Maya Banks - Softly at Sunrise

“They’ve agreed to give you signed legal documents from the judge who issued the restraining order, and your wife is here now. Let the children go, and then they’ll talk to you again to make the arrangements.”

Once more she held her breath. He paused for what seemed like an eternity as he grappled with the decision. He glanced at his daughter and then back to Rachel. He leveled the gun at her once more, his hand much steadier, almost as if the longer this went on, the more comfortable he got with holding a weapon.

He dipped the barrel toward the door and then back at Rachel. “Get them to the door. Single file. Line them up. I’ll open the door and let them out. When the last one’s out, the door closes, and you and Jennifer stay with me.”

Then he motioned for Jennifer to go stand by Rachel.

Rachel hastily nodded her agreement. “Let me line them up but I’ll stay back. I promise. I can do it from the back of the room. Can I call to let the police know the children are on their way out so that no one gets hurt?”

Grudgingly, the gunman nodded, and Rachel turned her attention on her terrified students.

“Listen to me, boys and girls. I want you to line up single file. No pushing. I need you to remain calm. Line up quickly. Once you leave the door, go straight to the bus ramp exit. Someone will be waiting for you and tell you where to go from there. Do you understand?”

There was a mad scramble as desks were shoved out of the way and children sprung up to hastily form a line.

Rachel picked up the phone and hit Sean’s number.

“Talk to me, Rachel. What’s going on?” Sean asked.

“They’re coming out,” she said calmly. She nodded in Mr. Winstead’s direction.

He pointed the gun squarely at her as he opened the door. She leaned her hip into the desk, positioning herself between Jennifer and her father.

“Go now,” she told the children while she kept the line open. “Someone will be waiting at the bus ramp exit.”

“You got it,” Sean said. “We’ll have officers there to guide them out safely. You’re amazing, Rachel. Sit tight, sweetheart.”

Rachel hung up so she wouldn’t anger the gunman and watched the last of the children hurry from the classroom.

When the last child was through the door, Mr. Winstead firmly shut it and then turned back to Rachel.

The ceiling above them exploded, plaster pelting down over their heads. Men dropped down onto the floor, forming a barrier between her and the gunman.

The gunman’s expression turned from initial shock and befuddlement to one of fury as he realized what was happening.

“You fucking bitch! You lied!”

He raised the gun, and in that instant, Ethan took a step sideways, maneuvering himself in front of Rachel, and took the bullet right to the chest.

“No!” Rachel screamed.

Sam and Garrett both dove for the gunman, taking him down hard. Jennifer screamed and tried to run to her father, but Joe swept her into his arms and turned, holding her so she wouldn’t see what was going on.

Rachel dropped to the floor, sobs welling from her throat in ragged, raw bursts. She covered Ethan with her own body, screaming for him to wake up, to be all right.

She wiped her hands frantically over his body, searching for the source of the blood she knew would be covering him. But her hands came away clean.

The scuffle went on around her. Jennifer’s sobbing rose with Rachel’s own. And then there was a gentle touch on her shoulder as Donovan moved in beside her.

“Rachel, honey, it’s okay. It’s all right. I promise.”

“No,” she sobbed. “He shot Ethan. Oh my God, he shot Ethan. Help him, Van. Please. Don’t let him die.” She pushed at Ethan again. “Please don’t die, Ethan,” she begged.

Please don’t die.

The cry welled from her very soul. Ethan let out a low groan, and relief blew wild and hot through her veins, making her light-headed in the process.

The door flew open, and the police poured in. There were exclamations, demands for answers, information. It all blurred into one insane litany. She didn’t care what else happened. She only wanted Ethan to live.

“Rachel, sweetheart. Listen to me,” Donovan said calmly. “He was wearing a vest. He took the bullet in the chest. He’ll be okay.”

She stared uncomprehendingly at Donovan, her eyes and mind blank. Then she gazed down in bewilderment at Ethan, whose eyelids fluttered open at that precise moment.

“A vest?” she echoed.

Donovan cut Ethan’s shirt open and pushed the remnants aside. His hands slid down the face of the Kevlar vest, and then he pointed at the bullet lodged in the middle.

“See?” he said to Rachel. “Vest did its job. He’s going to be bruised, and he’ll be sore as hell for a few days, but he’s fine.”

She threw her arms around Donovan’s neck and clung fiercely as her sobs poured out in one relieved, forceful rush.

“Oh God, I was so scared,” she whispered.

Donovan hugged her back, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her spine.

“You were fierce,” Donovan said. “I’m so damn proud of you, Rachel. We were in the ducts planning to drop in, and then we heard you negotiate for the release of the children, so we waited until they were out of the room.”

“Mr. Winstead?” she asked fearfully as she still clutched at Donovan.

She didn’t want to turn around. Didn’t want to see what had happened.

“And Jennifer?”

“They’re taking the father away now, and Joe has Jennifer,” Donovan said in a low voice.

She sagged against Donovan, but then the sweetest sound she’d ever heard rose from her husband.

“Rachel?”

She pulled away from Donovan and pressed her body down over Ethan’s so her face was level with his.

“Are you all right?” she demanded. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

“I don’t give a fuck about me,” he said gruffly. “I want to know how you and our babies are.”

Her heart filled with so much love that she thought she might burst from it. Relief had weakened her until she bobbled and nearly toppled over on top of him.

Donovan gripped her shoulders, giving her much-needed support as she hung there over Ethan. She stared down at him, tears making her vision all shimmery.

