Chapter Nine:
Within seconds Nick found himself pinned against the wall, Bo’s fist making contact with his face. He fell to the ground in a heap. Bo walked over towards the bed. Nick jumped up and grabbed Bo from behind. Bo quickly flipped Nick back onto the ground and pummeled his face with his fists. As he was hitting Nick all he could see in front of him was how beaten and bruised Nora looked laying there on the bed, her nightgown torn, the handcuff dangling from her right wrist. He had so much rage coursing threw his body, and he was taking it out on Nick’s face. He brought his fist up and was about to hit him once more when he heard her.
“Bo…stop”, she said in a groggy voice. “He’s…”
Bo picked him up by the shirt and threw him back down, his head bouncing off the floor. Bo stood up and walked over to the bed. She had slipped out of consciousness again. He was about to pick her up when he felt something hit his back. He fought to stay upright. He turned and saw Nick holding a gun on him. Bo drew his gun just as fast. They stood across from each other.
“Drop the gun Manzo.”
“Not on your life, drop yours Commish.”
“Nick, there’s a whole team of cops just outside the door.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“I guess that’s a chance you’ll have to take, Nick.”
They stood across from each other for a few moments before they heard them storm the house.
“Hold your fire,” Bo yelled.
“Drop the gun, Manzo”, Antonio yelled.
“Not until the good Commissioner here does.”
“Alright Nick you’ve got it. We’ll both throw our guns down. Then we’ll all walk out of here nice and quiet like.”
They stared each other down for a moment. They both began to lower their guns. Before Bo knew it Nick drew his gun back up and fired. Bo felt the pain rip through his shoulder, but was able to get a shot off shooting Nick in the middle of the chest. Nick fell to the ground in a heap. Antonio rushed over and kicked his gun away. Bo dropped his gun and walked over to the bed and covered her with a blanket. He picked her up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, and carried her out of the cabin. One of the officers ran up to him and tried to take Nora out of his arms.
“No, I’ve got her.”
“But your shoulder, sir.”
“I’m fine.”
Bo carried her to the van and laid her across the back seat. He sat down beside her, her head in his lap. He ran his hands through her hair. He ran his fingers along the cut on her forehead, along the bruises on her cheeks. He let the tears fall counteracting the rage that was raging through his body. He knew what he had walked in on, what he had interrupted, and he hoped that was the first attempt, but something in the back of his mind knew it wasn’t. That he had gotten to her too late…He continued to run his fingertips across her forehead and down her cheeks, he began to sing…
Way out on the ocean
Far across the seven seas
There's a tiny little boat
Faith is keeping her afloat
With a tiny little skipper
And a worn and tattered coat
You know the law of the ocean
Says that you shall never fail
To choose your heart as a rudder
Faith as a compass
And your blanket for a sail.
The twenty minute trip down the mountain and to the helicopter seemed to take forever. She was still unconscious and Bo knew he was losing a lot of blood. He could feel himself getting queasy but he had to make sure she got to the hospital. He would let them take care of him at the hospital as soon as he knew she was safe.
An hour after he had carried her out of the cabin she was lying in the emergency room. Larry had rushed Bo out of the room and made him have his shoulder looked at. A half hour after their arrival he was standing outside of her room, his arm in a sling. He wanted to be in there with her, he needed to know what was going on. Suddenly the door flew open and Larry walked over to him.
“How is she Larry?”
“She’s in pretty rough shape, Bo. Her right shoulder is dislocated; she has a lot of bruising and swelling on her arms, legs, abdomen and face. We’ve done an ultrasound and luckily there is no internal bleeding from the blows to her abdomen.”
“Why isn’t she waking up?”
“He came really close to giving her an overdose on the drugs. And right now that is our biggest concern. She’s slipped into a coma because of the drugs and we’re doing everything we can to reverse the effects of the drugs.”
“Is she going to make it Larry?”
“I’m not going to sugar coat it for you Bo. She’s got one hell of a fight on her hands. Her body’s been through a lot.”
“Thank you, Larry”
“I wish I had better news for you.”
“Larry.”
“Yeah.”
“You better do a rape test.”
“We already did, Bo.”
“And?”
“I’m sorry Bo, but yes. Nora was raped.”
Bo felt the rage build up in him again. He walked over to the other side of the hallway. He picked up one of the chairs and threw it across the room. He sat down in a chair and laid his face in his hands. Larry walked over and sat down beside him.
“Rearranging our furniture is not going to make it go away.”
“I didn’t get to her in time, Larry. I failed her.”
“No, no Bo. You didn’t fail her. Come on now, she’s going to need you to be strong for her when she wakes up. She’s got a tough road ahead Bo, and I don’t just mean physically. She’s going to need someone to be there for her when she deals with all that has happened, and if you want to be that person you’re going to have to restrain this rage. It’s not going to help her.”
“I know. I’m sorry about the chair. Um…when can I go in to see her?”
“Right now if you want just make it short.”
“No way Larry, I’m not leaving her side until she wakes up and kicks me out.”
“Bo..”
“No Larry, I’m serious.”
“Fine, just remember you need to rest too.”
“I’ll rest when she wakes up.”
Bo walks into the room and sits down beside her bed. He takes her hand in his and strokes the top of her hand with his thumb.
“I’m sorry, Red. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time.”
He laid his head down on the bed beside her and drifted off to sleep. Larry walked in a few minutes later and turned out the light. He had stopped by to try and convince Bo to leave but seeing them together like that he knew Bo was going to be exactly what she needed when she woke up.