Free B00CCYP714 EBOK by R. E. Bradshaw

conversation with Mackie did not go very well. Rex was flushed and looking for a fight.
    “You people don’t think the law applies to you.”
    Rainey was not in the mood for more of his accusations. “Just give me my weapon and give it a rest for one night, Rex.”
    That only made him angrier, emboldening him to cross the line with Rainey. “The only thing that would make this night worse, after dealing with you two, is if your son-of-a-bitch father were still around.”
    Rainey felt Gunny’s hand on her elbow, just as she was about to launch into Rex King once and for all. Gunny positioned herself between Rainey and Rex, and to Rainey’s surprise, was not the least bit confrontational. Her transformation from tough as nails to polite peacemaker startled Rainey out of wanting to throttle King Squared into King Cubed.
    “Detective King, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Naomi Pierce, retired,” she said, extending her hand in greeting. “I don’t think anyone will be served well by cursing the dead, do you? Now, why don’t you and I go collect Rainey’s weapon, while she sees to her friend, and if you want to talk later, I’m sure she has plenty to say to you.”
    Gunny so shocked Rex, he lost the ability to speak, and before he knew what was happening, she had escorted him out the emergency room doors. Rainey was still standing there with her mouth open, when Junior slid to a stop next to her. He looked frightened, spoke breathlessly, and began dragging Rainey down the hall with him.
    “Rainey, Mackie’s heart stopped. Come quick.”
    Rainey felt her face go ashen. She started running beside Junior, toward the doors that barred the public from the exam rooms. A nurse saw them coming, recognized Junior, and hit a button behind the desk. They passed through the doors without breaking stride.
    “I thought he was stable. What happened?”
    Junior choked back tears with his answer. “I don’t know.”
    When they rounded the corner, Rainey saw Thelma leaning against the wall, in tears. That’s when she heard the high-pitched whine of a defibrillator charging and the shout of, “Again!” coming from the trauma room. The flat-line alarm on the heart monitor droned in the background, eeeeeeeeee— Rainey passed Thelma and pushed her way into the trauma room, where her guardian angel lay dying.
    “Zzzzchuunk!” The defibrillator sounded, as the doctor sent an electrical pulse into Mackie’s body, causing it to convulse, but the flat-line returned immediately on the heart monitor screen.
    “No pulse,” a nurse said, as he prepared another shot of adrenaline and another resumed chest compressions.
    Rainey wanted there to be no doubt about the man on the table. “Don’t give up on him,” she said from the doorway. “He walked out of a jungle with five bullets in him, carrying my father. Don’t you give up on him.”
    A nurse turned toward her, to force her back out of the room. Rainey stepped back, but not before shouting, “Don’t you give up, Mackie! You fight, goddammit!”
    “Again,” the doctor shouted. “Push the next epi.”
    “Charging,” another voice said.
    The defibrillator whine built to a crescendo for the next shock it was to deliver, when someone shouted, “Wait! He has a pulse.”
    Rainey slid down the hallway wall to her knees and thanked God for another blessing in her life. When she finished, she had one more person to address. She whispered, “I promise to keep him safe, Dad. Thanks for knowing I needed him with me more than you do.”
    She felt hands on her shoulders. A familiar voice whispered close to her ear, “Come on, let them do their work.”
    Rainey looked up to see Ernie smiling down at her.
    “You all know it’ll take more than a shot through a ballistics vest to stop that big man in there, don’t you? I’ve known him longer than any of you, and I know damn well he isn’t going to die today. So, let’s all go get some coffee and