“Me either. Took a lot of hits to make me take a hard look at myself and admit I couldn’t do this on my own.” Mike clapped him on the shoulder. “Glad everything today turned out all right.”
“It will have after we locate Dr. Torres. Make sure he’s good.”
Mike frowned.
“He was missing from his house. It would be good to locate him and check he’s safe.”
“I’ll call the station and get an update.” Mike jogged off again.
Luca turned back to see Kira slide off the stretcher, holding something to the back of her head. The ice pack she’d asked for.
The EMT frowned. “I really think you should go in and get checked out, Dr. Yassan.”
“I’m okay,” Kira said. “Just give me something to sign.”
Luca wasn’t sure what the big hurry was. Before he could ask if she was certain, she said, “We need the police to go to the shelter. Seeing Mike reminded me.” She shook her head, which made her wince. “Stuart told me the deal was that he killed Jenkins while someone else took out his revenge on Frankie.”
“The woman you helped get to the shelter?”
She nodded. “It might’ve been compromised. They could all be in danger.”
“I’ll tell Mike.”
Kira touched his arm, clinging to his biceps. “I want to go there and make sure they’re okay.”
He stared at the woman he loved and found he had a hard time telling her no. The police could take care of it. Luca and Kira didn’t necessarily need to see for themselves. But still…“Okay.”
She lifted onto the balls of her feet and touched her lips to his. “Thank you.”
Kira made it about a mile away from the prison before she bent forward in the passenger seat and had to take deep breaths. Luca’s hand touched her back, and she took solace in the smooth strength of it, anchoring herself to the feeling so she didn’t flip out more than necessary.
You protected me.
Yet again, God had proven Himself. She didn’t need Him to do that in order for her to believe He would show up in her life, but looking back and seeing it built her faith. She never had to be sufficient on her own, strong enough or brave enough. God was always with her, even in the craziest situations.
She sat back up, breathing hard and wiping the tears from her cheeks. She popped the glove box door down and found some napkins—because that was where everyone kept them—and cleaned up a little. “Sorry.”
“It’s really normal, so don’t worry about it.” He squeezed her knee. “You should’ve seen me after my first firefight.”
She brushed the hair back from her face, feeling the sting at the back of her head. And the stiffness in her hand. Other than a few bruises, she was all right. Definitely not in need of a doctor’s assessment.
“It could have been so much worse.” Her mind was having trouble catching up. “Now I’m all worried about Frankie and what might be happening there.”
“Cops are on the way, and we’ll be there in ten.” He steered with one hand and reached over to hold hers with the other. “If there’s something going down, we’ll make sure it’s resolved. All right?”
She shifted in the seat to face him. “That was really your brother?”
He nodded, glancing over. “Did he say anything?”
“Not to me,” she said. “I didn’t do anything to let Stuart know we knew each other either. I mean, not that we’ve met, but that I knew who he was.”
“Didn’t matter if you’ve never met him. He would’ve stepped in front of a bullet for you, no question.”
“We should visit him.” Then her mind flashed her right back to the prison, and her body washed cold. She instantly started sweating. “Maybe in a while.”
He squeezed her hand. “It won’t always feel like this. But for what it’s worth, I’d love to go visit him with you after you’ve had some time to heal. When you’re ready.”
“I’m not hurt.”