Page 51 of In the Arms of a Hero

“As soon as she’s moved to a room.”

Aaron locked his knees to remain standing, breathing deeply. As soon as Bess felt steady, he squeezed her shoulders and dropped his arm. She turned to him, once again holding his gaze. “Will you stay? Please.”

He nodded. “Not going anywhere, Bess. We’ll see her together when she’s out of recovery.”

“Thank you, Aaron.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

She smiled at him. “And that’s why I have to thank you… just because Idon’thave to.”

He grinned. It was the first smile he’d offered since he’d held Belinda in his arms as they danced. Bess returned to sit by Hayley and pulled out her phone, undoubtedly to call her parents.

Aaron returned to his huddle. “She’s out of surgery and going to be fine.”

Heavy sighs of relief sounded out. “Good news, Aaron,” Colt said, patting him on the back.

“Listen, you all have my gratitude. More than I can express. But go home. I’ll be here with her.” He stared at Colt, then turned his gaze to Sam. “You, too. I’ll be fine. Take Hayley home,and I’ll stay here with Bess. But I want in on everything. I can’t lead this investigation, but I won’t be left out.”

Sam glanced at Colt, who nodded. Looking back at Aaron, Sam said, “We’ll find who did this, man.”

He shook hands with Colt, Brad, and Sam, then accepted a hug from Hayley and watched them walk out the door. Breathing deeply, he knew they wouldn’t stop until they found who tried to kill the woman who’d been in his arms.

Belinda swam up from the depths of sleep and blinked several times, but the world was fuzzy, and her head felt heavy. She tried to lift her left arm to swipe her hand over her eyes, but it didn’t move. She shifted, able to move her right arm, but found it encumbered and her hand stinging.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

The male voice sounded familiar, but as she blinked again, nothing else in her surroundings made sense. Blurry images, strange sounds, and odd smells greeted her.

“Come on, Belinda… wake up, Sis!”

The female voice was more familiar, and she forced her eyes open. The blurry image now morphed into her sister, Bess.

“You’re in the hospital, Belinda, but you’re fine. You’re going to be just fine. I called Mom and Dad and told them. They’re looking into flights to get here.”

“Ummm… okay…” Her sister’s words were heard but processed slowly. “I’m in… hospital?”

“Belinda, sweetheart.”

Her vision was now filled with a man leaning close as her world became less fuzzy. His dark hair stood up as though he’d run his fingers through it many times. Lines appeared deeperon his face. His eyes stared straight into hers, and she smiled. At least, she thought it was a smile. “Aaron. What are you doing here? You look so pretty.”

Deep chuckles erupted as he squeezed her fingers. “You’re beautiful as always, sweetheart.”

She rolled her head slightly, and her sister’s face reappeared. Bess wasn’t smiling, and her eyes were filled with worry. Worry and anger. Still struggling to understand what was happening, she asked, “Hospital? Why am I here?” As the words left her mouth, she glanced down to see her left shoulder bandaged, the hospital gown unsnapped on that side. The sting she felt earlier was from an IV in her right hand, and her left arm was in a sling, pressed against her body.

“Do you remember what happened?”

Now that she could process the present, the past was still murky, slowly becoming a sharper image. “I… um…” More images began to fill her mind. Twinkling lights. A beautiful sunset. Music and laughter. A girl dressed in white, men in suits, other women in pretty colored dresses. A wedding.

Then as though the floodgates had opened, the memories came rushing in. Her eyes snapped open wide, and she gasped. “Wedding. I was… taking pictures and—” Suddenly, her head fell back on the pillow. “My camera… where’s my?—”

“I’ve got it, sweetheart,” Aaron said. “Or rather, Sam has it.”

“Sam? I don’t understand.” Nothing made sense, as though jumbled puzzle pieces were dumped from a box, but none were fitted together yet. She looked down at her shoulder, and realization filtered through the murky memories. She understood something had happened and was in the hospital, but the why escaped her. She felt a little pain, and another glimpse at the IV proved that some really effective pain medicine must be coursing through her body. Her gaze shot back toAaron. “Dancing. We were dancing. And then, I don’t know. There’s nothing after that.”

“You were shot, Belinda?—”

Bess huffed, drawing Belinda’s attention back to her sister, who glared at Aaron.

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