“Of course. She’ll want to be there, though. Are you going to be okay with that?”
My anxiety spikes, but I ignore it for Jami’s sake. “Yes. She has a right to know. She might not handle it very well if she sees it on TV like you did.”
“Alright, then. I’ll let her know. I’ll see you soon, Dori.”
We say goodbye and I turn to Melanie. “I guess I should call Hunter now.”
Melanie nods, so I pick up my phone. Right as I do, a woman’s voice comes over the intercom.
“Code blue. Code blue. Operating room five. Code blue. Code blue. Operating room five.”
My heart lurches. The operating room doors fly open and medical personnel rush in. I run past the opening of the first doors near the nurse’s station.
The operating rooms are visible from where I’m standing. I’m not sure I should be here, but I need to know what’s happening with Jami.
Someone in scrubs pushes a cart, and another carries a red square container into the room where they’re working on him. It’s directly down the hall, so I can see in.
The doors to his operating room remain open as staff continue to gather and block my view. Only the shouts of the medical staff give me any indication of what’s happening.
The doctor commands, “Clear!”
The zap of a defibrillator sounds. A second passes. He commands, “Again. Clear!”
The defibrillator sounds again, but all that fills the air is the machine echoing Jami flatlining.
CHAPTER 2
HUNTER
I’min the hotel restaurant, on the phone with Jonah. He rushes to get his words out.
“Go to our local news station’s website. They’re playing the video feed as the major story.” Jonah sighs. “Shit. It is Dori.”
“What’s Dorothy? I’m not where I can pull up the website.” I jump out of my seat. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Jamison and Dori were involved in a shooting at the park near work.”
My mind falters and I take off running. “Dammit, Jonah. Is she okay?”
“I think so. It’s hard to say because she’s covered in blood, but from what I can see of her, she seems to be fine. That’s not the word I’d use, but she’s moving and yelling for help.”
My vision blurs. I stop and lean against the wall to stabilize myself. “What do you mean, she’s covered in blood?”
“The footage is of her crawling out from underneath Jamison. She’s wearing a white vest jacket. One side of it’s covered in blood, but from what I can tell, she’s not injured.”
My heart rate comes down a notch. “And Jamison?”
“It doesn’t look good. Some guy steps in to help him. Thevideo cuts away when the police get there. I can’t believe they showed such graphic material.”
“You said someone stepped in to help him. What happened?”
“The video starts, and Jamison’s lying on top of Dori. He appears to be limp, like he’s sleeping. The clip shows Dori underneath him, trying to push him off her. It’s clear he’s unconscious. Once the guy rolls him over, it shows Jamison covered in blood. It’s all over his face and chest.”
“Can you tell where he was hit?” I clutch my phone harder, shaking my head at myself.
How did I not see this coming?
Jonah pauses for a moment. “Not really. I’m assuming somewhere high on Jamison’s chest from where the guy helping him is focused on.”
