CHAPTER 3

"Where's the ambulance?" Dad was pissed. He must've yelled it ten times once he spotted me.

What I was about to tell him could send him into hysterics.

As my feet pounded closer, I noticed he and Suzie were standing beside a group of four strangers. Three men and a woman. Other people who'd lost their patience were leaning against their vehicles, waiting for the traffic to clear.

I sprinted up to Dad and bent over, struggling to catch my breath. Running on full throttle in the cold night air forced a sharp cough to erupt from my lungs. "No ambulance... is coming. Cars... are full... of sick people all the way to the hospital... and both roads are completely blocked."

Another hard cough raked out of me.

"Don't get me sick, too." Suzie backed away from me.

I threw a mean glare at her. "I'm not sick. I ran my butt off to get back here, you little brat. Excuse me for breathing."

Dad set a hand on my shoulder, analyzing the side of my face. "Tell me what happened."

I glanced over at Mom reclined in the back seat. She still looked awful, but no blood was coming out of her eyes or ears. Yet. "Is she... okay?"

"She's still breathing." Suzie lifted a compact mirror up. "Dad showed me how to check if she's breathing with this."

The weight on my shoulders eased for now. Mom was okay.

"Casey?" Dad's tone was heavy with distress as he continued to examine my face. "What happened?"

I shook my head at the memory of the chaos. "Most look sick just like Mom. There are hundreds of people, Dad, and there aren't any doctors or nurses helping. There weren't any police either. People were unconscious on the ground. The ones that weren't sick were arguing and fighting. It's really bad."

"Is that what happened to your face?" Some guy asked from the small group of strangers. He sounded curious and maybe a little concerned.

"Um..." I reached up to my cheek, wincing as my fingertips skimmed over wet, shredded skin. My face was bleeding. How hadn't I noticed that before? "I was able to get inside, but I didn't see any nurses or doctors. There were armed guards in black uniforms with medical masks and guns.

"They were guarding all the patient access doors and elevators. People were screaming and freaking out. The crowd shoved me into an older woman who punched me a few times. Her rings must've cut me. I barely made it out of there before the gunshots went off."

Instead of laughing at the fact that an elderly lady beat me up, they all gaped at me, speechless, like I'd spoken a foreign language.

As if I'd conjured them into existence, a variety of short pops and bellowing booms echoed down the street. More gunshots.

"Holy shit, Dad. Did you hear that?" Curious guy took a step forward.

A big round man took off his old trucker hat and scratched his nearly bald head. "Sounded like more gunshots."

You think? I could've told him that.

Dad pressed his palms to his forehead as he began pacing. "Your mother probably just needs some antibiotics. It has to be some kind of bacterial infection since she's ejecting everything from her system. Damn it! I don't know. I'm not a doctor. If anything will help, it's antibiotics. If this is a virus, God help us."

"My husband and baby girl are in bad shape like your wife." The tiny brunette woman with large round glasses clutched her waist, searching the ground like all the answers were going to miraculously sprout up. "They need to see a doctor."

The big man grunted. "We can't wait in this mess. My other boy is complaining like my wife was earlier. And now she's burning up and throwing up all over the place. It's only a matter of time for my boy."

"That's not all she's doing," Curious guy added. I knew exactly what he was talking about because Mom wasn't just throwing up either.

Giving Curious guy a once over, I realized he couldn't be much older than me. He tilted his head smoothly to the side, moving a lock of dark hair out of his eyes.

"Mom needed medicine a long time ago, Dad. It could already be too late." Suzie whispered.

Wow, little sis, just wow. You've officially won today's sensitivity award. I opened my mouth to yell at her, but Dad beat me to it.

"I've had it, Suzie! Go check on your mother." Dad's bark made both of us jump and a sob came from my sister as she shuffled toward Mom. His pacing started up again and he didn't even spare Suzie a glance. "Your mother will be okay. She just needs medicine. They sell antibiotics everywhere, right? We need to find a pharmacy and..."

The big man pursed his lips and rocked on his heels, placing the hat back on his head. "We might have a solution. Derek?"

Derek. That was Curious guy's name.

Derek jingled something in his pocket as he shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to break the law."

Dad stopped pacing and turned his focus on the two men. "It's okay, Son. You won't have to."

"Now, wait just one minute. I can't be thinking about breaking no law." A silent lanky man interrupted. He blew out a thick cloud of cigarette smoke. "I've done enough time already."

Dad's eyebrows shot up as he faced the weathered man. "Look, I'm not sure what type of emergency your family is in, Sir, but I trust what my daughter said about the frightening situation she escaped. From what we've all experienced, every emergency number has been busy for the last hour and if I'm not mistaken, we all heard the gunshots up ahead.

