Chapter 23
Wes
Fuck my life.
A wave of pain rippled through me as I tried to adjust my position in bed. I winced, sinking back into the mattress and breathing through the ache.
“Mr. Callahan.” A nurse walked into the room and took one look at my face. “Are you in pain?”
“Nah. I’m good.”
She side-eyed me and grabbed the chart hanging from the foot of my bed. Flipping through a few pages, she frowned. “You haven’t taken any pain medication since last night.”
“I don’t need any.”
“When pain is uncontrolled, your body responds to the stress by releasing adrenaline and cortisol, which can slow healing and weaken the immune system.”
That might be true, but the meds had also made me groggy as shit, and I needed to stay alert, especially because Juliette would probably be back soon. “If I’m in pain, I’ll take the meds. Promise.”
It didn’t look like she believed me, yet she kicked the stopper from the door and pulled a pair of disposable gloves from the box hanging on the wall.
“I need to check your wound and change your dressing, so I’m going to have you roll onto your side.
I can get another nurse to help me if you don’t think you’re up for it. ”
“I got it.”
It felt like all my organs were being pulled to one side as I turned, but at least I managed not to wince again while she prodded around my back for fifteen minutes. I was still facing away from the closed door when it swung open.
“Sir,” the nurse said sternly. “I have the door shut for a reason.”
I glanced over my shoulder to find none other than Vince Ginocassi standing there. He shielded his eyes.
“Jesus Christ. Can’t you put some drawers on him? I’m looking at his bare ass.”
She raised her voice. “Wait outside, sir. Please.”
Vince backed out and pulled the door shut, and the nurse shook her head. “Friend of yours?”
“Something like that.”
“He could use some manners, barging into a hospital room when the door’s closed.”
Tell me about it.
Though his manners were the least of my problems at the moment.
What the hell was Vince doing here? I didn’t like the idea of him nosing around, especially not when the place was crawling with cops.
Yet the moment the nurse finished up and opened the door, there he was.
She tried to kick the stopper back under the door to keep it open, but Vince waved her off.
“I’m his priest,” he said. “Gonna keep this closed for some privacy.”
The nurse’s brows furrowed, and she looked to me. I shrugged. “He doesn’t look the part without his collar.”
Vince chuckled as she closed the door behind her. “Always had a thing for nurses in uniform. It’s gonna be really screwed up when Father Vince stops on the way out and asks her if she’d like to come by my hotel so I can play doctor and examine her from the inside out.”
I pressed the button to lift the head of the bed, anxious not to feel at such a big physical disadvantage in a room alone with Vince Ginocassi.
“How you feeling?” he asked.
“Like I got shot in the back,” I grumbled, adjusting my posture to sit straighter. “Didn’t expect to see you here. There were a lot of cops around yesterday, and they said they’d be back today since I didn’t remember anything.”
“Came to thank you personally for taking a bullet for my daughter. You were pretty impressive. Looked like a Secret Service man protecting our dumb-ass president.”
“How do you know what I looked like?”
He pointed to the TV hanging on the wall.
“It’s all over the boob tube. Some kid carrying a skateboard was filming a prank they were about to pull on one of the vendors, and they accidentally caught the whole shooting on video—you covering Juliette with your body.
If you hadn’t done that…” He shook his head and swallowed before meeting my eyes. “I appreciate it, Wes.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Maybe, but there’ll be a fat envelope waiting for you when you get out of here, help take care of all your pain and suffering.”
“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to protect Juliette for a while.”
“Already put two of my best guys on her. You take your time recovering, and then we’ll talk.” He gripped his hips. “What did the cops have to say?”
“The usual.” I shrugged. “Asked me questions—what I saw, if I knew why someone might want to shoot at me.”
“And you said…”
“Nothing. Didn’t see anything. Don’t know anything. They said they’d come back today to see if my memory improved.”
“It better not.”
It was difficult to not roll my eyes. “I know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t want the cops finding whoever tried to hurt my daughter before I do. Whatever punishment they’d give him won’t be nearly enough. I’m going to make that fucker regret the day he was born, one chopped-off finger and toe at a time. Did you get a look at the guy?”
For a few heartbeats, I considered telling him the truth, that I might’ve gotten a look at the shooter a few minutes before all hell broke loose.
