Omorphi (50 page)

Tad tackled Jason from behind, taking them to the floor. Michael caught Jason’s gun hand in his own, but his wounded arm was useless, and his fingers were numb. “Get the gun!”

Two more security guards joined the fight, and the gun fired again. “Keep him down! Keep him down!” a guard shouted.

Christy batted at the flames on his hip and made desperate mewling noises.

“Christy!” Michael fought his way out from beneath Jason and the guards and ripped the burning towel from Christy’s waist. Flames continued to flick from his thigh, and Michael tore the towel from his own waist and smothered them. The flames on the floor and wall grew large, licking the air as if in an effort to reach Christy. Michael lifted him out of harm’s way and carried him to the kitchen counter. He quickly soaked the towel in cold water and wrapped it around Christy’s burned hip and thigh.

Jason shrieked and fought the guards like a wild animal, and Michael couldn’t believe three guys were having a hard time holding him down.

“Do you have a fire extinguisher? Christy?”

Michael’s shouted questions went unheard. Christy had gone to that faraway place again.

Michael cupped his face. “Christy?” He kissed him gently. “Christy, are you in there? I need to know if you have a fire extinguisher. Come on, come on, come back to me.”

Christy began to scream.

“W
HEN
will he be out of surgery?” Michael demanded as he paced Christy’s hospital room and fought the urge to rub his bandaged arm.

“I’ll call.” Bobbie went to the phone.

Mr. Santini entered the room with Jake and Detective Davis in tow.

Jake went straight to Michael and gave him a careful hug. “You hanging in there, bro?”

“I’m okay. Christy isn’t.”

“So I heard.”

Bobbie placed the receiver in its cradle and turned to Michael. “Christy’s awake and in the recovery room with your father. The burns were far less extensive than first thought. He’ll be fine.”

Michael’s relief crashed over him like a tsunami, and tears threatened.
Fuck.
He hated it when he cried, especially in front of people. Jake handed him a few tissues, and he swallowed back the tears.

“Are you up to giving me a statement, Michael?” Detective Davis asked.

Michael blew his nose. “Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?”

“Your mother tells me that she was on the phone with you when the knocking began on the front door.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t knocking, though. It was banging from hell. I, ah, stopped Christy from opening the door and asked her to hold on. I moved Christy to the side of the door so he would be behind it when I opened it. Then everything happened fast.

“The window next to Christy exploded and caught fire. Jason kicked the door in and aimed a gun at me. I turned, and the bullet hit my arm. Tad jumped on Jason, and we fell. I panicked when I saw Christy on fire and fought my way out from under everybody. I pulled Christy’s towel off, but his leg was still burning. God, I didn’t know skin could burn like that.” Michael paused and swallowed the hard lump in his throat. “I, ah, then I used my towel to smother the flames on his leg and carried him to the kitchen. I got the towel wet and wrapped it around his leg. By then the fire was spreading, Christy was screaming, and Jason was shouting. I found a fire extinguisher in the kitchen pantry and shot it at the floor and the wall and put the fire mostly out. Then I tried to calm Christy down and couldn’t do it. No matter what I did, he just kept screaming.” Michael swallowed back a strangled sob, and Jake put his arm around him.

“Did you look out the window before Jason kicked the door in?”

Michael nodded. “I, ah, saw part of a uniform and asked Christy if he was expecting a delivery, and he said no.”

“After Jason shot you, did you hear the gun fire a second time?”

Michael had to think about this. “I couldn’t hold Jason’s hand, and I told them to get the gun. That’s when it flew across the floor.”

“Did it fire while you were holding Jason’s hand?”

“No. All I could do was push with the heel of my hand. My arm was numb, and my fingers weren’t working. Someone else grabbed Jason’s hand.”

“Do you recall if you heard a second shot?”

Michael thought hard. “Yeah, right before the gun went flying. I was trying to get out from under everybody. I needed to get to Christy. He was….” Michael swallowed back another sob. “He was burning.”

“How many guards tackled Jason?”

“Only Tad.”

“When did the other two guards get involved?”

“I don’t know. They were there when I yelled ‘get the gun.’”

“Okay. Thank you, Michael.”

“What’s going to happen to Jason?”

“The DA obtained a warrant for his arrest for attempted murder, and he will be charged as an adult.”

