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“Knives only?”
“It was in the mall parking lot. I guess they didn’t want to create a scene, and gunshot wounds are an automatic report by hospital personnel. Knife wounds are not.”
The car is running when we reach it. Another security officer, Randolph, is at the wheel. He takes off as soon as the doors are closed.
Marco continues his debriefing. “There were four assailants. One died, two were injured badly. The fourth escaped in an unmarked black Ford. The two that are injured are at the hospital. I don’t know if we’ll be able to question them.”
“I take it despite the lack of gunshots, someone notified the police?”
“Yeah, a new intern trying to be helpful.”
“I’ll call Chief Jones.” I dial up the man that I give a million dollars to every year for precisely times like these.
“Ackles, it’s been a while.” The head of the police sounds wary.
“I don’t like to bother you as I know you’re a busy man.”
“So you only call for important matters?”
The chief has always been smart. “Precisely. There are two men that were recently admitted to the hospital with—”
“Broken arms. Busted shin, jaw, and nose.”
“Broken limbs and facial injuries. These men attempted to kidnap my wife—”
“Wife?” he interrupts.
“Yes. Wife.” Word hasn’t spread far. We’ll have to host a big party so that everyone knows how to properly address Aurora when she’s out. I should have done that right away. “These men attempted to kidnap my wife, and her security detail fought them off. One man escaped. I will need to know his whereabouts, and those two injured men are the best source of information. If you have officers posted there, please remove them.”
“I can’t just allow you to interrogate criminals. It’ll poison our investigation and make a criminal conviction impossible,” he huffs.
My silence conveys the necessary response which Chief Jones understands quickly. He sighs heavily. “How am I supposed to cover this up?”
“That’s not my problem.” I hang up because I don’t intend to negotiate.
Marco tells me the two men are in one room on the third floor. “In the ICU.”
“Are they in a private room? Together?”
“Together, in a non-private room. There are two other patients in there with them.”
That’s not ideal. “Do we have someone on staff that can move them to a private room?”
“It’s going to be messy,” Marco warns.
Meaning we’ll have a lot of payouts and coverups to take care of later. “Can’t help it. Be as quiet and as generous as you need to be. I’m going to see Aurora.”
Randolph lets us out at the front entrance. I arrow directly to the VIP elevator, which takes me to the suite level floor where Aurora is housed. The wall of men and women in black is thick, and I’m grateful for the sight. “Is she back from radiology?”
One of them nods, and the sea of black suits parts to reveal Aurora curled up on a chair beside the empty hospital bed looking guilty and grief-stricken.
“Mikael!” she cries when she spots me.
I charge across the room and lift her into my arms. “Where are you hurt?”
She brushes my concerns aside. “What’s going on with Tracy? No one is telling me anything.”
“Tracy is fine.” I set Aurora on the hospital bed and motion for everyone to leave. As soon as we are alone, I flip up the hospital gown and examine her.
She bats at my hands. “Stop that. I’m fine. I scraped my hand on the asphalt, and that’s it. One of those jerks stabbed Tracy. I saw blood coming out of her shoulder! She can’t be fine!”
After I confirm with my own eyes that Aurora is thankfully free of any serious wounds, I push her back into the bed. “She is fine. There’s no serious damage, but she’s getting stitched up. Marco is getting an update and will be here soon to debrief us.”
“I want to see her.”
“You can’t because you’re a patient too. I promise you that if things were dire, I wouldn’t be here with you.”
“Liar.”
I huff out a small laugh. “Okay, I am lying. You are always coming first, but the stuff about Tracy is the truth. Since you are okay, I’m going to get you discharged and take you home.”
“What about the others?”
“The men that tried to take you?”
She nods. She sounds worried, and I don’t know if it’s because she’s scared or concerned. I choose my words carefully. “When I married you, I promised to care for you. That does not mean merely your physical state but your emotional one too. There should not be a day that you leave the house scared of what is out there.” I bend down and press a kiss to her forehead. “I will take care of you in every way.”
“I’ll admit that I was hurt and a little pissed when I heard you married me for revenge, but Edward’s a bad dude, so I’m grateful.”
