Chapter Twenty-One
E nclosed in the car, Dex sat back, bouncing his foot, frustrated already with the slow pace of the drive. “What the hell happened?” he asked Ian.
“Jeremy, that son of a bitch. Her assistant was with her and called me, she’s hysterical but she was able to relay information.”
He glanced at the traffic around him, noting they hit every red light, and anxiety flooded him. “Brandy called you?”
“She said it was the last thing Samantha asked of her before she passed out.”
“Fuck.” He slammed his hand against the seat beside him. Maybe if he hadn’t been so cagey about his work and plans, trying to protect her from thinking she caused him problems, she’d have had Brandy call him .
“Call me as soon as you know something,” Ian said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He disconnected the call and Dex sat during rush hour, his pulse racing, as it took what felt like forever to get there.
He rushed into the hospital and a young woman was at the main desk. “I’m here for Samantha Dare. She was brought in by ambulance.”
“Are you family?” she asked.
“I’m the closest thing to family for the moment. Her mother and brother are on their way from Florida and I’m their only means of obtaining information.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call her brother and you can talk to him.” With a few taps, he pulled up Ian’s name from his contacts. “Look, Ian Dare. Same last name.” He turned the screen toward the woman. “I can even get Samantha’s mother on the phone, if that’ll help.”
“Okay, okay. No need. Family is fine.” She scrolled through her computer and met his gaze. “Samantha Dare is currently in surgery. The waiting room is on the fifth floor. If you go there, someone will come out and ask for family members. Do yourself a favor and come up with a relationship,” she said, giving him a friendly wink.
Before he could see what kind of friendly, he thanked her, accepted the sticker with VISITOR written on it, and rushed toward where a security guard pointed to the elevators.
Once in the waiting room, he called Ian who was pulling into the airport and told him what little he knew. Then he settled in for a long night.
Half an hour later, Brandy walked into the room looking dazed, a police officer by her side. She wore blue scrubs and was rubbing her hands together, obsessively. He didn’t want to think about why she needed to change her clothes or wash her hands so thoroughly she was now traumatized.
“Brandy?” He spoke gently, knowing she’d been through an ordeal.
She jerked her head toward him. “Dex? What are you doing here?”
“Ian called me.” Besides, Samantha was hurt. Where else would he be?
Brandy walked straight to him, burrowing her face in his chest and broke down, big gulping sobs coming from her slight frame.
“Sir? I need to talk to the victim’s family. You’re her…”
“Dex Sterling. Her fiancé.” The word came out and he had no desire to take it back.
Brandy straightened and looked up at him. He winked at her and she seemed to understand he needed the officer to know how close he and Samantha were.
“He already questioned me.” Brandy trembled.
Worried about her, Dex wrapped an arm around her. “Come on. Let’s sit,” he said, easing her into a chair.
Though he wanted to get the details of what happened from Brandy, who’d been with Samantha, Dex had no choice but to talk to the officer. “How can I help you?” he asked the man wearing a uniform.
“When was the last time you spoke to Ms. Dare?”
“Around lunchtime. I called to tell her I had a business dinner.”
He typed in the information on a phone app and proceeded to ask him the standard questions he’d expect, mostly about her relationship with her partner. The man finally left him alone and Dex turned to Brandy and sat down beside her.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
She swiped the tears dripping down her face with the back of her hand. “I… We… Samantha and I walked outside. We were going to go for dinner. Then she remembered she forgot her phone upstairs, so we decided she’d go up and I’d wait in the lobby.”
This was the easy part of the story, he knew, and she told it quickly, growing silent afterward. “Take your time,” he said, though he wanted her to keep going.
She drew a shaky breath and continued. “Samantha turned to go inside. Someone bumped into me, so I didn’t actually see what happened. It was rush hour and the sidewalk was busy.”
“It’s okay,” he said, rubbing her back.
“I heard a loud sound. I guess the shot. Samantha turned and she was bleeding. She dropped to her knees and I… I screamed. There was so much blood.” She shivered, her teeth chattering, and Dex shrugged off his suit jacket so he could put it over her shoulders.
“No! No jacket.”
“But you’re trembling,” he said, confused.
She glanced up at him. “A man used his suit jacket to stop the bleeding. It hurt her. She cried out.” She shook her head back and forth and he laid his jacket on the chair beside him.
“Okay, no jacket. Did Samantha say anything?” he asked.
Rubbing her hands against her thighs, she said, “I tried to calm her down by saying something stupid about the bullet going straight through and she chided me for watching Grey’s Anatomy again. She was so cold and shaking. But she told me to get her phone. I asked for her code and when she gave it, I told her we really needed to talk about security.”
