He opened his eyes and wiped blood off his face with the back of his hand. He’d been grazed by a bullet above his left eyebrow.
“Yeah, I can hear you. I’m fine. Just feel like a horse kicked me in the head.”
She helped him to his feet. Mel came running toward them.
“Oh my goodness. I’ll get you some towels.” He skidded to a stop, then turned back around for the office.
“Are you dizzy or disoriented?” Lainie asked as Ben pressed his palm to the wound.
“Not really, but I’ve got blood in my eye.” He squinted.
Mel sprinted back toward them along with a uniformed officer. Sara. She’d probably just started her afternoon shift.
“Lainie, what happened?”
“Someone started shooting at us.” She pointed to the fence. “The shooter was over there, in the alley. We both fired in that direction. I think I hit his helmet. Whoever it was took off toward Redondo on a motorcycle. Sorry, I don’t have any more.”
Sara keyed her mike and relayed that information to dispatch and asked for a paramedic for Ben.
“Hey, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.”
Mel gave Ben some paper towels.
“Thanks.” He wiped his face and turned to Lainie. “It feels like it’s minor.”
She assessed the injury to his forehead. “It is, but it’s a pretty deep scratch. And it’s bleeding a lot. You might need stitches.”
“Perfect.” He sucked in a breath and held the towels to the wound.
“Why would someone be shooting at you guys?” Sara asked.
“Good question,” Lainie and Ben spoke in unison.
Ben let the medics take care of his wound. They also suggested he see a doctor for stitches. He said he would after they dressed the wound. What stung more than the gash was the fact that he hadn’t seen the ambush coming. And he couldn’t figure out who would be shooting. Moffit? Benton? Vine?
He called Mark and explained the situation.
“I’m glad you’re okay. I certainly didn’t see this coming,” Mark said. “I’ll meet you at the ER.”
Ben resisted Jensen’s offer to drive him to the hospital.
“Other than a monstrous headache,” he told her, “I’m fine.”
“I still can’t let you drive yourself. You lost consciousness. I can bring the medics back and ask them to transport you.”
“You’re making more of this than it is.”
“No, she’s not.” The uniformed officer jumped into the argument. “If you have a concussion, you should be medically evaluated before you drive anymore. It’s a duty injury in any event. If you were PD, seeing the doctor would be mandatory.”
“Wow, is this a tag-team gang up?”
“It is,” Lainie said.
“All right, all right, I’m outnumbered. I’ll go with the medics.”
“I’ll go get them.” The uniformed officer left Ben staring at Lainie.
Her posture remained stiff, and Ben felt like she had more to say. “What? You got your way. What now?”
