You Can't Run by Hope Davis (pdf e book reader .TXT) 📕

hushed tones as Kevin stood by. He sent a quick text to Naya’s parents letting them know he was at the hospital now, and the address. He also gave them an update on Naya, hoping it wasn’t too preemptive. Then he slid his phone back in his pocket.

Atlas finished talking to the receptionist and turned to Kevin.

“They brought her in just minutes before we arrived. She’s in surgery now. As soon as the surgeon is done, he will come and speak with us.”

Kevin almost felt angry as he and Atlas both sat down in the chairs in the waiting room, as if this were just another day.

He pulled out his phone and began to mindlessly scroll through social media. Everything seemed so trivial now. He knew he hadn’t known Naya for long, but he didn’t think he could handle losing his love interest and his best friend in the same day.

He had no concept of time as he sat there and ran through every hypothetical scenario that could happen from this point forward. It must’ve passed the time at least, because next thing he knew, a nurse had come over and was leading them back to a private office.

“The surgeon will be right in. Have a seat.” She instructed as she closed the door behind her. Kevin could feel his palms sweating. He was sure his nerves would be shot after this. Atlas seemed unnaturally calm still, and Kevin craved nothing more than to be that calm.

After what was probably about another three years, or so it felt to Kevin, an older man in scrubs entered the room and sat behind the desk.

“Hello gentlemen, I hear you are here on behalf of Ms. Largusa?”

Atlas held up his hand to Kevin before he could speak. “Yes sir, I am her partner, and this is her boyfriend.”

Kevin knew that he and Naya hadn’t started discussing the status of their relationship just yet. But he also knew that Atlas said it on purpose so he could get more information.

“Okay, well, she’s stable,” As the words left the surgeons mouth, Kevin felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and he could breathe for the first time all day. “The bullet skimmed her temple. Mostly just superficial damage it seems. She sustained some other injuries as well. But honestly, they were fairly mild. A dislocated shoulder and lacerations to her feet. She’s on some pain medication for the shoulder, but honestly she should be awake any minute and you can go see her.”

Kevin felt a smile spreading across his face. Naya was going to be fine.

“Thank you doctor.” Atlas rose and shook his hand. “Can we go in now?”

“Sure, the nurse will show you the room.”

Kevin followed Atlas back to the hall where the same nurse appeared to lead them down the hall. They stopped in front of a room and the nurse opened the door for them.

Her face was all bandaged, and her arm was in a cast, but the moment he laid eyes on her, Kevin knew everything was going to be okay.

EPILOGUE

NAYA

TWO WEEKS LATER

She stood just a few feet back from the edge. The urn clasped tightly to her chest with her good arm. The other was still in a sling to let the tendons heal from where they had been stretched all too painfully.

They had just finished Vance’s funeral, it had been a beautiful ceremony. Although she had been given her chance to say goodbye, she still cried at the funeral. Actually, she had probably cried more these past two weeks than she had during her entire adult life.

Kevin had been nothing but supportive and understanding. Although Vance had left her the house, Naya had taken up residence at Kevin’s place. She was probably going to sell the house. She couldn’t imagine living in it ever again. In fact, as much as she had loved growing up in the state of Colorado, the recent events had left a sour taste in her mouth and she fully intended to move as soon as she could request a transfer.

She was on an indefinite leave from work. Not that they wouldn’t take her back, but she needed time to heal and work through what had happened.

What had happened in that field still hadn’t quite sunk in. It seemed like another woman in another lifetime, rather than something which had happened to her. And she knew the only way the nightmares would stop is if she could learn to confront what happened. She just wasn’t ready yet. But she knew she would go back eventually. The unsolved cases in her desk drawer wouldn’t let her leave the force for good until they were solved. At least, that’s what she told herself.

She clutched the urn tighter to her chest as she thought about all the details that had emerged about the case over the past two weeks.

Based on a hunch, Atlas had ordered an autopsy for Vance, even though they were ready to attribute his death to the cancer and leave it at that. Although Vance did have highly progressed stage-4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the time of his death, the coroner discovered he had been poisoned with cyanide the night of his death. Likely Trevor trying to make sure he wouldn’t interfere.

Trevor had died at the end of the standoff. Thanks to her quick, but not quite quick enough, ducking skills, he was killed with two shots to the head by the officers on the scene. He had been dead before he even hit the ground.

They never did discover just what scientific experiments Trevor had been planning to run on her, or what he had already done to the other women. He hadn’t left any notes that they could find, and the equipment in his truck had been less than helpful. It seemed like Atlas may