It took a few seconds for the words to register, and Michael was positive he didn’t hear the detective right. “What do you mean, a warrant? We caught him.” The look on Detective Davis’s face was anything but reassuring. “No… no… no. No, no!” Michael exploded in a rage so hot and pure it would have disintegrated Mercury. “They had him! They had him on the fl—!”

“Michael, honey, calm down.”

Michael tore his good arm from his mother’s gentle hand. “Back off, Mom! How could you fucking lose him?”

“He shot one of the security guards and ran. One guard stayed behind with the injured guard, and Tad went after Jason but couldn’t find any sign of him.”

Michael was incredulous. “I don’t fucking believe this! Three times, you had him and lost him! Three fucking times! Can’t you do your fucking job? What the hell is the matter with y—?”

“Michael!” Nero boomed.

Jake put his arm around Michael again. “Easy, Papa.”

Michael glared at Nero.

“I am sorry, Michael, but you can’t disparage a police officer for something a private security guard did or did not do.”

Bobbie rubbed Michael’s back and guided him to sit on one of the beds.

Michael fought to contain his rage, to organize his stunned and disbelieving mind, and ask intelligent questions. “Is the security guard dead?”

“No. He’s down the hall.”

“Did you find out where Jason got the bomb?”

“No.”

“Did you find out who the other two people were? The ones who were with him the night he bombed my car?”

“No.”

“Shit.”

Mac came through the door leading the gurney that transported Christy, and a very concerned Rob followed close behind. Michael jumped off the bed, but Mac motioned him back. Two male nurses lifted Christy carefully by the sheet beneath him and placed him in bed. Christy issued a soft groan that died in a weak whimper. Michael watched as they packed pillows beneath his leg, arranged three different IV bags, set the cardiac monitor, and took Christy’s vital signs. Mac handed Christy’s chart to Bobbie, and she leafed through it and read the notes from surgery.

“Michael,” Christy croaked.

“Right here.” Michael stepped up to the bed and took Christy’s hand in his. “How’re you doing, babe?”

“Okay. Drugs are good.”

Michael tried to offer his most reassuring smile. “I bet.”

“Your arm?”

“A few stitches, but it’s all good.”

Christy breathed a long slow sigh and blinked up at him. “Sophia?”

Jake stepped to the bed. “She knows you’re okay. I’m going to call her again to let her know that you’re in a room and give her the number.”

Christy looked to Rob.

“The cabin?”

“I’ll need to move you to another until it’s repaired.”

“The paintings?”

“I haven’t looked at them yet. The fire was put out quickly, so I’d guess there’s little or no smoke damage.”

“Jason?”

When Rob remained silent, he looked up at Michael and read Michael’s silence all too well. Tears welled, and Michael bent and hugged him carefully. Christy mumbled against Michael’s neck, “They had him.”

“I know. He got away. I’m sorry.”

Christy issued another small whimper. “I think I must sleep now.”

“Okay, babe.”

“We’re going to take off, bro. You going to stay?” Jake asked quietly.

Michael looked to his parents. “School tomorrow,” Mac answered his unasked question.

“What about protection for Christy?”

“He’ll have two officers on the door around the clock,” Detective Davis answered.

Michael nodded. “Do you have any idea where Jason is?”

“If we did, we’d be there, Michael.”

“Was it another bomb that blew up the window?”

“A Molotov cocktail.”

Michael looked down at his beautiful Christy and thought he should be grateful that things hadn’t turned out worse. Christy could have been blinded or, worse yet, burned to death.

“How bad are the burns, Dad?”

“When we treat a burn we consider not only the depth of the burn, but the percentage of the body that has been burned. Thanks to you and the wet towel, the burns are fairly minor and cover less than 10 percent of Christy’s body. He has first-degree burns with a few superficial second-degree burns on his inner thigh. He has what amounts to a very bad sunburn. The majority of it will heal within a week. The more serious areas, where we removed the outer dermis from his inner thigh, may take as long as three weeks to heal. I dare say that there is an upside to all of this. The thicker, scarred dermis on Christy’s inner thigh prevented the burns from being worse. More hopeful yet, the removal of the outer dermis may serve to make the older scars less apparent.”

“Seriously?”

Mac gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and nodded.

Michael hugged him with his good arm. “Thanks, Dad.”

“How’s the diaphragm?”

