“Where am I?” I asked eventually.
“A & E, babes,” Verity said.
“What happened?”
There was a sharing of looks around the room. Jack came forward. “Katrina hit you with the highest setting on the stun gun. You had a seizure and were knocked out.”
Oh. My first thought was the expected. “Did I … did I wet myself?”
“Really, Arden, that’s your first question?” Nigella asked. Okay, so not the expected first question. “Not what happened to Katrina?”
“We shot her in the shoulder,” Jack said. “She’s alive. Under a heavy police guard. And in a different hospital. She’s singing like a canary, can’t wait to tell anyone who’ll listen how she poisoned Macauley Sheridan and shot Riz.” He leaned forward. “And no, your dignity was saved.”
“Thank God for that.”
“He’s totally referring to not pissing himself in public,” Verity informed us all. “He couldn’t care less about Katrina.”
“You would too!” I snapped and then coughed. Oh, it burnt.
“Yeah, the throat, not a pleasant place to have it done,” Jack said.
I looked around the room. Besides the three women, Jack, and Guy, there was a man in the corner with a dog on his lap. He was stroking the dog’s fur and holding on to it tightly.
Simon looked up at me and gave a tired, tight smile. Kennedy wagged his tail and jumped off his lap to come over to me. “He’s a hero,” Sonia told me. “We heard what he did.” She patted his head lovingly.
“He’s the best,” I told them, as Kenny licked my hand. I looked around again. “Where’s Ollie?” I asked.
“He’s at the station, answering some questions,” Jack said solemnly. There was a silence.
“We don’t think he really was involved. Katrina came to him, offering to almost mediate between the two of you. From what he said in the car to the station, he didn’t know about anything else. But he’ll need to answer a lot of questions.”
I nodded. Verity stroked my shoulder. “The doctors want you to stay in overnight.”
“I want to sleep.”
“You saved our lives, Arden,” she sniffled.
“I thought you had your tear ducts fused shut on your eighteenth birthday?” I said.
“I did, but it was a Polish doctor. Couldn’t do it right. Too busy thinking about what carb-y stodge to have for lunch.” She poked her tongue out at me.
“I think we should give Arden some space, now that we know he’s okay,” Guy said. He reached down and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. I nodded and patted his arm.
Nigella gave me a gentle hug and then Sonia did too – much less gingerly.
Jack gripped my hand and told me he’d be in touch. “You did bloody well, Arden,” he said and patted my hand. Verity looked between us and raised an eyebrow.
He followed the others out.
Simon stood. “Arden,” he whispered.
Verity turned to me. “I can give you a minute?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Simon’s leaving now.” I didn’t look at him. Everything between us had been lies and subterfuge. He didn’t respect me. He didn’t know me. And I’d almost died because he wouldn’t tell me the truth.
“Arden, please!”
“I said leave!” I snapped, my blood boiling. But my energy left as soon as it arrived. “I don’t … just go, Simon.” My voice was a croak. It was agony to talk.
