Page 58 of In the Arms of a Hero

Once again, the air had been sucked from the room as Andy, Colt, and Sam gasped.

“Holy shit,” Sam growled. “He was after Belinda.”

Aaron’s numbness was soon replaced with red-hot rage.

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell us before now?” Hunter growled, his anger showing.

“At first, all I could think of was to get out of there. The man headed south, and I headed north. I wanted to get as far away as I could from someone with a rifle! Then I got to thinking that maybe it was a dream. By the time I got home, I’d convinced myself it was a whiskey nightmare.”

“This would never stand up in court when we get the guy,” Sam groused.

“No, but it will help us know if we get the right guy, and we’ll have to make sure we have all the admissible evidence we can gather,” Colt said.

Aaron didn’t need to hear more and started out of the room, but Colt caught him by the arm. “We’ve got a deputy at thehospital. I’m ordering him to stand guard outside her room. He won’t go in to frighten her, but he can be outside and keep anyone out.”

While Hunter continued getting the rest of the details and a description from George, Brad stepped out of the room and moved to the others standing outside the interview room.

After Colt made his order to the hospital deputy, he looked at Aaron and said, “I know you want to get to Belinda, and you can. Once you get her home, let us know, and we’ll assign somebody to her apartment.”

Before he had a chance to move, one of the dispatcher assistants came racing back to the group, her eyes searching until they landed on Aaron. “We just got a 911 call in from Bess Crowder. She was trying to get ahold of you. She went back to make sure Belinda’s apartment was ready for her release from the hospital and found that it had been broken into?—”

“Goddamnit!” Aaron shouted, barely noticing that the same curse left Brad’s lips.

Sam was right on Aaron’s heels, and Brad was with them, too.

“Where is Bess now? Is she still there?” Brad bit out.

“We told her to get somewhere safe,” the assistant said.

“You get to the hospital, and I’ll get to the apartment and Bess,” Brad shouted as they raced into the parking lot. With sirens blaring, they headed out.

29

Belinda stirred awake when Aaron entered the room, and a glance at the clock on the wall revealed that she’d slept for several hours. Seeing the smiling doctor and nurse trailing Aaron brought a sense of relief, yet his demeanor betrayed a hint of tension.

His face was tight, and the smile he offered appeared strained. A question hovered on her lips but remained unasked with the others in the room.

The doctor and the nurse checked the surgery sites, both in the front and back of her upper chest. Once again, the doctor shook his head and said, “You are incredibly lucky that the bullet was the type to go through and not cause more damage on the inside. This area has a lot of little bones and many arteries. Yet, somehow, you escaped worse damage. You will be given discharge paperwork that includes at-home health visits for six weeks and then outpatient physical therapy afterward.”

Mindful of the implications for her livelihood, she voiced her concerns. “Doctor, I know it might not seem like much to you, but I’m a photographer. That’s my job. That’s what I do for a living. There’s no way I can go six weeks without working! December is not my biggest month, but I have two weddings,several family gatherings, and other events that have scheduled photo shoots.”

He pursed his lips. “Technically, if you’re on home health, you’re supposed to curtail your outside activities. If you take at least two weeks off completely, then when I evaluate you after those two weeks, if I think you’re ready for outpatient physical therapy, then I will do that.”

“I promise I’ll do everything you tell me so I don’t have to take more than two weeks off!” she vowed.

The nurse who had her discharge papers looked over at Aaron. “If you’d like to bring your vehicle around to the front door, I’ll wheel her out in just a few minutes.”

He had been standing to the side, occasionally, glancing out the door, his face still tight. He kissed her lightly, mumbling, “I’ll meet you outside.” He then left the room, speaking to someone in the hall who she couldn’t see.

As the nurse rolled her in a wheelchair, Belinda felt oddly weightless, with little to carry. The clothes she’d arrived in had been discarded. Bess had brought her a pair of leggings, a zip-up hoodie, and her fuzzy pink slippers.

A uniformed deputy stood watch in the hallway and offered a solemn nod as she rolled past. His presence, though reassuring, heightened her awareness of the gravity of the recent events. He stepped into the elevator with them, and it didn’t miss her attention that he escorted them all the way to the front door.

She spied Aaron's SUV, and her heart fluttered with relief and anticipation. He had rounded the front, had the door opened, and met her. She stood and thanked the nurse. As she turned to face his SUV, she squeaked as he gently scooped her into his arms and placed her in the passenger seat. He grabbed the seat belt and carefully slid it around her to fasten in, making sure not to hurt her left arm. His face was so close to hers, and she was captivated by his eyes as he peered deeply into hers.

“Is that okay? Does that hurt?”

She wanted to kiss him, but something dark had filled his eyes, and she simply nodded. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.”

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