“Me and the babies are fine,” she whispered. “Especially now that I know you’re going to be okay. Don’t ever scare me like that again, Ethan. God, I thought you’d been shot. I didn’t know you had a vest on. I thought I’d lost you.”

“Never going to let you go again,” he muttered. “Stuck with me, baby. You and our babies.”

Two teams of paramedics rushed in and went to Ethan and Rachel separately. When she realized their intention, she turned pleading eyes on Donovan.

“Don’t let them do this. I don’t want to be separated from Ethan. He needs to be checked out, but I’m fine. I’m not hurt.”

Donovan cupped her face. “Do this for us, okay? We’re all frantic with worry over how all this stress and the huge scare has affected you. Just let them take you in, run a few tests. You’ll be home before you know it. But if you don’t go, then Ethan’s going to get all surly, and he’ll refuse treatment because he’ll be worried about you. We need to be sure he didn’t break any ribs.”

“I don’t want to go alone,” she confessed.

“I’ll go with you, sweet pea,” Garrett said as he joined Donovan by Ethan’s side.

“Go with him,” Ethan prompted. “Garrett will watch out for you while I get checked over. My brothers aren’t going to rest until we’re both given a clean bill of health. It’s better to just go with it so we can get it over with quickly.”

“He’s learning,” Donovan said with a grin.

“Joe and Nathan are taking Jennifer out to be reunited with her mom right now,” Garrett said in a low voice.

“Can one of you carry her out into the hall?” one of the paramedics asked. “We can only get one stretcher in here and we’re going to load up her husband first.”

“Not a problem,” Donovan said. He rose and scooped her up in her arms.

Rachel clung to Donovan’s neck as he carried her into the hall and eased her down onto a stretcher. As he arranged the sheet over her, she glanced earnestly up at him.

“Don’t let anyone break the news that I’m pregnant,” she said. “This isn’t the way I want Frank and Marlene to find out.”

Donovan smiled and brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Don’t worry. Our lips are sealed. But congratulations, little mama. I’m so damn proud for you and Ethan.”

His smile was gentle, and there was a wealth of emotion in his eyes. “You’ve come a long way, Rachel Kelly. I never doubted you for a minute.”

“Damn straight,” Garrett said in a gruff voice as he came to stand beside the stretcher.

He reached down to squeeze Rachel’s hand. “I’ve called Sarah and the others. I didn’t want them freaking out and worrying when they heard what was going on. They’re on their way to the hospital, so be prepared for the whole damn family to be there. Sophie was gathering the troops. They’ll probably beat you there.”

Rachel smiled and squeezed Garrett’s hand back. She loved this big, messy, noisy family with all her heart and soul. She wouldn’t change a single thing about them.

Of course, she worried every single time the guys went out on a mission. There was the reasonable fear that one or more wouldn’t return. She could lose Ethan after fighting so hard to get back to him.

But they were the best of men. They had a strong sense of family and justice. It didn’t surprise her at all that they’d been the ones to drop down from the ceiling and to end the standoff. She would have been more surprised if they hadn’t been involved.

Ethan’s brothers crowded around her stretcher, all demanding to know if she was all right.

“I’m fine,” she stressed. “Just shaken up. Please make sure Ethan is all right. He’s the one who was shot.”

“He’s a tough bastard,” Sam said with a chuckle. “Though he did give me a damn heart attack when he stepped in front of that bullet.”

Rachel shuddered and felt the blood drain from her face.

Nathan stroked his hand over her head. “Don’t worry about Ethan. They’ll load you both up and get you to the hospital. If I know the grumpy bastard, he’ll raise so much hell that they won’t be able to wait to get rid of him. He’ll probably show up in your exam room and be done before you are.”

Rachel glanced anxiously over at Ethan, who was predictably protesting the need to go to the hospital at all. Then he seemed to have lost her in the crowd of people crammed into the room and hallway, and he let out a bellow of displeasure.

Sam glanced up as a grim-faced older man stalked toward him. He let his hand briefly touch Rachel’s shoulder.

“I’ll see you at the hospital. There are things here I need to take care of. Garrett will ride with you and stay until Ethan is cleared.”

“Is everything okay, Sam?” she asked in alarm.

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Nothing that won’t work itself out. I have to smooth some ruffled feathers, and then I have to call my wife. She’s been blowing up my phone, and she’s not very happy with me because I didn’t tell her the entire story. I’m sure she’ll be waiting at the hospital to light into me.”

Rachel grinned, relief so sweet in her blood that she was intoxicated. Her family would be waiting at the hospital. Her sisters by marriage. Ethan’s brothers would all be there soon. Frank and Marlene would rush in and take over.

She closed her eyes and leaned back on the stretcher, emotionally exhausted by the stress of the morning.

As soon as her stretcher was pushed into the bright wash of sunshine, the world dissolved into chaos. The media was shouting questions. Parents were demanding answers. People asked if she was alive.

She opened her eyes just to answer that particular question, but she remained quiet, the buzz of questions swimming in her ears until she wanted to cover them to shut out the cacophony.

She and Ethan were loaded onto waiting ambulances, and she stared through the open back doors at the sea of police, media, and general public. It looked as if half of Tennessee was gathered on the middle school parking lot.

Then the medic attending her climbed into the back and shut the doors, obscuring her view. The ambulance pulled away, leaving the flashing lights and mob of people behind as it headed toward the hospital.