“So, the person watching you had skills. Keep going.”
“I remained alert all the way back to the parking garage. I was disappointed he didn’t take me up on my invitation.” He grimaced. “At least, I thought he hadn’t. He was waiting for me in the parking garage. I was five feet from the SUV when I caught a movement in my peripheral vision. The next thing I knew, he fired one shot. The bullet hit my shoulder, and the momentum from the bullet slamming into me threw me back against the SUV. I woke up a few minutes later. He was gone and no one else was around. I activated my emergency beacon and had a brief chat with Zane Murphy. An ambulance arrived along with the cops, but I was in and out of consciousness so I couldn’t answer as many questions as I’m sure they wanted to ask.”
“Did you see the shooter?”
He shook his head. “I only saw him in my peripheral vision. When I was close to the vehicle, he ran at me, leading with his weapon. I pulled my Sig, but he pulled the trigger before I could fire.” Elias sighed. “Talk about embarrassing.”
She had no sympathy for him. “Happens to the best of us.”
A brisk knock sounded, and a man in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck walked inside and came to stand on the other side of his bed. “Mr. Knight, we have an operating room available, and the surgeon has an opening in his schedule. Are you ready to have that bullet out of your shoulder?”
“You bet, Doc.”
“I’ll have the nurse administer medicine to help you relax as we prepare you for surgery. Sound good?”
Iona wanted to laugh. Really? Surgery of any sort didn’t sound good, but if that was the only way to remove the bullet, then Elias would cooperate at least until the bullet was out. Afterward, his patience would wear thin, and he’d push hard for early release. In fact, she’d be surprised if Elias stuck around much past his time in the recovery room.
“Let’s do it.”
The doctor turned to Iona. “You can wait in the waiting room on the surgical floor. A nurse will keep you updated on how Mr. Knight’s doing and how much longer the surgery will last.”
“Unnecessary,” Elias said. “She’s leaving now.”
“No, I’m not.” She turned to the doctor. “I need to be closer to Elias than the waiting room. He was attacked in broad daylight, so for the foreseeable future, I’m his bodyguard.”
“You can’t be in the operating room. Hospital rules.”
“No problem. I’ll wait outside the surgical suite doors. If there’s a second entrance to the operating room, my coworker Grant will stand watch at those doors.”
The doctor frowned. “I suppose that will be all right. I’ll let security know what’s going on so they don’t bother you.”
“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate that.”
“Iona,” Elias began.
She held up a hand. “Don’t bother. You’re stuck with bodyguards whether or not you like it.”
“I don’t.”
“Tough.”
“Um, I’ll leave you two to hash this out.” The doctor beat a hasty retreat.
“Nice going, champ. You scared the doctor.”
“I wouldn’t have if you had just listened to me.”
“I will as soon as you say something that makes sense. Leaving you alone and vulnerable is nonsense, Elias, and you know it.”
“You’re telling me you would have done something different?” He pointed at Iona. “I’ve witnessed you doing crazy things in the past few months.”
“At least you admit what you want to do is crazy.”
“I didn’t say that.”
A nurse entered the room with a tray carrying a shot and a small cup with three pills in it. “Here you go, Mr. Knight. The doctor ordered these medications to prepare you for surgery.” Once he’d taken the medicine and she’d administered the shot, she picked up the tray. “All right, Mr. Knight. You’ll start feeling very sleepy in a few minutes. Don’t fight it, okay? Just relax and let the medicine do its work. When the surgery is over, you’ll have a repaired shoulder, and you’ll be as good as new with a little physical therapy.”
Elias gave a slight nod, and the nurse left the bay. “You heard her, Byrne. I’m not going anywhere for a while except to sleep. You can stand down.”
