“Cynthia, this is Sera. She’s been shot by someone who was aiming for me. I can’t stay here with her. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“You know who I am?”
This time, she made the effort to pull herself together. “Yes.”
“Then you know I can’t be here when the cops show up. So I need you to stay with Sera. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Ignoring the blood, she pulled off her jacket, kneeled on the pavement, and sat back on her heels as I transferred Sera carefully to her lap. Carefully, I pressed the girl’s jacket against the wounds, replacing my hands with hers. Off in the distance, I heard the first sirens.
“What do you tell them when they get here?”
“We were just standing at our station when this lady walked out of the hotel. A car slowed down and shot her. We don’t know who she is or who she was with. She’s not a registered guest.”
“Excellent. Find out what hospital they’re taking her to and leave the name at the front desk.” I stood up and tucked my gun back into its holster. “You got that?” I asked the guy working with her.
“Yes, sir.”
The ambulance was turning the corner as I got into the SUV and pulled away from the hotel. I watched in my rearview mirror as the valet waved his arms and flagged them down, pointing to where Sera lay on the ground.
Turning on the Bluetooth, I called Luca. He answered on the second ring. “What’s happened?”
My voice was shaking as I told him what had just gone down.
“Did you get a good look at the shooter?”
“Yes, but most of his face was covered.”
“You can’t stay in that hotel anymore.”
“I know.”
“As soon as Sera is stable, we’ll have her brought here. I’ll call in my doctors.”
“Thank you.”
“Get back to the house, Enz. And be careful. I’ll tell the guards at the house to be on alert, just in case.”
He ended the call, and I concentrated on the road. I couldn’t get pulled over. I was covered in Sera’s blood, and I was on the verge of a panic attack to end all panic attacks. My heart was racing and sweat trickled down my back. I could barely hang onto the steering wheel.
What if she was dead?
I gave my head a good shake. She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead.
I slammed my fist down on the wheel over and over. If she was gone, it was my own fault. I’d let my guard down. Just for one fucking minute.
It was my fault.
No. No. She wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be dead. As soon as I got to Luca’s, I’d call the hotel and get the name of the hospital she’d been taken to. She would live. If I had to kill every other patient in that fucking place to make sure she got the help she needed, I would.
I drove carefully all the way to the lake house, mostly on autopilot. When I arrived, the guards at the gate were watching for me, guns at the ready. I couldn’t even tell them if I’d been followed or not. As soon as I got inside the gates, I let go of the tight control I’d been hanging onto for the last forty minutes. Punching my foot down on the gas pedal, I flew the rest of the way to the house and skidded to a stop right outside the front door.
Luca, Tristan, and even Veda were there when I fell out of the SUV. Luca caught me in his arms before I could fall to my knees, and Veda quickly ducked under my other arm and helped him take me into the house while Tristan took the SUV to the garage. It would need to be thoroughly cleaned to remove all of the blood.
“She’s dead,” I told them.
“She’s not dead,” Veda insisted. “What hospital did they take her to?”
