"Well," I gasped, "next time, don't shoot me."
He nodded, still holding my hand. "I'm going to take care of you, okay? Anything you need."
"I don't need anything." Especially not from him.
"Well, you're getting it. And might I note that you already live with me?"
"Clearly, I'm moving out. You know, on account of the shooting."
"Well, why don't we wait until you’ve recovered, and then we can talk about it?"
Recovered? I was fine. Surely it couldn't be that bad. I tried to move and then winced. "Fuck. Son of a bitch."
It was his turn to wince then. "I'm sorry. Again."
Amelia laughed. "You’re going to have to come up with a new line."
He glowered at her. "Stay out of this. This is between me and Nyla. I will apologize fifty million ways. I'm very persuasive."
Amelia snorted. "I’ll bet you are."
"Can you two please stop it? My shoulder is throbbing. Where did you shoot me?"
"In that soft tissue right below the clavicle, clean shot through and through. The doctor says I missed all major ligaments, so it was a minor surgery and they just stitched you up. It’ll take a few weeks, but you should have full function in your arm in no time."
"Where am I?"
"Evanston. It’s a private hospital."
My brows lifted. "Evanston? You mean the fancy one that the celebrities go to?"
East nodded. "Well, yeah. And the best surgeon in all of Europe was flown in. He'll be in shortly. But he says you're going to be as good as new in no time."
Amelia just crossed her arms and shook her head. "He's been throwing money around here like he's Daddy Warbucks. Stomping around until he gets his way. Hell, he almost banned visitors until the doctor said it was good for you to wake up to familiar faces. That's the only reason I'm in here. Otherwise, he would have banned me too."
I frowned at him. "You will not ban Amelia."
He mumbled under his breath. "Well, if she keeps talking shit, I will."
"East Alexander Hale."
He sighed. "Fine. Fine. Of course, I wouldn't ban Amelia."
There was a knock at the door, and we all turned in that direction. It opened slowly, and a familiar brunette popped her head through. "Hiya. Oh my goodness, you're awake. I'm so glad to see that."
I frowned. "Hazel?"
Amelia just stared at her. East stood guard over me like a sentry, arms crossed, scowl in place. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Oh, um..." She hesitated. "Well, she's on Denning's team, you see. He's downstairs. You know, with the rest of the team. He wanted to make sure she's all right. I didn't want to sit around, so I snuck about and told him I was going to the loo. And I also went to the gift shop and bought this." She held up a small bouquet of gerbera daisies. "So, how are we feeling?"
I winced as I tried to adjust myself and my pillows. There's nothing more humiliating than being flat on your back when seeing someone who could be a potential enemy. "Like I've been shot."
"Right. Of course. Sorry."
Amelia and East both scowled like stone gargoyles ready to protect my house. "Um, you two give us a minute, would you?"
They both nodded but didn't look like they were going to move until I nudged them again. "Guys, please."
They both left slowly, sauntering by Hazel. And I saw East deliberately leave the door cracked open. She laughed when they were gone. "My, they are protective of you."
"Amelia is. She's family. East, well, the jury is still out."
From the hallway, I heard him chuckle. Jackass.
"Well, that's lovely, isn't it?"
I looked at the gerbera daisies in her hands. "Um, thanks for those. You can put them over there." She looked relieved to have something to do with herself. "Can I ask you what you're doing here, Hazel?"
"Oh, you know, I just..." She licked her lips nervously. "I know it's a bit untoward and seems odd, but honestly, I don't have many friends here. And I like you. I know my fiancé is a twat to you sometimes. But regardless of that, I like you a lot, and I was distressed to hear that you'd been shot. If it's possible, I would like us to be friends."
"You're asking me that when I'm flat on my back?"
She laughed. "Well, it's not like you can go anywhere."
I coughed a laugh. "That would be accurate. So what, I guess we're friends now?"
East popped his head in. "Over my dead body. I need to do a security background check on you for Nyla’s protection."
Hazel's eyes went wide, and I shook my head at her. "Don't mind him. He's just being obsessive."
Hazel's brows furrowed. "Should we call the police?"
I shook my head. "I am the police. And to be frank, he has a really nice ass. So I might keep him. But right now, he has pissed me off beyond recognition, so I'm not sure if I can ever forgive him."
East chimed in again from the hallway. “You know I can hear you, right?”
Hazel just laughed. "Oh, girl talk. I love this. I must say, he does have nice buns."
I coughed a laugh, wondering just how in the world Hazel and I had become friends. Amelia, on the other hand, studied her with an inscrutable face from her position outside my door. She didn’t trust Hazel, and she didn't think I should either.
I was glad to know she was always looking out for me. Because after the shooting, I wasn’t sure who I could trust.
Nyla
I woke up to a shadow in my room. Someone stood in the corner, dark and looming. It took all of two seconds to realize I was awake, and that it was not, in fact, a dream.
Automatically, I reached under my pillow for a weapon. I always kept a weapon under my pillow. Sometimes an extendable baton, sometimes a knife. Something. Except I found nothing.
Because you’re still in the hospital, remember?
Oh, excellent. So there I was with no weapon, and someone had come to kill me. Bloody fantastic. Things were just looking better and better.
“Your nurses quite resemble Attila the Hun.”
I marginally relaxed when I realized I knew that voice. “Theroux. What are you doing here?”
“What, I can't check on you? After all, the word is you have been shot.”
Just thinking about who shot me and how the hell I ended up there ticked me off even more. “Wow, you really take this partnership seriously. Maybe you could do me the service of handcuffing yourself to me then calling in the Interpol agents out in the hall. It would be a brilliant way to get the collar.”
He chuckled softly. “Don't be like that. I brought you a present.”
I groaned. “I really don't need one. As you can see, I already have so many damn flowers that my room resembles a mortuary.”
“I see that. You can rest assured it's not flowers. Look to your left.”
My brows furrowed as I leaned down to find a smallish box of files. “What is this?”
“Agent Kincade, I'm starting to think you don't listen. It's a present. Something you've probably been looking for and didn't even know it.”