s calm enough to let me help her to her feet.
We walk to where they’re securing Lu to a stretcher. Tess holds tight to my hand as she bends to squeeze Lu’s arm. “Thank you for watching over me,” she tells her, softly. “You saved me and our little one.”
Lu nods and offers her a tight smile. I can tell that shot to her shoulder is killing her, but she manages to stay strong and be nice to my girl. She’s a good cop, and an even better woman. I lean in to tell her as much. “Lu, I—”
“Thirty years, O’Brien.” Her scowl and husky voice cut me off. “Thirty fucking years and two shifts left till retirement.”
I straighten and swipe at my face. “Ah, yeah, sorry about this, Lu—”
“No stab wounds, no bullet holes, not even a damn black eye. Then I meet you and take one to the gut.”
“It’s only a flesh wound to the shoulder, ma’am,” the EMT interrupts.
“Was I talking to you, asshole?” Lu growls back.
“Um, no ma’am,” he answers.
“Then shut the hell up. You ain’t no doctor.”
The EMTs exchange glances, then hurry to shove her in back of the ambulance. “Thirty fucking years!” Lu yells.
“I swear I’ll make it up to you,” I promise. “Do you like muffin baskets?”
“Fuck you, O’Brien.” The doors shut, but not before I hear her call me an asshole.
Tess rubs my arm. “She’s just upset about what happened,” she offers.
I take in her beautiful face, her eyes reddening the longer I look at her. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m a mess, and I think I have glass and pieces of bone in my hair. I’d like to go home. Can we go home?”
“As soon as we’re done here. I promise, baby.” I motion to the detectives waiting to take her statement. “It’s just procedure. Tell them everything you remember, and then we’re out of here, okay?”
The two suits step forward. I release Tess and step back just enough so it doesn’t look like I’m coaching her. I reach for my phone and hit the icon for my email. I rattle off the facts in a detailed report and send it directly to my sergeant, all the while keeping tabs on Tess. More cops show in the time it takes us to wrap up.
“Oh, shit,” someone says.
Three rookies gather around the last body, pointing to what remains of the man’s head. “Clean shot. All the way through. Do you know anyone who could do that? I sure don’t.”
“Hell, no. And did you see the perp by the building? O’Brien got him right through the heart.”
“Good job, O’Brien,” the one closest to me calls.
They mean it as a compliment. But they’re young, and still have a lot to learn. Maybe I’ll be able to show them. For now, my girl needs me. I reach for her and lead her back to my truck.
We’ve had enough bad lately. It’s time to start our life of good.
Epilogue
Tess
The autumn breeze is chilly, but the sun warms my face as I step onto the porch. Curran warms the rest of me when he presses his chest against my back and winds his arm around my growing belly. We wave to his siblings and friends. One by one, they climb into their vehicles and pull out of our long driveway.
My father and I settled out of court. For as much as he resents me, he hates scandal more. At least, when it’s directed at him. The figure we settled on paid the majority of my law school expenses; the rest I’ll work off as a prosecuting attorney in the DA’s office. Although I was only sworn in two months ago, I already know the public sector is where I belong.
I smile when Joey laughs at something Finn says. He pulls himself into the passenger side of Finn’s truck while Finn tucks his wheelchair in the rear cabin.
“Place is coming along nice,” Curran says to me. “Way better than it looked on paper.”
“I know,” I agree. “My favorite room so far is the master bathroom.”
He nibbles on my neck. “Not the bedroom?”