Chapter 30

Leighton

Sitting beside my son's hospital bed is a place I always pray I'll never be, especially since he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. I'm proud of him, there's no doubt about that, but I worry. We live in tumultuous times and not everyone loves police officers like I do.

My hand holds onto Holden's tightly as we listen to the surgeon speak. She's just given Ransom something to relax him and she's explaining to us that his surgery is minimally invasive.

"Luckily for you, the bullet missed most everything that would be a major problem. Based on the x-ray it should be relatively easy for me to go in there and get it out. Now I do believe it may have grazed your scapula, which is your shoulder blade. If it did and there is debris from it, I'll clean all that out while I'm in there. You're looking at a recovery time anywhere from four to eight weeks, depending on what I find when I get in there." She's talking to all of us quickly and efficiently. "You're very lucky