“You kept her talking and you were there, Brandy. You did good.”
More tears filled her eyes. “She asked me to call her brother.”
“Not me?” The words slipped from his lips.
She shook her head. “She said not to call you, then something like you were busy, and the word important, before she passed out.”
Nausea washed over him along with a pain in his chest the likes of which he’d never felt before. “Nothing is more important than she is,” he said. Nothing . And from this moment on, he swore she’d know it.
“I’m sorry,” Brandy whispered.
“It’s okay. Is there anyone I can call to sit with you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Can I be your sidekick?”
He laughed. “Sure.” He rubbed her back and together, they sat in silence.
An hour passed, then two. People came and went, waiting on loved ones. Doctors walked in, giving them news. Dex was worried sick and losing his mind, but he knew making a scene at the nearby desk wouldn’t help. When they had news, someone would come find them.
Brandy had huddled in a more comfortable chair in the corner but after a while, he couldn’t sit still. Rising to his feet, he paced the room, checking his watch nonstop. At this point it was a toss-up who he’d see first, Ian or the surgeon. He ultimately grew tired and sat back down, his head in his hands.
“The family of Samantha Dare?” A doctor stood in the entrance and Dex rose to his feet. Brandy followed.
And as if he’d had a line to the operating room, Ian, his wife, Riley, and Emma joined them, rushing in and around the man to hear what he had to say.
“I’m her mother,” Emma said, and Ian put an arm around her shoulders. Pale and shaking, Samantha’s mother waited for news.
“She made it through surgery.” He said the words and a collective breath and sigh of relief echoed around the room.
Dex felt as though he could breathe for the first time since getting Ian’s call.
“Oh, thank God.” Emma clasped her hands in front of her chest.
“What else?” Ian asked, in his no-nonsense voice.
The doctor nodded. “The bullet nicked her spleen.”
Riley gasped and Emma grabbed her hand.
“We were able to repair the damage and retrieve the bullet. She’s a lucky woman and barring any complications, she should heal and be okay.”
“Oh, thank God,” Brandy said, and Dex pulled her against him. She’d been through so much tonight. They all had. Dex had almost lost his better half and it was time he let her know how he felt.
“When can we see her?” Ian asked.
The older man cleared his throat. “She’s in recovery. Once she’s settled, we’ll let you see her, one person at a time.”
Everyone let out another sigh of relief.
Dex was so fucking relieved she’d be okay, he sat down and dipped his head, letting himself breathe.
Ian tilted his head, indicating he wanted to talk, and they stepped to a private corner of the room. “Why the fuck would Jeremy shoot her?”
Brandy, who’d been standing since the doctor left, walked over. “I heard you talking. Samantha had a meeting with her lawyer this morning. We were going to talk over dinner. She didn’t want to discuss it at the office, but I think he might know more?”
Ian nodded. “Thanks. I’ll go leave him an urgent message.”
“Thanks, Brandy. Are you okay? Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Dex offered.
She shook her head. “I think since you’re all here and going to want to see her, I’ll go home. Will you keep in touch?”
Dex touched her shoulder. “Of course. I’ll walk you out and wait with you until the car comes. You’ve had a rough evening. You don’t need to stand outside alone.”
She treated him to a smile. “Thanks, Dex. I appreciate it.”
“Let’s go.” Dex stopped by where Ian, Riley, and Emma were sitting. “I’ll be back after I get Brandy safely into a car. Did you reach the attorney?” he asked Samantha’s brother.
Ian shook his head. “Left a message.”
Dex let out a long breath. Now that they knew Samantha would be okay, he wanted to know what the hell had tipped Jeremy into insanity, where the son of a bitch had disappeared to, and when the cops would find him.
“But the minute I find out, I want a conversation with that bastard,” Ian said, his face turning red with anger.
Riley put a hand on his forearm. “Calm down. Today’s been stressful enough. I don’t need you having a heart attack on me.”
“I’m young and healthy,” he told her and she merely rolled her eyes.
Dex laughed, appreciating the lightness breaking up the painful mood of earlier. He glanced at Ian, his lips firming before he spoke, much more serious this time. “Once you have answers, I want in on that conversation with Jeremy,” Dex said and Ian nodded without an argument.
Progress with Samantha’s brother and his old friend, Dex assumed. Not that he thought the police would let them anywhere near Jeremy once they found him, but it was worth trying.
He escorted Brandy to her car downstairs, then joined the family as they all settled in to wait for permission to see Samantha.