Page 11 of Half Baked

The receptionist eyed me over. She must have decided I didn’t look like a cop, because she gave a short nod and said, “I’ll call back and see if they’ll let her in.”

“Thank you,” I said, fresh tears springing to my eyes. They’d finally stopped leaking right before we got here and they felt swollen and puffy, probably helping sell the fiancée story. I’d been prepared to sneak through the double doors after someone came out if forced to it. But the goal was tostaywith Noah if he’d let me, not have security drag me out, so I impatiently waited.

The receptionist picked up the phone on her desk and placed a call. She glanced up at me and said something I couldn’t hear into the phone. Then she hung up and leaned forward, saying through the small opening, “They say you can go back, sweetheart. He’s in Room 5.”

“Thank you!” I glanced at Lance, feeling guilty he couldn’t go with me.

He gave me a wave. “Go. Text me as soon as you know something.”

“I will. I promise.”

The double doors began to swing open. I hurried through as soon as I could squeeze through the crack, then made my way down the hall to Room 5. The door was partially closed, and I carefully pushed it open, terrified of what I’d find. I didn’t expect to see Noah sitting upright in the bed, fussing at the nurse.

“I’m fine,” he said in frustration. “It’s barely a scratch.”

“Detective Langley,” she said, sounding exasperated, “you may not need surgery, but you still have a bullet hole in your arm. You’ll get an infection if you don’t let us clean it properly.”

“Already giving them trouble,” I said, relief cascading through my body. This obviously wasn’t a life-or-death situation.

Noah glanced over to me in surprise, worry filling his eyes when his gaze landed on my tear-stained face. “Maddie. What happened? Did things not go well on the tour? Lance told me you were going. I wanted to meet you there, but…” He glanced down at his bloody left arm.

I must have looked worse than I thought. “I’m not upset about the tour, you fool,” I said, starting to cry again. “Are you okay?”

He reached his right arm out toward me, and I rushed to him, burying my face in his neck as he held me close to his side.

“I’m okay. I swear,” he murmured in my ear, his voice heavy with emotion. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

All of my pent-up anxiety released, and now that I’d started crying, I couldn’t seem to stop.

“I’m finished,” the nurse said. “I’ll give you two some privacy, but the doctor will be in soon to stitch you up.”

“Thanks,” Noah said over my head as he still held me tightly.

I heard the door close, and Noah spoke into my hair. “It’s okay, Maddie. I’m okay.”

I realized I hadn’t given Lance an update. “I have to text Lance,” I said, my voice sounding like I had cotton stuffed up my nose. “He’s worried sick.”

He kissed my forehead, then gave me a sad smile. “Text him now. I would have texted him sooner, but they took my phones.”

I tapped out a message to Lance, telling him Noah had been shot in the arm, and the nurse had declared it minor and said he wouldn’t need surgery. He immediately wrote back.

Thank God

The door opened and another nurse walked in and set a medical kit on the counter.

“Have you heard anything about how the suspect is doing?” Noah asked her in a tight voice. “Or Jeremy? The clerk?”

She looked up in surprise, then sympathy filled her eyes. “Last I heard, the shooter is in surgery. And the clerk is fine other than the lump on his head from when he fell dodging a bullet. He hit his head on the counter.”

“Thank you,” Noah said, and I could tell a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“From what I heard, you probably saved his life,” she said, then left the room and closed the door behind her.

A trouble look crossed Noah’s face, and I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “You don’t think you saved the clerk’s life.”

His eyes widened, then he frowned. “I didn’t.”

“How can you say that?” I asked in shock. “You stopped the robber.”

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