Spiraled (Callahan & McLane Book 3) Read Free Page A

leaders nodded as he eyed Misty. “Medical will be in soon. Sit tight.” Determination and anger covered their faces; they had an objective. They’d looked at Misty with sympathy, but Ava understood their primary mission was to stop the shooter before he hurt more people. The two teams turned into the dead-end artery of the mall and continued their thorough progression. One team paused at the shot man lying on the right side of the aisle. A member rapidly checked for a pulse as a team member covered him. The man shook his head and they moved on.
    Oh, no.
    Ava blew out a breath, her fears confirmed. The man hadn’t moved since being shot.
    The team leader spoke into his shoulder-mic, but Ava couldn’t make out his words. They passed the last storefront and stopped, sticking tight to the walls of the aisle. Their weapons trained on the door to the men’s room thirty feet away.
    “This is the Cedar Edge Police Department,” the leader shouted toward the restrooms. “Put down your weapon and exit backwards out of the bathrooms with your hands above your head.”
    Shots sounded inside the restroom and an older man stumbled out the door with his hands raised. The teams shouted for him to stop and get down. Ava recognized the man from her yoga class. He froze and slowly lowered himself to the ground in the awkward way Ava had noticed in class. Arthritis had claimed many of his joints.
    “He’s still in there!” he yelled to the teams.
    He was rapidly frisked by two of the team members as others covered them and the rest kept their attention on the bathrooms.
    “Are there any other people in there?” Ava heard a team member ask.
    “Yes. At least one other guy! Maybe more!”
    The older man was deemed unarmed. The leader asked him questions about the layout of the bathroom and then instructed him to leave the area but to keep his hands on top of his head as he moved toward the perimeter. He stopped as he reached Ava and Misty, recognition in his eyes. “Do you need a hand?”
    Ava recalled his pain-ridden movements. “No, but thanks. Her bleeding has nearly stopped. Someone will be here soon.” She shooed him away. “We’ll be okay.” He reluctantly moved on, limping.
    “That was kind,” Misty murmured sleepily.
    Ava shook her. “Stay awake!” Her blood pounded in her ears. She checked the ligature around Misty’s thigh and pulled it tighter, making the teen sob. Red and swollen flesh bulged above the purse strap. Ava caught her breath at the sight of the large dark puddle beneath the leg.
    When did that get so big?
    “This is the Cedar Edge police! Please send out the rest of—”
    A single shot interrupted his request.
    A man in a cap dashed out of the bathroom a moment later. “He’s down! He shot himself!”
    The team put him through the same on-the-ground search routine as the previous man. “Is there anyone else in there?” someone asked.
    “No.” The man hesitated. “Unless someone is in the stalls—I don’t know.”
    They sent him on his way with the same orders to keep his hands on his head.
    Ava saw his face was wet with tears as he approached the two of them.
    “He shot himself?” she asked.
    He wiped at his face and studied Misty. “Yes. Do you need help?”
    Is it over? Cautious relief swept over Ava. “No. Unless you’re a doctor.”
    He shook his head, regret in his eyes. “I can help you carry her out.”
    Her immediate impulse was to accept his help. They could probably get Misty upright between them. She glanced at Misty’s leg, hoping her latest tightening of the strap had stopped the bleeding. “If the shooter is down, the medical teams should be here soon. Hopefully with a board of some sort. I’m afraid we’ll make the bleeding start up again if we try to move her.”
    She regretfully waved him on, tired of passing up the offers of help. Where’s the REAL help?
    She leaned back against the kiosk, keeping her fingertips on Misty’s pulse, calmed by its steady rhythm,