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“I am so glad you’re here.” Sara launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “She was unconscious when the ambulance took her. There was so much blood.”
Her words confirmed my worst fears. Ice ran through my veins, numbing my breaking heart so I could function. I couldn’t help Lee if I let emotions rule my brain. I knew how to compartmentalize and finish a task.
“Sara, tell me what happened.” I regulated my voice. The woman already looked ready to come apart. A harsh word and she would shatter.
“I heard the gunshots. I was in the back working on some invoices.” She dashed away a few tears. “When I opened the rear door, I found them. He was dead. There was blood. So much blood everywhere. Even on Onyx. I called 9-1-1.”
She started crying in earnest. I peeled her arms from around me and transferred her to Quinn. I needed answers, not a firsthand account.
On my way to the storeroom, Onyx found me. He attached himself to my heel like he was wont to do with Lee. We walked down the hall past her closed office door. A pain hit me dead square in the chest. Lee was strong and brave. It would take more than Tony to stop her.
The storeroom was a large open room. Half was for shipping and receiving. The other half was a workroom for the jewelers and watchmakers Lee employed. The staff waited out in the showroom now. Only cops and a few crime scene investigators lingered in the industrial space.
“Buddy, if only you could talk.” I stroked Onyx’s head while I took in the hive of police activity. The dog was favoring one shoulder. I’d call Lamar Hendrix as soon as we knew what hospital Lee was at. He’d get me a vet, no problem.
“I bet you did everything you could to save our girl, didn’t you?” My voice caught, rough with emotion. Damn it, I loved her stupid dog, too.
He cocked his head and pressed firmly against my leg.
“Good boy.”
Alfred Alvarez came through the back door. Excellent.
“Alvarez,” I called, getting his attention.
“Shit. Sawyer, how’d you get here so fast?”
“Lee called our switchboard, then passed out. Is Tony Delgatto dead?” My tone was businesslike, but any bullshit and I would throttle Alvarez to get the information.
“There’s a dead guy back there. No ID yet.”
“I can—” I walked toward the backdoor.
“No way. Active crime scene.” He caught my arm and held me in place. I shook him off.
This was a waste of time. One look and I could ID Tony. I’d know that asshole anywhere. I dug my phone out and showed Alvarez a surveillance photo of Tony.
He zoomed in on the face in the picture and nodded. “That’s the dead guy.”
“Good. Where’d they transport Lee?”
Alvarez took out a pad and checked his notes. “Aventura Hospital on Biscayne Blvd. Stab wound.”
“Tony likes a butterfly knife. I’m taking the dog.” I tapped my thigh and Onyx followed me back to the showroom. I collected Quinn, and we both promised a teary Sara we’d call her with updates on Lee’s condition. The rest of the staff looked shell-shocked.
“When the police say you can, I’d send everyone home,” Quinn told Sara as they hugged one last time. I took Quinn’s free hand and started pulling her toward the door. I wanted to be at the hospital now.
For three fucking hours, I prowled the ER waiting room. I knew every rip in the cheap-ass furniture and the three water stains on the ceiling as well as I knew my name.
The vet Lamar Hendrix sent over had come and gone with far more efficiency than his human-treating counterparts. I’d aged a decade. The nurse at the desk had said Lee was in stable condition. Whatever the fuck that meant.
When finally a doctor called Lee’s name out in the waiting room, my knees went weak with relief. I was starved for any news.
“Relationship to the patient?” The bleary-eyed ER doctor looked like he might have been all of twelve years old. Were we even sure he was a doctor and not some overworked resident?
“I’m her fiancé.” I’d seen enough TV shows to know you always answered fiancé.
“Of course you are.” He poked at his phone. “Date of birth?”
