Zenith in Love (Zenith Series #5) - Leanne Davis Page 0,8

just as talented in being a pastor as Rob was a performer and Kathy was a Christian songstress. Jim rose to speak and lead the room in prayers and songs. His sermon was over and he prepared to sign off to Rob. Rob started to rise and Jim left the podium.

And Eric? Suddenly, he was jumping off the pew before everything erupted in pandemonium. Kayla didn’t understand what happened. What was that loud noise? Why was Eric leaping off the pew and falling? What the hell was going on? Suddenly, her mother pulled her to the ground, placing her own body on top of Kayla’s and screaming Rob’s name over and over as they lay huddled on the floor.

On the floor?

Gunshots! That’s what she heard. And yells and screaming and chaotic noises. Glancing back, she saw Karlee’s main guard, Gail. She just shot someone. Gail ran forward to lean down and feel the… what? The victim’s pulse? She shook her head and looked down.

There were sirens. More yelling and people filing out.

Others were surrounding Eric, Rob, Jim and Kathy.

Her mom got off her and started towards them. Kayla, dazed and confused, followed her.

Who got shot? Oh, God. Eric? Jim? Rob? Kathy? Any of them could have been the victim. All were impossible for her brain to grasp. How could she live with that? No! None of them could be hurt or shot. Never! No. Not any of them. Kayla refused to believe it. No… no… no.

She saw some blood on the floor.

It was all around Eric. Oh, fuck.

Chapter 3

JIM REALIZED SOMETHING HE always wondered about: does your life flash before your eyes when you think you’re about to die? The answer? Yes. His first indication that something was about to happen came when the huge, airborne body of his fiancée’s bodyguard catapulted off the top of the church pew and sailed into the air, seeming to fly forever, while Jim’s entire life ran through his brain in lightning speed, like a fast movie that ended the moment Eric’s body landed on the ground with a terrible thud.

Bullets. Blood. Screams. Jim’s precious church had become an arena of carnage. The church service went from a sacred moment of prayer, worship, and inspiration to random violence and bloodshed. He was stunned and unable to move. He felt as if he were above it, looking down from the sky, having an out-of-body experience, but his ears rang with the loud noises and the blood rushed through his veins like the crashing waves of the ocean. Endless screaming, yells, and hysteria but Jim couldn’t lift his head high enough to glance around. He felt useless.

Kathy.

His gaze refocused on his fiancée. She was down on her knees beside the fallen body of Eric, crying, yelling Eric’s name, and clutching his face. Despite her hysteria, she gently cradled his head on her lap and leaned over him, as if deep in prayer. What was Jim doing? Staring in disbelief? Watching the man bleed out? The room remained in pandemonium. No one took charge or tried to control anything. The security guards were everywhere but everyone was doing different things and nobody worked as a team.

Spurred forward, Jim rushed to the other side of Kathy. Jim spared a fleeting glance at the back of the church. It seemed the gunman was finally down. Someone else lay bleeding now, surrounded by the onlookers.

Jim ignored the unpleasant scene and rushed over to Eric. Assessing what little he knew of medical triage, Jim undid Eric’s shirt to examine the wound on his chest. Cringing, Jim prayed for courage, as this went far beyond anything he imagined happening at his job. This was an extreme experience. The wound he found just below Eric’s shoulder looked clean, but blood continued to gush from it. How could so much blood come from one person? Rolling up his Sunday robe, Jim pressed it firmly over the wound. He commanded Kathy to hold it there and yelled sharply at her to draw her out of her hysteria. Naturally, he instantly regretted that, but found it necessary in the situation. Then Jim addressed Eric’s leg wound. It seemed no more than a glancing blow that, thankfully, missed his shin. It took some skin and flesh without directly puncturing a bullet hole into it. He staunched the bleeding from that as best he could with the other end of the robe. By then, Rob offered to take Kathy’s place and Jim gently removed her from the gruesome