George was going to leave her. Not like this.
“Aiden’s on his way,” someone said. “The cops will be here soon.”
They all seemed to hold their breath then, as they listened for more bullets outside the thick doors.
She shivered, more from shock than the cold, as the thought of George being shot ran over in her head.
How had it come to this? How could this have happened? Why?
“Oh!” Everyone turned suddenly as Lilly cried out, breaking the silence. “My water just broke.” She held her massive belly. “No.” She shook her head as tears rolled down her face. “Not like this.” She glanced towards Riley. “Not when my parents might be…” She bit her lip.
It was then that Robin noticed that several of the women locked in with her had blood on their own clothes.
The entire ordeal was straight out of a horror movie.
“Is anyone shot?” she asked the group.
“No,” several people answered back.
“I think I was cut by the glass,” Megan answered, holding up her left hand, which was covered in blood. Her daughter rushed over and wrapped a baby blanket around her hand.
“I think we’re all okay, just cuts and scrapes,” someone said.
Robin turned and banged on the door again.
“George, open this door.” She gasped when the door swung open quickly and Carter and Corey stood there, looking a little shocked.
“The police are here now. It’s safe…” Carter started to say.
“Corey Brian Miller, my water just broke,” Lilly called out.
Robin was pushed aside as Corey raced to his wife. Without pausing, she rushed from the freezer to find George.
She passed Aaron as he worked on Todd, who was lying on the floor, eyes closed, blood pouring from his chest, his shirt covered in blood. Megan had followed her out and ran to her husband’s side, crying as she knelt beside him while their son Matthew helped Aaron.
Glancing around, she found George near the front of the pizzeria. He was holding a clean towel to his mother’s thigh, his own clothes covered in blood.
Seeing that he was healthy enough to help his mother, she hurried to him. Their eyes met and a silent message passed between them.
Lacey was sitting in the booth, her right leg propped up on a chair as George held a towel to her thigh. Kneeling beside him, she placed her hands over his and helped apply pressure to his mother’s leg.
“I’m okay,” Lacey was saying as she took George’s hand. “I think it was just glass that cut me when your father threw me to the floor and covered me.”
“George,” Robin said as she glanced up at him. “You’re bleeding.”
He glanced down at his bloody arm and nodded. He showed her a large gash that crossed his forearm. The wound didn’t look too bad. Still, she guessed it would need a few stitches. Then he wrapped the towel around it again. “Something grazed my forearm. It’s just a graze,” he assured her after placing his hand over hers.
“Go, help the others.” She motioned towards his family. “I’ve got your mother.” She motioned. “Oh, your sister’s water broke in the freezer.”
Lacey’s eyes widened as fear flooded them even more. “My grandbaby.”
“Is fine. Lilly looked fine,” she assured them both. Robin watched as tears filled and then rolled from the woman’s eyes as she looked for her daughter. George disappeared into the crowd.
“Corey’s got her. Let’s worry about you right now,” she told Lacey.
Robin hadn’t noticed any police in the area yet, but now, two officers walked in. She’d met both of them before, several times. Simon, an older man, moved over and started talking to Aaron while Tom, a man just a little older than she was, stood just inside the doorway, looking a little pale and sick as he scanned the carnage.
She glanced around the room, assessing the rest of the family.
So far, Todd appeared to be hit the worst. Several other people were bloody, but everyone else was up and walking around or, in Riley’s case, sitting.
Lilly was being half carried, half dragged towards the door by George and Corey now.
“Leave me alone,” she was practically yelling and crying at the same time. “I’ll wait until they take Uncle Todd first.”
Kara came to sit next to her. “How are you feeling, Mayor?” she asked Lacey.
“Like I want to find whoever did this and…”
Just then Aiden walked in. He hadn’t been in attendance at the party, and Robin had overheard Suzie mention that he would be showing up to the party after his shift ended.
Now, as