Chapter 26: Shot
"Denise? You're Eesha Denise Colly, right?" he said as he stared at her.
"W-who are y-you?" she asked as her voice trembling with fear.
"It's me, I'm Detective Antonio Dela Paz, you've been missing for almost two months and h—"
"If you are one of his men, please step back! just please let me escape," she said in her teary-eyed.
"Wait, relax; I'm not here to hurt you; I'm here to help you," he assured her as he stared at her.
"Was God on my side today?" she asked herself, almost crying with joy.
"Please help me, I've been kidnapped," she said as she took his hands in hers. Antonio notices her trembling hands.
"Don't worry, you're safe now," he assured her.
"Please hurry his looking for me now," she begged as Antonio notices her distress.
"All right, let's go," he said as they hopped into his car. Before Antonio drove the car so fast, she heard Mike call her name angrily.
"You need to help me! He's f*cking crazy!" she exclaimed while Antonio focused on driving.
"Please calm down, you're safe now," he said as Denise began to calm down at those words.
"Thank you," she said, "I hope you're not one of them."
"What do you mean, one of them?" he asked her with his face confused.
"When I once escaped, I immediately asked for help from the police here. But they did not help me, instead, they voluntarily handed me over to Mike. The police here is one of his accomplices. That's why it's so hard to trust a stranger," she said in her serious tone.
"No need to worry, I understand," he said.
They were having a conversation when they heard a gunshot. "F*ck! he's after us," he said, looking in the side mirror. They heard another gunshot as Anthony tries to turn around.
~
Denise felt a bullet go through her abdomen and screamed an ear-piercing scream. Antonio looked terrified as he took the gun from his waistband, which was shiny and black, and shot Mike in his right chest.
"Sh*t, you're bleeding bro!" Ronnie exclaimed as they hurriedly returned the car and drove away.
"F*ck let's go back, I need to get Denise back, she's mine!" Mike yelled angrily.
"For God's sake!! You're hurt, Mike, just take her back when you're already fine!" Ronnie exclaimed as he drove his car speedily.
~
Antonio pulled over, removed his top, and placed it on her stomach where the shot was, causing her to cry from the pain. Then, while his hand was still on her stomach wound, Antonio took out his phone and dialed 911.
"Please, please, please stay awake," he begged, his face worried. Denise looked up to him, his eyes glassy, and he seemed to be about to cry as she reached out a shaky hand and touched his cheek, "Don't worry, I'm fine. Thank you for h-helping me," she said, trying to calm him down as she felt herself dropping off to sleep.
Denise had no idea how long it had been. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later, and Antonio appeared relieved but still concerned.
A few minutes later, the door burst open, and the paramedics arrived, while Antonio assured her that everything would be fine. "Please hurry! She's out of blood!" Antonio yelled to the paramedic.
They then placed her on a stretcher and held her gunshot wound as she was loaded into the ambulance. While the paramedics tried to do their job, Antonio came over and sat next to her.
Denise feels safe around him. "How lucky I am to meet him here," she said quietly. "Please.. stay awake.." Antonio kept saying, but Denise was too tired and wanted to sleep. As she felt her eyes drop and couldn't open them before being met with the darkness, she heard Antonio say, "You'll be fine, I knew it. Just d-don't be afraid, I'm here now, chérie."
~
When Antonio saw her unconscious, she became enraged. He wants to kill Mike for what he did to her chérie. When she found her, he was overjoyed because she had finally found her childhood sweetheart. They are in middle school when Antonio meets Denise, and they're only friends for a short time because they need to immigrate to France for their business.
"Hey, don't cry ma chérie, I'll promise you when I become a detective when we grow up I'll protect you and marry you," the little Antonio said as he wiped away her tears.
"You promise that hah, if you don't come back right away, I swear I'll be angry with you and forget about you," the little girl said, pouting her lips and sobbing.
Antonio's eyes welled up with tears as she remembered their last conversation as children. He misses his little chérie terribly.
As they got to the hospital he was told to wait outside for them to stabilize her and stop the bleeding. The doctor returned after what seemed like an eternity. "How is she?" he asked him instantly. "We're done stabilizing her but she went into a coma," the doctor said in his sad tone. "Is it okay to see her now?" Antonio asked the doctor. "Sure, go ahead," he said as Antonio dashed to Denise's room.
He sat beside her on the chair and held her hands. "Please, ma chérie, wake up; I'm here now," he begged, his eyes welling up.
A nurse arrived a few minutes later. "Excuse me, Sir, I need to check her vitals," the nurse said, to which Antonio responded with a nod. When her heartbeat became extremely rapid the nurse told him to leave as the nurse hurriedly pressed the red button, and the three doctors rushed in. One of them took him outside.
"What's going on?" he asked, nervously, but the doctor didn't respond.
"Relax Sir, just wait here; don't worry, we'll take care of everything," the doctor said as they shut the door.
"Oh my God, please don't take her away from me; I beg you," Antonio prayed silently as he walked back and forth.
After a few hours, the doctor came out and told him something as he broke down in tears.
