Juliet woke up in agonizing pain. She was lying on her stomach, pinned underneath something and could not move. An echoing voice repeating her name brought her back to reality.
“Detective O’Hara….Detective…. JULIET!”
Her eyes snapped open. She could not speak because of the weight on her back but her coughs let the others in the room know she was conscious.
Juliet felt the crushing weight being slowly removed from her back and she was able to breathe easier. A strong hand helped her sit up. It was Henry Spencer. He had knelt down to her, holding her shoulders as she filled her lungs with air. “What… what happened?”
Holding her still and close, so she could not fully survey the gruesome scene, Henry tried to find his voice. “Sh… my son was able to text me…” He swallowed before continuing. “He found out where you were taken and let us know before going into the house. We got here before he could hurt you.”
The house… she started to remember. She had responded to a domestic disturbance on her way back to the station from break. When she knocked on the door a woman had opened it and fallen against her sobbing. “He is going to kill me! Help me!” Before she could pull out her gun she was hit from behind on the head. She woke up next to the dead body of the man’s wife and he was waving a gun in her face. She remembered her knight in green plaid showing up and trying to talk the man down. It started to work until sirens in the background caused the man to panic. The last thing she recalled were gunshots and a heavy weight falling on her.
“Where is Shawn?” Juliet tried to look around the room but Henry’s tight grip stopped her. “What is going on? Where is he?” Juliet started to panic. Henry’s silence was more upsetting than not being able to see everything around her.
Her partner Carlton Lassiter came into view. He looked at Henry and quietly said, “Henry, we have to get her out of the house.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the door.
Juliet planted her feet. “Where is Gus? Why isn’t he here?”
“Gus is waiting outside, he couldn’t be in here.” Carlton explained in a soft voice.
“Carlton! I just got hit on the head. You guys are acting like….” Then reality hit her. The shots fired, the weight crashing into her, and Shawn not being there.
Her body started to shake uncontrollably, “No….” Turning she saw Henry, kneeling over a slumped body, in green plaid.
Ripping her arm out of Carlton’s grip she rushed to Henry’s side by Shawn’s body. Henry’s hand moved to grip hers as both sobbed over the most important man in each of their lives. He had taken three bullets in the back while jumping in front of the gun to save Juliet’s life.
Carlton moved over to the grieving pair, unsure whether to join in or help them move so Shawn’s body could be taken away once the ambulance arrived. He knelt down next to Juliet as she wrapped her arms around Henry and sobbed, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Looking at Shawn, Carlton lay his hand on his shoulder. It was still warm. Raising his eyebrows he took two fingers and touched his neck.
“McNab!” Carlton shouted at the top of his lungs causing Henry and Juliet to jerk apart in surprise..
The young officer rushed inside at the shout “What is it Detective?”
Carlton grabbed a blanket from the couch and began to press down on Shawn’s wounds to staunch the bleeding. “Call the ambulance and tell them to hurry up! Spencer is alive!”