Page 92 of Best Laid Plans

Something she says sticks with me. “Greer, are you in danger?”

Before she can answer, Lucy walks over with a to-go bag of food. “Here you go, Greer,” she says softly.

I swallow when I look at her. Citi told me about this woman. This is the one who, in another life, would have been Capone’s girl. But fate had other ideas.

She looks at me and smiles, and it’s just as fake as Greer’s. “Hey, Lil, how are you?”

Before I can answer, Powers is back, sliding a slice of pie in front of me.

“Your pie, my lady.” I roll my eyes at him as he tips an imaginary hat.

The bell above the door goes again. I turn to see a man walk through. I don’t recognize him, so I focus back on Powers, who pulls me into his lap.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Greer tense. I look at her curiously as I hear a man shouting. “You fucking bitch!”

I whip my head around, along with everyone else. The man who just walked in is yelling, spittle flying from his mouth. “You took my fucking kids from me!” he roars.

I turn to Greer, who is as white as a sheet. “Mr. Harris⁠—”

But she doesn’t get anything else out before the gunfire erupts, and I’m thrown to the floor. Powers covers me with his body, his hands cradling my head before it can bounce off the unforgiving floor.

The next few minutes are filled with gunfire and screams, the smell of smoke and copper in the air before the gunfire cuts off, and someone yells, “Call a fucking ambulance.”

I wiggle to get free, but Powers holds me tight. “I’m fine, Keiren, I promise, but people are hurt. I can help. Please let me.” I might not be a nurse, but my training kicks in regardless. I couldn’t live with myself if I could help but cowered with fear instead.

“Fuck, fine, but you stay right beside me.” He eases off me and helps me up. I freeze for a second, taking in the carnage.

“Lil, over here,” Mack calls out, his head poking up from the edge of the table. I move around to him and drop to my knees when I see Greer in his arms, blood covering her face.

“Shit, was she hit?”

“No, Lucy shoved her out of the way, but she hit her head on the corner of the table and went down hard. She won’t wake up, Lil. Why isn’t she walking up?”

I ignore his panic and focus on Greer. I don’t see any obvious injuries other than the mark on her temple.

“Throw me your keys, Powers,” I yell. He hands them to me without question. I lift Greer’s eyelids and shine the mini flashlight on the keychain in her eyes. “Pupils are reactive.”

“That’s good, right?” Toot calls out.

“Yes. That’s good. She hit her head, so I’m not overly worried about her losing consciousness just yet. Mack, keep her still and warm until the paramedics get here. If anything changes, you call me over, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Toot, you hurt?” I look over at him and see him on the ground with Lucy’s head in his lap. Her eyes are open, staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

“No, no no.” I scramble over, which is when I see the pool of blood beneath her and the red slowly spreading around her name tag pinned to her chest. I press my fingers to her neck, looking for a pulse, but I already know I won’t find one. She was likely dead before she hit the ground.

“She pushed Greer out of the way. She saved her life. Why’d she do that?” he asks, though it’s impossible to miss the relief in his voice.

I ease her eyes closed. “Anyone can be a hero, Toot, even small-town waitresses with a pretty smile and sad eyes.”

The doors open, and cops rush in, guns drawn.

“Suspect is down,” Kruger yells. I look over and see he’s fine, and so are the kids who are under the table.

“Is anyone else hurt?” I ask Powers, but he shakes his head. “Only the shooter. Stay down while the cops figure out if they want to arrest us all or not.”

I don’t argue with him. I let my gaze drop back to Lucy before they move to Toot, then Mack, who are solely focused on Greer. Something tells me things are about to change between the three of them. Only time will tell if what they’re feeling will simmer over or blow up completely. Either way, they have a second chance to make things right, and it’s all thanks to Lucy.