"I have yet to see or hear one officer of the law so far and the love of my life is facing a life or death situation here. So, if you don't want to be part of our solution, which may include breaking the law, please let us discuss this alone."

"You damn right I don't wanna break no law. Martha's just gonna have to take cold meds." The man flicked his cigarette at the road causing it to explode into a barrage of orange sparks as he spun and walked away. He threw open the door of a small white car, sat down behind the wheel, and slammed the door.

I waited for the tiny woman to follow his lead, but she didn't. She remained rooted in place. If she was willing to do something illegal, I had to assume her family was in dire need as well.

Dad released a ragged breath. "Okay, Son, please continue."

Shifting uneasily from foot to foot, Derek raised his eyes to mine, which were blue in the moonlight. His gaze slid to Dad. "Well... I work in a large storage facility that stores and transports wholesale items to the big membership clubs. You know, like Smith's Club and Cost Savers. We carry typical household supplies, food, baby stuff, tools... you know what I mean? Anyway, we also store... um... pharmaceuticals. I'm just a forklift operator, so I don't know what the stock looks like now, but my buddy works in that area and he says they usually have high demand meds like antibiotics and painkillers."

Dad looked from Derek to the big man. They all shared a moment of contemplation.

"Not a bad idea if you ask me. It's out away from the hustle and bustle of things so it shouldn't be too difficult," Big man jutted his chin toward the line of vehicles. "This mess is only getting worse."

"Do you have a way to contact your friend?" Dad glanced at Mom.

Derek nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Thank you, Son." Dad looked at the big man. "If for any reason he can't get the antibiotics without getting caught, I'll take care of it."

"But they have twenty-four hour security," Derek's gaze met mine and remained on me until I looked at Dad.

"You'll take care of it?" My brow pinched.

"I said I'll take care of it." Dad's tone didn't leave any room for question. He was going to do whatever he needed to do to get Mom the medication. Hell, or high water.

My face heated, irritating my wounds. All eyes were on us.

The small lady sniffed and stepped toward us. "I don't mean to be a nuisance, but I want to help. Do you mind if I bring my family along?"

Dad shook his head. "No, but you'll have to let me take the fall. I don't want you to get into any trouble."

What the hell? Let Dad take the fall for all these people? No way. If he was caught, he'd serve major time. If Dad went to prison because he was fighting to save Mom's life and the lives of others, I'd never forgive myself.

If anyone was taking the fall it was me. It had to be me. Dad was the one who put food on the table. If Dad went to prison, we'd lose everything.

"No, Dad." My tone shocked everyone. I was putting my foot down. And for the first time, Dad was listening. "Take everyone to our house and I'll be the one to take care of it."

"Casey," Dad whispered. "I can't let you do that."

"She's right, Sir," Derek spoke up, surprising the hell out of me. "Taking everyone will be suspicious and will only cause problems. I'll get a hold of my buddy, Thomas. He'll help us get what we need."

Big man folded his arms and lowered his brow at Derek. "And if he doesn't?"

Derek mirrored big man and folded his arms, standing his ground. "Then I go in there and get it myself. How difficult can it really be? If anything, I'll talk to Thomas and find out where they keep the antibiotics. We'll be back in a hour flat. That'll be better than waiting here until morning. Meanwhile, you all can take everyone to their house," Derek dipped his head toward us. "That way you'll be able to keep everyone safe until we get back."

I studied Derek, trying to figure him out. Where did all that come from? Why was he on my side? Could he really pull this off without a hitch?

"Dad?" A good looking teenage boy ambled toward us, holding his stomach. "What's going on? Why're we still sitting here?"

Big man moved to his son's side. "The hospital's too busy, but we're still gonna get you and your mom some medicine."

Suzie suddenly reappeared and jogged toward the boy, wiping tears from her cheeks. "Grant?"

I glanced at Dad, wondering if he caught the infamous name. It had been the catalyst for multiple arguments in the past week. I could tell Dad knew because his frustrated expression hardened even more, if that was possible.

"Suzie?" Grant squinted in pain. "How're you here?"

Suzie stopped right next to Grant, almost touching his arm. "My mom's really sick."

Grant winced like he was in intense pain. "Mine's sick too."

So, Grant was related to Derek and the big man. Great. This complication couldn't have come at a worse time.

Grant was a younger version of Derek. Both had messy dark brown hair long enough to constantly fall in their eyes. I could see why Suzie was infatuated. They were both screaming bad boy rocker. Tall and built, but not overly muscular. Just athletic.

Derek had a maturity about him that spoke volumes about how much more experience he had under his belt than Grant. The confidence coming off Derek was overpowering.

"I hate to break up this reunion, but..." Dad interrupted. "Derek?"

Derek spun to face Dad. "Yes, Sir?"

Dad eyebrows lifted. "I think you have a friend to call."