Page 105 of Hot Momosa

She frowned. “You should have called him right away. I guarantee the Chief of Police called as soon as Dahlia’s name came up in the investigation.”

Great. Just fucking great.

The last thing I wanted to deal with was Governor Calhoun. He might have given us his blessing, but he and I had a decade-long cold war to overcome. “What happened after the police questioned you?”

“Stuart left to get the SUV.” She sighed and folded her arms. “Enzo took Dahlia out through the secret hall. They were shot between the exit and the vehicle. Stuart was four feet away and didn’t see the shooter.”

I ran through the scenario she’d laid out, but it didn’t add up. “How is that possible?”

“It’s the holidays. The sidewalk was crowded.” Her frown deepened. “Whoever did this knew about the secret exit and was waiting for her. My guess is Enzo got in the way.”

I leaned close and lowered my voice. “You and I both know who did this.”

“My money is on Harrison or someone on his payroll. But it’s too soon to know for sure.” Shanna’s expression darkened. “Leo, when the perp realizes Dahlia’s still alive—”

“He won’t get the chance to finish what he started. I swear on my life, I’m not letting her out of my sight.”

She opened her mouth as if she had more to say, but snapped it shut and nodded to the glass door behind me.

“She’s in there?” I replayed our conversation, hoping to God that Dahlia hadn’t overheard the bit about the shooter trying again.

“Yes. Stuart’s with her.”

I turned but she stayed put. “Are you coming?”

“No. Go ahead. I need to be near the waiting room in case the doctors…”

I pulled her into another hug. “Enzo is tough. He’s going to be okay.”

Shanna nodded and hurried away.

I waited until she disappeared from view before poking my head inside the tiny room. Much to my surprise, Dahlia was sitting on the edge of the gurney, swinging her legs back and forth like a nervous child.

Stuart stood, nodded, and left the room without a word.

Dahlia glanced up and smiled. A fraction of a second later her chin quivered and her eyes brimmed with tears.

“Oh, honey.” I hurried to her with every intention of embracing her, but hesitated. “I want to hold you, but I don’t know where to touch. Where does it hurt?”

She pulled her hospital gown to the side to reveal bandages on her side just below her ribcage.

Though she wore a hospital gown, she’d kept her panties. The once pretty pink material was stained reddish brown.

Blood.

Herblood.

When I find the SOB responsible for this…

I don’t know what she saw in my expression, but she touched my chest. “It looks worse than it is. It hardly hurts.”

“That’s good.” I suspected the IV in her arm provided a steady drip of pain meds, but I kept that thought to myself. Rather than hug her, I cupped her face and pressed my brow to hers. Once again, I had a million things to say to her, but couldn’t find the words. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She eased her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. “Where’s Gunnar?”

“He’s safe with Gabe and the rest of my family.”

Gasping, she pulled away. “You introduced him to your mother?”

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