“Fine. No harm done.”

“And the bullet graze?”

“The ER doc gave me five stitches while you were with Christy and said I’d have a nice racing stripe for a scar.”

“Well, if that’s the worst of it, I consider us fortunate. We’ll leave you with Christy. Call if you need anything.”

Michael hugged his mom and Jake and apologized to Detective Davis for losing his temper. Nero gave him a pat on the back with his dinner-plate-sized hand, half shoving him into Rob as he shook hands with Rob.

C
HRISTY
woke around 6:00 p.m., and Michael fed him red Jell-O and chicken soup. Christy’s appetite was good despite his weakened, pain-filled state.

“I want to stay,” Michael insisted.

“I’ll be all right, Michael. You must go to school.”

“I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“You can’t ruin your scholarship. I have been in hospital before, and I have protection. The police are just outside the door.”

Michael didn’t want to think about why Christy had been in the hospital before or about how Jason had managed to all but ruin their lives. He felt destitute, powerless to do anything constructive, anything to put their lives back together. He turned Christy’s small hand in his and kissed his palm. “I’ll come by at seven and then I’ll come back after school. Do you want me to get your homework assignments for you?”

Christy smiled up at him. “That would be nice.”

“I checked on Jerry. He’s only two doors down from you.”

“He’s okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. He’s going to visit you tomorrow.”

Christy smiled again. “Go home, Michael. You must sleep.”

Michael looked into Christy’s beautiful eyes. “What if you have nightmares?”

Christy tsked his disapproval. “Then I will have nightmares. They are nothing more than bad dreams, Michael. They are not real.”

Michael almost smiled. Christy had changed so much in the past week. “You know you can call me any time, right?”

Christy smiled again and nodded. “Go. The drugs make me sleepy again.”

Michael leaned over and kissed his forehead, each eyelid, the tip of his nose, and ended with a sweet kiss to his irresistible lips. “I love you.”

Christy beamed.

“W
HAT
are you reading?” Jake asked as he joined Michael in the kitchen for a late-night snack.

Michael took another bite of chocolate chip ice cream. “
Oedipus Rex
.”

“Isn’t that about that king who killed his father and accidentally married his mother?”

“Yeah, but it’s really about a hero’s soul-searching and trying to figure out who he is, the eternal ‘who am I’ question.”

“A little intense after the last couple of days, don’t you think? Why don’t you read something funny?”

“Zero funny going on in my head right now, bro, and I’m behind in my homework.” Michael watched Jake over the pages of
Oedipus Rex
as he scooped ice cream into a bowl. “Did you ever think Jason could be this violent?”

“No way. I mean, he’s always been dumb as a rock, stubborn as a bull, and a pompous ass and a bully, but I’ve never known him to be like this.”

“Someone has to be helping him. Do you think we can find him?”

Jake set his bowl of ice cream down and leaned over the island toward Michael. “To quote you, bro, don’t get any wild ideas. You have people to take care of.”

Michael slammed the book down. “I feel helpless.”

“You weren’t helpless this morning. You saved Christy’s life. Look, if it’s any consolation, I feel helpless too, and I worry about Sanna going after Sophia. The quickest way to find Christy is to grab her.”

The thought sent an icy chill down Michael’s spine. “That’s a frightening thought.”

“Ain’t it, though?”

“Do you think her security’s up to the task?”

“No. They haven’t figured out how someone managed to get a lock of her hair.”

“You mean how Sanna got it.”

“We don’t know that it was Sanna.”

“Who else would it be?”

“Look, man, I’m with you, but my screwed-up addiction to facts won’t let me believe for certain that it’s him.”

“You need some serious therapy, bro.”

Jake laughed. “Maybe.”

O
N
T
HURSDAY
morning, Michael steered his SUV into the school parking lot followed by the security SUV. In his wildest dreams, he couldn’t have imagined he’d ever need his own security detail.
Talk about awkward.
He parked next to Jake in the far corner of the lot, and the security SUV pulled in to form a barrier behind them. Michael did as instructed and sat in the car while security checked the area. He’d gone to the hospital to see Christy that morning and didn’t have the heart to wake him. He’d looked peaceful, and the nurse said he hadn’t had any nightmares. He’d written a note and put a single rose by his bed and left, his heart heavy with worry, and it felt just plain weird driving to school without Christy in the car.