found her first.” Hale again tried to sit up. Her brain was starting to work again.
Hands held her down. “Stop moving around, tough girl. Wes is already on the way to the hospital and Ina isn’t too far behind him.”
“But they’re going to be OK, right?” She needed to hear it.
“I think so,” Bobby assured her. “You saved them.”
Dawn leaned over her so that she could see her clearly, “We’re going to put you on the cart now.”
She felt intense pain shoot up her right leg and her side, as she was lifted. She cried out.
“Hang on, you’re good now.” A male EMT tried to calm her.
It felt weird; she was lying on the cart and it was moving, it made her head spin.
Dawn warned, “Easy now, the steps might jar your body a little.”
She moaned as they moved her down the steps. The sunlight blinded her for a moment then she saw the flashing lights and heard voices yelling.
She tried to concentrate on breathing in and out, trying not to think about the pain and the ride on the cart.
“Oh, fuck, Hale! Hale.” She heard Finn’s voice clearly.
“Finn, Finn!” She tried to sit up to find him, but she was strapped securely down. The pain intensified as she fought those restraints.
“Hale.” Finn was beside her, trying to touch her.
“Sir, you need to step back.” One of the medics told him.
“No, no I need him.” She could only move her hands; she couldn’t reach out to him.
The cart stopped.
She didn’t realize that she was crying, until he ran his fingers along her cheek.
She watched Bobby move next to Finn. “Man, just hang on, you can ride in the ambulance with her. Just hold on. She needs you to be calm now.”
“OK. I’m OK now.” Finn turned back to her. “Christ, Hale, you scared the shit out of me.”
Finn’s eyes were wild and his hair was messed up. She was still crying. “I’m sorry.”
“Hale, you’re OK. You’re going to be fine.” She wasn’t sure if he was reassuring her or himself. His hand found hers.
****
Finn paced the hospital waiting room. He kept moving so the others wouldn’t try to talk to him, telling him how lucky it was that Hale wasn’t dead. He felt out of control, angry, frightened, and so thankful that Hale was going to be fine.
God, he would never forget her face. She was so pale when they finally let him through to see her. He rode in the ambulance and he watched the medic work on her. Now he was waiting along with everyone else. He continued moving as he tried to make some sense out of what had happened.
Jasmine cornered him, grabbing his arm. “Stop the pacing. You’re making me crazy.”
He started to snap at her, but he saw evidence that she had been crying. “I’m just…she just…” His voice cracked.
She pulled him into her arms. “I know, Finn, I know.” She held him tightly.
Moe shuffled over, looking as if he’d aged ten years. “You both need to calm down. She’s going to be fine.” Moe stared at them both for a moment to let that sink in. “I sent Izzy to get drinks. They’re going to let two people go back as soon as Hale finishes making her statement. I think it should be you two who get to see her. Now get yourselves under control, she doesn’t need you to be crying all over her.”
Finn dropped into a chair. “I don’t know what she was thinking. She could have gotten killed.” During the ambulance ride, Hale had told Finn everything. He’d shared the story with the Bentons. “Christ, she waltzed in there like she could take on a desperate man with a gun.”
Moe sat beside him. “She was protecting Wes.”
“She knew the cops were coming. She didn’t have to go in there.” Finn didn’t try to mask his anger.
“Jesus, Finn, this is Hale we’re talking about. She cares about Wes. She wouldn’t have been able to stand there waiting, not while Wes was in danger.” Jasmine sounded angry as she crossed her long legs and began to swing one back and forth.
Moe patted Finn’s knee. “What she did was dangerous, but she may have saved Wes’s life. She’s a hero.”
“A stupid hero.” Finn didn’t let go of his frustration. What the fuck was she thinking?
“I doubt that Wes and Ina see it that way.” Jasmine snapped.
Fuck, she was right. He let out a deep sigh. “I guess this is an example of her loyalty.”