Read Online Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins - Free Book Online

nod to Jim. “Good job.”
    Jim wiped his forehead. “You too.”
    John Truitt leaned against the front of Jim’s vehicle, out of the EMTs’ way. The man looked mighty haggard. Stan stood next to him, a comforting hand on his arm. Vince pointed at them. “Be right with you.”
    The EMTs lifted Frank onto their gurney and began checking his vitals as they rushed toward the ambulance. Vince jogged over as they started to load him in and took a long — last? — look at Frank’s face. The kid was ghostly pale. Emotion flooded Vince, and he steeled himself. Frank was only a few years older than his own son, Tim, who’d died serving in Iraq. Vince studied Frank’s wounds. The two bullet holes in his chest had bled little. Could be a good sign. The one in his stomach was a little bloodier, but no apparent hemorrhage. Question was — what was happening on the
inside
?
    Gently, he patted his deputy’s arm. “Frank, it’s Vince. Can you hear me?”
    One EMT shook his head.
    Vince’s gaze met the medical technician’s —
Will he make it?
    The EMT lifted his shoulders. “We got vitals. Weak, but they’re there.”
    Vince flexed his jaw. “Take good care of him.” His voice sounded gruff.
    As soon as the ambulance drove away, another arrived, this one responding to a call from Sarah Wray at Simple Pleasures. Apparently shot in the arm.
    Sarah?
Vince had thought she was among the hostages. Relief that she was safe dissolved into concern about her wound. He gazed up Hanley, calculating the line of fire from Java Joint.
    “See that alley, one block north of Main?” He pointed it out to the ambulance driver. “It runs between the rear of the buildings that front Main and Baxter — the next street over. It’s narrow, but you can get in there.”
    A similar alley ran between the buildings fronting the south side of Main and those on Lakeshore. It dead-ended at Third Street into a long building that stretched the entire block between Main and Lakeshore, then picked up again at the beginning of Fourth. The back door of Java Joint opened onto the first section of that alley — a fact Vince was already calculating.
    “Go up and around, come down Hanley, and turn into the alley past Baxter. You’re far enough up to be out of harm’s way, and once you’re in the alley you’ve got the buildings for protection. Sarah’s got a back door into her shop.”
    “Right.” The ambulance driver climbed back into his vehicle.
    Vince glanced up and down Lakeshore. ISP officers were arriving, Jim giving them orders for cordoning off streets.
    The envelope.
Vince hustled to his car, extracted a pair of latex gloves from his kit, and hurried back to John and Stan.
    He pulled up before the two men. “I can’t say thank you enough. You’ve given Frank a chance to fight for his life. Especially you, John. You risked your own life.”
    John lifted a shoulder. “I just… did what needed to be done.”
    Vince studied his face. “You’re not looking too good. Want someone to drive you to the hospital to get checked out?”
    “I’m fine.” John waved a hand. “Started some new medicine this morning, that’s all. I’ll be all right.” He swallowed hard, his expression crumbling. “Vince, you got to get them out of there.”
    Vince gave his shoulder a squeeze. “We will, John. I’ll do everything humanly possible; you know that.”
    John opened his mouth, but no more words came. He managed a nod.
    “Can you tell me who all’s in there?”
    John swallowed. “I couldn’t notice everybody in those few seconds I passed the window. But it was supposed to be all the Scenes and Beans bloggers except for Janet Detcher and Jake Tremaine. They’re out of town. Plus Bailey said Carla was bringing her daughter and Ali.”
    Vince’s gut twisted. Multiple adults were bad enough. But two teenage girls in such a frightening situation…
    John reached into his pocket for the envelope, held it out. “Sorry about my