Page 71 of Rules of Engagement

"He hasn't woken up," said Delgado, only a step behind me.

"Then why is there a party going on outside?" I jabbed a finger at the corridor, unable to turn around because my jaw trembled at the shock of realizing he wasn't awake. He was still hooked up to all the monitors.

"We heard the shooter was caught and your mom decided to feed everyone," Delgado told me. "Word got around. I think everyone needed some good news."

I sank onto the chair at Solomon's bedside, crushed. "I thought he had woken up," I whispered.

Delgado placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

"Garrett caught the guy but someone else ordered the hit," I told him as I stared at Solomon's sleeping face. "The shooter said he was paid to do it and it was supposed to be a warning, but he didn't know who the warning was for or why. That person, the person really responsible for it, is still out there."

"Garrett will find them."

"His only lead is an idiotic druggie."

"Let me get you something to eat. You look beat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Eat something anyway," insisted Delgado. "I can get you something to eat in here or you can come sit with your family for a little bit. Come on." He gently pulled me up and maneuvered me out of the room. "There's nothing you can do by watching him," he said softly, "but you can make sure you're okay when he wakes up. He would want that, right?"

Across the table, Maddox caught my eye. He lifted a questioning eyebrow and I shook my head, then someone put a plate in my hand, and someone else asked a question about the developments in the case. Before I realized what was happening, Delgado managed to somehow put me in the center of everyone who cared about me.

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