The man gave orders to the rest of the officers and they headed off in different directions. Two of the nurses standing to the side were holding each other, eyes red. One of them had a phone to her ear.
A phone!
“I have to call someone.” The words came out of her throat in a shrill rush.
“Who?” The officer, a big burly guy, narrowed his eyes at her.
Possibilities rolled through her head. She could call the school. No, she didn’t want to scare Chloe. Roxy. She should call her sister. Maddy was pretty sure the police were not going to let her or anyone else out of the hospital until they fully understood what had happened.
“My sister.”
He gave a curt nod. “I’ll be back to ask you some questions in a few minutes.”
Kaleb handed her his phone. Her fingers shook as she tried to remember her sister’s phone number. Everything was programmed into her cell phone, so she didn’t have to dial it under normal circumstances. She finally pulled a string of digits together, and hoping they were the right ones, she pressed the call button.
Pictures were being taken of her ex-husband’s body, although it seemed horrible for him to be immortalized that way. The sourness in her throat rose even higher.
Three rings and her sister answered. “Hello?”
“Roxy, it’s Maddy.”
“Hey, hon, what’s up?”
“Matthew was here.”
“What? Where?”
“At the hospital. He had a gun.” A wobble in her voice made her pause. “He’s dead. He killed himself.”
“Oh, God. Chloe?”
“I don’t know. They won’t let me leave.”
“I’m on my way to the school. I’m sure she’s fine. He wouldn’t know where to find her.”
Maddy closed her eyes, whispering, “I didn’t think he could find me either.”
“She’s okay. Someone would have called by now, otherwise. I’ll let you know as soon as I get there and see her with my own two eyes.”
“Thank you.”
She ended the call and glanced up to find Kaleb leaning against the wall, watching her. Was there suspicion in his eyes?
That was crazy. This was all Matthew’s doing.
Sarah, one of the nurses, came over and touched her arm. “Are you okay, Maddy?”
Okay? No, she was far from okay, although she nodded, wrapping her arms around her middle. “I’m so sorry for all of this.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Wasn’t it? Knowing this man had put all of their lives in danger.
Matthew. Who was now dead. Why? Why? He’d left her alone for over a year. Not a phone call. Not a letter in all that time. And suddenly he was here. With a gun. To what? Kill her? Kill Chloe?
Renewed panic filled her system. “I have to go.”
“We’re on lockdown, Maddy,” Kaleb reminded her. “They’re not letting anyone in or out of the hospital.”
Someone arrived with a long black bag, and two men lifted her ex-husband and laid him inside, zipping it closed.
A sob rose in her throat.
Taking hold of her arm, Kaleb eased her away from Sarah and everyone else, guiding her back into her office. His big body seemed to fill the space. She took a quick step back.
Kaleb frowned. “It’s okay.”
Okay? Why did everyone keep using that word? Right now she wasn’t sure anything would be okay ever again. She’d thought she’d got over her fear. Thought maybe she could finally have a normal life. Had even thought that she and Kaleb might be able to...
No. She did not need to get involved with a man.
Especially not after what had just happened. Right now all she needed was to know that her daughter was safe.
“I have to go.” She repeated the words, knowing she probably sounded foolish. But she couldn’t help it.
“You told the officer your ex was acting alone. Are you sure of that? Could he be part of some organization?”
Organization? It took her a minute to realize what that meant.
“He’s not a terrorist. He’s just a boy from a hick town who...” Her voice caught. When she tried to force out the rest of the sentence, it caught again.
Then Kaleb’s arms came around her, pressing her head into his shoulder as a second sob hit her throat. Then a third. And a fourth. She couldn’t believe any of this was happening. A man she’d once loved was dead. A man she’d slept with. Laughed with. Had a baby with.
A man who’d turned cruel beyond belief as time had gone on.
She had to call her mom and tell her before she heard it from somewhere else.
But first she had to get ahold of herself. She curled her hands into the soft fabric of Kaleb’s shirt, the comforting scent of his body washing over her. His fingers cupped the back of her head, moving in small soothing brushes that did what her mind couldn’t seem to do: returned her to the here and now. Edging back slightly, she tilted her head to look up at him. “I was so scared.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to be.”
Wet spots on the crisp blue of his shirt, along with twin black smudges from her mascara, made her eyes prickle all over again. She brushed at the moisture with one hand. “Your shirt. I’ll pay to have it cleaned.”
“It’s nothing. It’ll wash right out.”
Random thoughts spiraled through her head.
How did he know it would wash out? Had he held crying women often?
Or had he made them cry? Like her ex.
No. She might not know Kaleb very well, but he was nothing like Matthew. She would have heard something from Sarah or the other nurses. Hospital grapevines let nothing go by unnoticed.
Why hadn’t she heard back from Roxy yet? It had been fifteen minutes at least.
Matthew had hated Chloe. He’d had a jealous streak, even before they’d got married. Back then it had seemed innocent enough. But it had only got worse with time. Until it had no longer been amusing or flattering...but dangerous. And it had finally extended to the child she’d carried. That had been the last straw. She’d divorced him, but trying to live in the same town with his threats and middle-of-the-night phone calls had finally got to be too much. She’d filed for—and been granted—a restraining order. And then when Chloe had turned three, Maddy had decided to leave Gamble Point and move, giving in to Roxy’s pleas to get away from him once and for all.
Only it didn’t look as if that had worked.
She realized she was still standing far too close to Kaleb. She stepped to the side. “I had no idea he was capable...I’m sorry you got caught in the middle of this.”
What if Matthew had started shooting up the place? Kaleb, as well as others, could have been injured. Or killed. She shuddered again.
Instead, Matthew had taken his own life.
He shook his head. “I’m glad I was here.” His throat moved for a second. “It could have been much worse.”
Exactly what she’d been thinking.
His phone chirped, and her heart leaped to her throat as she watched him press the button.
“Yes,