Tucker couldn’t believe that he was getting this kind of news at the absolute worst time possible.
“Are you serious?” he asked John, his boss. “You’re promoting me?”
John was a man Tucker had respected for years for his dedication and his fairness on the job. He’d given his life to law enforcement and he was sitting behind his desk telling Tucker that before he retired he wanted to see Tucker himself moving up in the ranks.
“You heard me.” John coughed, his signature hack. Tucker was never sure if it was purely habit, or the man had chronic bronchitis but he leaned back in his desk chair and cradled his coffee mug. “The promotion is yours. You’ll be next in line for my job if you want it.”
The chance to take over the whole department eventually? Tucker had never even dreamed that was possible. He was deeply honored and humbled. Excited. But horrified, simultaneously. He was supposed to be leaving the next day for a trip to Vegas with Elle to scope out apartments. She was moving in just a few weeks, though he hadn’t planned to follow her until his house sold or at least was rented out. “I’m supposed to be moving to Vegas in a few months.”
His boss shrugged. “Take it or leave it, Tucker. I don’t want to hear your feelings on it.”
“I’m really honored.”
“Good. You should be.”
“Can I think about it for a day or two, talk to my wife?”
“Sure. Let me know as soon as you can though.”
Tucker said his thanks and nodded and went back to his desk, not at all sure how Elle was going to react. She picked up the phone right away.
“Hey, handsome!” She gave him kissing sounds through the phone.
Tucker rubbed his forehead. “Hey, baby.” God, he loved her. She would understand. She would know what this meant to him. “So I got some good news. I got a promotion today.”
“What?” Elle sounded breathless. “What do you mean? Why would they give you a promotion when you’re leaving?”
“I think it’s an enticement to get me to stay. This is a dream I’ve been angling after for two years.” He wanted it so bad he could taste it. But he wanted Elle more.
The last few weeks he had been thinking more and more that she was right—a fresh start would be good for them. But this was an opportunity that would nearly kill him to pass up.
“I’m proud of you,” she said. “That’s an awesome compliment.” Her voice was warm, which he appreciated.
He just didn’t know what she meant beyond that. “So what do you think? Should I take it?”
There was a long pause and he sank back in his chair and swiveled. He already knew what she was going to say and he wasn’t going to like it.
“But we’re moving to Vegas. Right?”
“I don’t know. I know we were planning on that but this is a huge deal for me.”
“I already accepted a job myself. We’re leaving tomorrow to look for an apartment.”
“You’re going to have to go on maternity leave anyway. What if I can’t find a job in Vegas? This is a sure deal. It could be security for our family.”
“We discussed the move already. We made a decision.”
“But I didn’t know about the job then.”
“Can we just talk about it tomorrow on the plane?” Her voice had gotten shrill. “Though I’m not sure why we’re even having this conversation.”
That irritated him. “Because I have good news. I have an opportunity to advance in my career and I want my wife to support me in that.”
“I’m not moving to Starkey! I already told you that.”
Now he was pissed. “So that’s it? You get final say in my whole life? Personal and professional.”
“It’s not final say. We decided it together.”
“And now we need to reevaluate.”
“Let’s just talk about this tomorrow. Unless you’re bailing on our trip.”
It was a cheap shot based on nothing other than she was upset with him. Which made him even more irritated. He would never be so childish as to no-show on her or cancel a trip. “Of course I’ll be there. I’m always there.”
He was. Only this time it didn’t feel that fantastic.
Elle was getting worried. Tucker was more than an hour late. That wasn’t like him at all. She was pacing at Jolene’s house, her bags packed, her sister eyeing her uneasily.
“Sit down, sis,” Jolene said. “You’re making me nauseous. This morning sickness is kicking my tail.”
Jolene did look a little green, her head resting on the kitchen island as she sat on a stool. Elle felt green but it had nothing to do with being pregnant. “I’m so glad I’m past that. My pregnancy has been a breeze since then, honestly.”
“Thanks for rubbing it in.”
That did make her feel sheepish. “Sorry. But Jo, where the hell is Tucker? It’s not snowing. I checked the radar. Our flight leaves in five hours.” She left out the fact that she and Tucker had engaged in what some might call an argument and that she had been less than a supportive and enthusiastic wife when he had mentioned his promotion. But she had freaked out. Been caught totally off guard.
“He’ll be here. Tucker is reliable.”
“But why isn’t he answering his phone?” She was feeling a deep, ugly anxiety in her gut. Something was wrong. She knew it. If anything, Tucker was usually early. On time. Never late. Even if they had a minor disagreement he would never be spiteful enough to not show or call. That had been really shitty of her to even suggest and she had barely slept at all, fretting over how unfair it had been of her to act like this wasn’t something they needed to seriously discuss. Together.
