He blinked, and the paramedics were by his side. “Sir, you need to lie down so we can look at your injury.”
“I’m fine.” He stared at the casings on the street and realized that maybe he wasn’t fine. The brass wavered a bit, and his arm and shoulder burned like a bitch.
“Yeah, I don’t think so, sir.” The officer, Patel’s brother, was suddenly in front of him.
The guy weaved. Oh fuck, it wasn't the officer who was moving, it was him. The world tipped radically to the right. “Shit.” He grabbed the patrolman.
Chapter 7
“Brie, you have a call on line two.” Lola spun, her long black skirt swishing around her legs as she scurried back up to the front of the restaurant.
Brie wiped her hands from helping garnish plates and jogged into the office. There was no way one of her family would call during dinner rush. She drew a shaking breath before she answered, praying it wasn't the same disturbed caller from earlier.
“This is Brie.”
“Brie, it's Amber. I just got done talking to Kallie and we agreed you need to know. Ryker is in the hospital.”
Her ass landed on her chair. “What?”
“We promised you we'd never say a word, but I thought you should know. He was shot, and he's in surgery.”
“Shot!” She screamed the word, and everyone in the kitchen stopped moving. She slammed the door shut. “Where are you?” She scrambled for her purse and jerked on her small desk drawer to open it.
“Brie, you can't come, or everyone is going to know. Brody is here, the entire team, our major. Fuck, even that asshole Colonel Fenton is here.”
“God, what happened?”
“From what the neighbors said, a blue SUV stopped in front of his house and opened fire. From the blood spray in the front room, it looked like he was on the couch. He jumped through the shattered front window and tried to get a description of the vehicle. The responding patrols said he was bleeding but stable at the scene.”
Blood spray! “Amber, where is he?”
“Sacred Heart. We're in the surgical waiting area. Fourth Floor, West Wing.”
“I'm on my way.”
She yanked open the door. “Roger, I have to leave.”
“Is everything okay?” He was waiting outside her door.
“No. No, it isn't. My boyfriend is a cop. Someone shot him. Take care of the place? I don't know when I'll be back.”
“We've got it, Boss. Call when you can.”
She nodded and ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Fumbling in her purse for her keys, she didn't see the man standing beside her SUV.
“Well, look here. New tires. The pretty lady is just in time to watch.”
Brie froze and elevated her eyes, her hand still in her purse. “You know, paying us for protection could keep this from happening.” He withdrew a pocket knife and hoisted the blade. His friend rounded the hood and leaned next to the tire.
No, there was no fucking way. Not now. Not again. Her hand skimmed the handle of her nine-millimeter that she'd put into her purse yesterday when she'd gone to her apartment. Her father's and brothers’ constant warnings about victims of opportunity sprang to her mind. No, she wasn't going to be harassed and victimized again. Her eyes narrowed, and she hissed, “Get away from my truck. You do not want to make me mad tonight.”
“Why, what are you going to do about it?” The man raked her with his eyes. “You can pay us, and all this will stop. We'll protect you.”
She removed the gun from her purse and pointed it at him. “You'll never get a penny from me. Now, leave and never come back.”
The men's bug-eyed, slack-mouth response would have been comical at any other time. “Back up now, or I will shoot.” She motioned with the weapon and the men raised their hands, slowly backing away. “Leave me and everyone who works here alone, or the next time we meet, you'll be holding your intestines.” She used her free hand to feel around the bottom of her purse for her keys and finally depressed the fob, unlocking the driver's side door. Carefully, she got into the SUV, keeping the weapon pointed at the men. She put the car into gear and spun out of her parking slot. The weapon went back in her purse and she flew from the alley.
On any ordinary day, confronting those assholes and pulling a weapon would have been an almost insurmountable task. She wouldn't have had the guts to pull that gun. She would have given them her purse, the keys to her truck, anything to avoid the confrontation. But they were preventing her from getting to Ryker. She'd have pulled that trigger. God help her, she would have. Tears streamed down her face as she recklessly sped down the street. She wiped her cheeks and gunned it through a yellow light. The hospital wasn't far, but every second felt like hours.
The parking lot wasn't full, so finding a spot didn't take long. She grabbed her purse, shoved the gun into the glove box, and slammed the door, locking it with her fob on a dead run to the emergency room entrance. Skittering to a stop, she asked the first person who looked up at the admitting desk how to get to the surgical waiting room. Elevator to four, take a left at the end of the hall and then make a right. The words played on repeat as she waited for the elevator. Four, left at the end of the hall, right.
The car was blessedly empty and didn't stop until the fourth floor. She bolted down the hallway and turned right. About thirty people turned to look at her as she raced down the hall. She zeroed in on Brody. “Is he out of surgery? Is he okay?”
Brody's brow crunched. “Brie? What are you doing here? Who are you talking about?”
She thrust her hands out and spread
