Page 52 of In the Arms of a Hero

“Way to just blurt it out! You could’ve eased into it!” Bess accused.

“There’s no way to make this easier, Bess,” Aaron said, his voice soft and controlled even as Belinda could feel the anger behind his words.

Belinda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I was shot? With a gun?”How on earth could I have been shot while dancing at a wedding? Who the hell would want to shoot me?

“It came from the water, and you and I were at that end of the dance floor. We don’t know who, but I promise we’ll find out.”

She realized the questions in her head must’ve come out of her mouth since Aaron was giving answers. Suddenly, the idea of a mass shooting at a wedding filled her with terror, and she gasped. “Oh God! Who else was hurt? Who else was hit?”

“Shh, take it easy,” Bess said, grabbing the call device and fiddling with the buttons. “I’m ringing for the doctor.”

Belinda’s eyes, now seeing clearly, focused on Aaron’s face, and she squeezed his hand. “How bad was it?”

“It’s okay, babe. There was only one shot, and it hit you. Everyone else is okay. No one else was hurt. No one else was shot.”

Her body eased back against the mattress and pillows as the terror ebbed. But in its place, her brow furrowed as she sought his face, more questions pushing forward. “Only one shot? And it managed to hit me? Was someone just being an asshole, and I ended up getting in the way?”

Aaron moved closer until his face was all she could see. He lifted their clasped hands and kissed her knuckles. “Belinda,honey, we don’t know. We don’t know exactly where the shooter was, what he was doing, or what was on his mind.”

She watched as a grimace settled into his face, so pain-filled, it hurt her to see and seemed as though it hurt him to offer.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Belinda. I don’t know if it was a one-off, stupid act by somebody, and you just got in the way, or if someone was trying to take a shot at me and got you instead.”

The idea that someone was after him pierced her heart much more than the idea of someone randomly creating an act of violence that she happened to be the victim of. Pain gripped her shoulder, and her eyes widened, but she pushed through. “Oh, Aaron, you have to be careful! I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

She watched as his eyelids slowly closed, his facial lines deepened before they relaxed, and his eyes opened again. He leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against hers, his breath puffing gently over her cheeks.

He opened his eyes and placed a soft kiss on her lips before settling back on the edge of her bed. “You haven’t even asked about your injury.”

She looked down at her bandaged shoulder again, then returned her gaze to him in silent question.

“It passed straight through the muscle of your upper shoulder, but it did break your scapula. The doctor will give you all the details but says you’ll heal very well. You’ll need physical therapy to ensure you have full range of motion in your arm and shoulder.”

A nurse came in and walked over to the bed. “Good to see you awake,” she said. She checked Belinda’s vital signs and said, “How’s your pain on a one-to-ten scale?”

Probably about a six… ish,” she replied tentatively.

“The doctor will be in shortly, but he’d ordered IV pain meds for the first twenty-four hours.”

Turning to Bess, she said, “Tell Mom and Dad to stay in Florida. Grandma needs them, and I’m fine here. Please… I know they must feel torn between me and Grandma, but I don’t want them to. Promise me, you’ll convince them.”

Bess squeezed her hand and nodded. “Promise.” She stepped out into the hall as the nurse popped something into the infusion pump, and soon, Belinda’s eyes began to grow heavy. Not wanting to sleep before she had a chance to speak, she turned to Aaron.

“Why were you an idiot last year?” She was no longer concerned about her injury since he’d explained she’d be fine. She was more concerned about him.

“Because I both pushed you away and let you walk away. I know you said that sometimes people who are right for each other meet at a time that’s not right for them. I hang on to those words because they make me feel like less of a fool.” He squeezed her hand and leaned in close again. “But I’m not a fool anymore, Belinda. I’m going to take care of you, and I’m going to take care of the fucking idiot who shot you. From now on, you need to know… you and me… we’re not just waiting to see what will happen. We’re already there.”

His words slipped deep inside as her eyes closed, and blissful darkness descended again.

26

“What have you learned?” Aaron asked Sam as soon as he was heading to his apartment in his SUV. He left Belinda in the care of her sister as they video-chatted with their parents. Belinda was adamant that they not come since her grandmother needed their care more than she did.

“The beach was combed, and there was nothing to indicate someone was there. It was carefully searched for footprints last night, but none showed, and since the tide had been up during the wedding and receding during the reception, prints would have been found if someone had been on the beach. Hunter reported that the bullet that passed through Belinda’s shoulder was found. Gotta tell you, partner, that everyone is on this. The room was packed this morning when Colt held his meeting. Even though most of those guys had only a couple hours of sleep, everyone wanted in on the investigation.”

The weight heavy on Aaron’s chest lifted slightly. “I appreciate that more than you can know.”

“No one shoots at one of us or one of ours,” Sam said. “And to fire a shot into a group of anyone, including a mass of law enforcers… that shit’s not going to fly.”

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