Sheila and Bernie threw their guns to the side and held their hands up high.
“Get down on your knees and place your hands on top of your head, clasping your fingers together.”
They followed the instructions. The officers moved down the hill and had them both in cuffs within seconds.
I picked up Toby and held him tightly to me. He was shivering, crying, and tired of being brave. But he was brave. And it was important for me to make sure he knew that.
“Buddy,” I said. “You were so strong, so brave. I love you.”
“I love you, daddy,” Toby said.
Libby came closer and hugged us both together.
And Toby added, “I love you, mommy.”
Libby’s eyes glazed over with joyous tears. I kissed her on the forehead and hugged her tighter. I couldn’t believe I’d almost lost my family that day.
“We just happened to be driving by right here when we saw that there was an accident,” the head trooper said a little while later when he was gathering our statements. “It was really just dumb luck.”
He might have believed in luck, but I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t want to read more into it, but I sometimes believe that there is something at work behind the scenes that makes things happen. And that day, my family was saved by a miracle. That was the only way I could describe it.
“I’m forever in your debt,” I said.
“Just doing my job,” The officer said. “And today things went well. I love days like today, and unfortunately they don’t come along enough.”
I nodded. We told the officers everything that had happened since meeting Sheila and Bernie, but we conveniently left out the part about having anything to do with the war between the Scarluccis and the Zeffaris. It was too hard to explain and there might have been some legal ramifications in there for us, when for the most part Libby was the victim of circumstance and I was just trying to help the woman I loved.
But the law can sometimes get in the way of doing the right thing.
The police insisted we be transported to the local hospital to have a proper evaluation done and make sure that none of us had any internal injuries. Looking at the devastation of the car from the outside, I could see why they felt that way. It was a miracle that we’d even survived the crash.
There was that word again… miracle.
“Do you think it’s finally over?” Libby asked me when we were in the back of the ambulance. I was lying on the stretcher and she was sitting on the small bench beside me. Toby was lying on her lap cuddling with her. It was adorable.
“I think so,” I said. “I absolutely do.”
The look of relief and total happiness washing over Libby’s face right then was priceless. It was the one, single thing that I had wanted to see for so long. And now there it was right in front of me. At last… she was content… she was free.
I reached out and held her hand in mine.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You finally have your life back.”
“I finally have a life for the first time.”
Libby bent over and kissed me softly on the lips.
“Yuck,” Toby giggled.
“What do you mean yuck?” I teased.
Toby giggled.
Libby snuggled him closer to her and kissed him on the head.
CHAPTER 32
Libby
“Ok, so it appears that you have a slight concussion, but it should heal with rest and a little bit of time. Everything else is pretty minor. You do have a severely twisted ankle, but no break. And the rest is just scrapes and bruises.”
“Great,” I said.
The doctor had finally come back to see me after I’d spent about twenty minutes in the exam room waiting. I told everyone I was ok, and that all my injuries were superficial. I just wanted to be with Mason and Toby to make sure they were both ok. I knew that Mason had gotten worse in the crash than I had. I wasn’t even in that much pain, though as I sat there in the quiet room and felt the adrenaline starting to subside, I could feel the pain starting to worsen.
“I’ll get everything together so they can give you your discharge papers here in just a few minutes, and then you can go be with the rest of your family.”
I thanked the doctor again and closed my eyes. The small cot I was sitting on looked so comfortable, so inviting. The pillow was nice, crisp, and full. I wanted to lay my head down and just rest for the whole day. But I was dying to know how Mason and Toby were. I suspected they were more or less fine, based on how they seemed before, but I was anxious to be with them.
Mason’s words “You get your life back” were ringing over and over in my head as if on some kind of a loop. He was only partially right, and I’d tried to tell him so. Yes, I finally got my life back to live as I chose. The threats against my life were over. I was sure of it. The Scarluccis were not going to have any kind of real threatening powers for a long time, and after the massacre the cops were going to be dogging their tail like crazy. If one of them sneezed they’d probably go to prison for life.