Page 18 of Rules of Engagement

"I hope you don't mind but I spoke to the doctor on duty. He said Solomon was fine all last night and they have upgraded his condition to stable."

"Okay."

"I got you one of those smoothies you like," he said, nodding to the small table next to my mom where two large plastic cups waited. "I have to take off to pick up Anastasia from Boston Logan Airport. The plane is scheduled to land on time and I'm sure she'll want to come directly here."

"That's really nice of you, Dad."

"Did you speak to their brother? Is he flying in?"

"No. I called Damien a few times last night but I only got his answering service. I'll call again," I said, reaching for my phone. At once, my mother was out of her seat and pressing me back into mine.

"Not until you've finished eating," she said. "You won't be any help to anyone if you're tired and hungry. Sit. Eat."

"Listen to your mother," said Dad. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "I'll be back soon. Call if you need anything. Anything at all. The whole family is on high alert, ready to help."

"That's really nice of them."

"Nice has got nothing to do with it. We're family. This is what we do." Dad waved as he left. I watched him stop to speak to Officer Broderick, and then he was gone.

"Everyone sends their good wishes," said Mom as I munched the croissant, hardly tasting it. "I sent everyone home last night because there was nothing that anyone could do here."

"Did you stay?"

"Of course. I got some sleep just over there," she said, pointing to the nurse's station.

"Thanks for staying."

"Where else would I be?" said Mom. She passed me another croissant and motioned for me to eat it. I did, then took a long sip of the smoothie.

"Did Garrett come by?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I spoke to him about an hour ago."

"Did they find who... the man..." I stopped, I had no idea if the shooter were a man. "The person," I finished lamely.

"They have some leads they're working on."

"I keep wondering who would do something like that but I just don't know."

"Has Solomon ever mentioned being worried about anyone or anything?"

"No! He would tell me if he were. He was in a good mood last night. We saw the wedding planner and we were going to stay home and eat pizza and watch TV. He didn't say anything!"

"He might not have..."

"No, he would have. We don't have any secrets between us," I said, cutting my mother off. Except it was a lie. I'd asked Solomon about all kinds of things from his past only for him to change topics or switch the conversation. Now, I had to wonder if he were actively evading any particular question regarding his past. Obviously, that made me wonder why. I didn't have much to hide and what I did was usually mortifyingly embarrassing rather than dangerous. I picked up my phone, ready to avoid anymore of my mother's questions by making a phone call. "I should call his brother again," I said.

"I'll step out for a few minutes and let you talk."

I checked my messages. There were several texts from family members and people from the agency, checking in on me and asking what they could do to help. I would get back to them once I worked out what, if anything, I needed from them. There was a flurry of messages from Anastasia telling me she had gotten a flight, another that she was boarding the plane, and a couple more to check on Solomon's progress. I figured since my dad was going to the airport to get her, that he'd also supplied all the answers she needed to know.

I scrolled through my address book and found Damien's number. I'd never met Solomon's younger brother but I'd seen plenty of photos and spoken to him by phone a couple times. As far as I knew, the Solomon brothers weren't close and he hadn't been out to visit, not that I knew of. Solomon hadn't even been sure that we would meet before we got married and I decided not to press him on the likelihood of Damien even attending our wedding or reception.

This time, when I called, he answered.

"Hey, Lexi. I saw several missed calls from you. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Hi, Damien." I paused, wishing I'd worked out what to say in advance. I decided to proceed with the truth. "Something's happened," I said, my voice starting to break.

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