“Maybe his phone died.”
“He has a car charger.” Elle absently rubbed her baby bump. She had started to pop now that January had just given way to February. Her whole apartment was in storage in Jolene’s garage and she was nervous about starting a new life, yet excited. But she needed her husband and she needed to apologize to him. Bile crawled up her throat.
Her phone rang in her hand and she scrambled to answer it, before realizing it wasn’t Tucker, but an unknown number. “Hello?”
“Elle?” It was a man’s voice, but not one she recognized.
“Yes?” The bad feeling she had increased into full-on dread. “This is Elle.”
“This is River, Tucker’s cousin. I’m not sure if you remember me or not.”
“Sure. What’s going on?” It was no coincidence that he was calling her right now, when Tucker was late. For a second she thought she was going to faint. Her vision went black and her face flushed with heat, but she swallowed hard and pulled it together.
“Tucker is going to be okay, but there’s been an incident.”
Her heart rate leapt into overdrive. She looked over at her sister, silently pleading for help. Jolene sat up straight. “What kind of incident, River?” she managed.
“He was shot this morning when he went out on a call. The doctor says he’s going to be okay but he’s in surgery right now.”
Elle felt like everything stopped. Time stopped. Sound stopped. Her heart stopped. As she struggled to process, to stay conscious, River kept talking.
“Elle? Did you hear me?”
She nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. A cold sweat had broken out all over her body. “Yes. Where was he shot?” She had horrible images of Tucker’s head exploding, his stomach torn open, his chest obliterated. Jolene was rushing toward her.
“In the thigh. He’s okay, honestly. He’s going to be fine. He’s lucky.”
Was River trying to convince her or himself? “Where is he? I need to come up there.”
“He’s in Lexington. I can text you the hospital information.”
Elle barely heard him after that. She murmured a few words, said thanks, and felt her arm fall and the phone tumble from her hand onto the floor. Never once had it occurred to her that Tucker could get shot on duty. She thought of him as invincible. Always solid. Able to handle anything. He worried about her, and she always thought that was ridiculous. But she had never worried about him because he was good at his job. Of course, that was a foolish and careless assumption to make. Even great cops got caught in dangerous situations. Tucker didn’t have eyes in the back of his head.
She felt sick.
If he wasn’t truly okay she didn’t know what she would do. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Come sit down, sis,” Jolene said, wrapping her arm around Elle’s waist. “What happened?”
“I don’t even know. All I know is that Tucker was shot.” The words felt torn from her throat. Incomprehensible. “I feel like I’m going to throw up. I have to get to Lexington.”
“Chance!” Jolene screamed over her shoulder. “You’re not driving. We’ll take you.”
She nodded, overwhelmed with fear. “River said he’s in surgery but that he’s okay. Do you think that’s true or was he just trying to make me feel better?”
“I don’t remember River as being the type of guy to blow smoke up your ass. I’m sure he’s telling the truth.”
Chance came into the kitchen as Elle used the island to hold herself up. She felt like she might go down.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “She’s not in premature labor, is she?”
For some reason that scared her all over again. Could stress send her into labor? She was only sixteen weeks. She burst into tears.
“Tucker got shot. I’m not sure what is going on, but we need to get her to Lexington to the hospital,” Jolene said.
“Holy shit. Of course.”
“Honey, let me get you some water and help you out to the car.”
Elle let herself be led through the kitchen and to the garage door. “Where’s my phone?” she asked and her voice sounded remote, distant to her. If the last words she had ever spoken to Tucker were the peevish ones she had uttered yesterday afternoon, she would never recover.
“I have it,” Jolene said. “Come on.”
Chance took her by the other elbow and they dragged her stumbling through the mudroom to the garage where Chance helped her into his truck. “I guess I’m not going to Vegas,” she said in a totally pointless and obvious statement.
“There will be time for Vegas later once Tucker is back on his feet.”
Jolene sounded so certain that Elle loved her for it. Her baby sister was so damn grown up. When had that happened? But if Jolene could be that strong and so full of common sense, than damn it, so could she. “You’re right. Everything is going to be fine.” Her voice sounded full of conviction now and she swallowed hard.
This was a big deal, but it wasn’t the end of the world. They’d get through it.
It was time for her to be the one to take care of Tucker, instead of the other way around.
She kept saying that she was going to be supportive of her friends and her family and here was the biggest test of all. Was she willing to let go of her needs for those of her husband?
The answer was yes. Absolutely and firmly yes.