I wanted the guy who had tried to hurt Juliette to pay, too.
But something stopped me from letting Vince dole out the punishment.
I shook my head. “I didn’t see anyone. Wish I had. ”
“You think of something that could help track this dead man down, you come to me, not the cops. Understood?”
I felt like punching this asshole, yet I had to swallow every ounce of my pride. “Of course. How long you in town for?”
“At least a few days.”
“What about the meeting at the rooster?”
Vince’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know where the meeting was supposed to be held?”
Shit. My heart started to race, and I hoped it didn’t show up on the monitors I was attached to.
My captain had told me about the rooster, not Vince, and Juliette had explained where it was.
I had no choice but to bluff. “You called to tell me about the meeting and said not to let Juliette out on Friday, remember? What is the rooster anyway? A bar or something?”
Vince rubbed his chin, and his eyes went out of focus. It looked like he was trying to think back to our conversation. I held my breath until he finally nodded. “Yeah, all right.”
Relief flooded me. I needed to be more careful in the future.
Vince and I talked for a few minutes and then the door to my room swung open again.
I froze when I got a look at the man standing in the doorway.
Fuck. Chief Olson. He stepped into the room, and his head swiveled between Vince and me.
No recognition or look of surprise registered on his face.
If I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn Olson didn’t know who the guy standing at my bedside was.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Chief Olson held up a hand.
“I didn’t realize you had a visitor.” He smiled at Vince.
“I’m Detective Olson from the LAPD. Just came to see if Mr. Callahan remembers anything from yesterday.
Sometimes we get lucky after a victim has had a chance to settle down, and details resurface.
But if now isn’t a good time, I can come back later. ”
Vince seemed barely able to contain his amusement. “It’s all right. He’s all yours. I’ve got a nurse I need to discuss something with anyway.” He winked at me, looking like the cat that swallowed a canary, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Dumb fucks.”
Of course, the dumb fuck was Vince. But he left my room smiling like the devil himself. Chief Olson watched him walk down the hall before shutting the door.
“Ignorance really is bliss, huh?” He chuckled. “Unless that guy is one hell of an actor, he had no clue that I’ve got an eight-by-ten glossy of him hanging in my squad room, along with the rest of his buddies.”
“His ego lets him believe everyone else is stupid.”
Olson shook his head. “That’s how most of those guys eventually fall. They get sloppy because they think they’re untouchable.” He lifted his chin. “How you feeling today?”
“Like the nurse came in and dug the bullet out with a spoon this morning, rather than just changing the dressing.”
“They’re not giving you anything for pain?”
“It’s bad enough I’m sitting here with no gun, barely able to move while guys like Ginocassi are walking in and out of my room. I can’t take shit that makes me groggy.”
“Sucks.” Chief Olson nodded. “But I guess that’s a good call. What was Vince doing here anyway?”
“Came to thank me for taking a bullet for his daughter. Said he’s going to be hanging around a few days.”
“What about the meeting they were supposed to have? I know your captain was looking forward to picking up one of the guys in town for it.”
I shrugged. “Postponed, I guess. Can’t imagine they’d have it without one of the bosses.”
He nodded. “Anything else? I don’t want to stick around too long in case Vince and his guys are waiting until I leave. You’re not supposed to have anything to tell me, so I shouldn’t be here more than a few minutes.”
“No.” I hesitated for a few seconds before finally deciding I needed to land on the right side of this mess.
“Actually…I remembered something this morning. There was a guy acting suspicious at the farmer’s market, maybe five minutes before the shooting.
Never saw him before. I thought he might’ve been tailing us.
Short. Stocky. Dark hair, tan complexion with a big hook nose.
Wore a leather jacket that looked like one of those old Member’s Only types. ”
Detective Olson’s eyes narrowed. “This just came back to you this morning?”
“Yeah. You know how it works—blank spots, delayed memory, things come back when the body isn’t in survival mode anymore.”
He crossed his arms, his expression skeptical, even though it was very common for a victim’s memory to play catch up later.
Eventually, he pulled out his phone and started typing.
“I’ll have a sketch artist come up to your room later.
Might have to do it in the middle of the night, once visiting hours are over, so Vince or one of his guys doesn’t pop in again. ”