Page 19 of Rules of Engagement

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, instantly worried.

"I'm fine. It's John. He's... he's been injured."

There was a long silence. "In an accident? What happened?"

"No." Another deep breath. "He was shot."

"Shot?" Damien repeated bluntly. "What do you mean? Shot?"

"Twice in the chest," I said bluntly. "Last night. He's out of surgery now and he's been upgraded to stable condition, but he hasn't woken up yet."

"I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. This is terrible. Did they catch the guy?" he asked.

"No, not yet. I don't even know if it was a guy. I didn't see the shooter."

"You were with him?"

"We were at home. Someone rang the doorbell. We were expecting pizza. Solomon answered the door..." I trailed off.

"I'm so glad you weren't hurt too," said Damien. "Did you tell my sister?"

"Anastasia is flying in this morning. It might be a good idea if you came too."

"I'll be there in a couple hours."

I frowned. "You're not far away?"

"No. I'm in Boston. I took a job there. I'll drive over."

"Oh! That's great," I said, audibly surprised. "I didn't know you were visiting. I would have invited you over but..." I trailed off, wondering why Solomon hadn't mentioned Damien visiting the nearest city to us. Perhaps he hadn't known?

"Give me the details and I'll leave as soon as I can. Don't worry, Lexi. Solomon is going to pull through. He has to."

My mother opened the door and bustled in as I stuffed the phone into my pocket. "Damien's in Boston," I told her. "He's on his way over here too."

"It'll be good for Solomon to have his brother and sister here. Oh, here's the doctor now," she said as Dr. Forsythe stepped into the room, smiling at both of us.

"I'm just going to check Mr. Solomon's vitals," he said, picking up the chart and reading it before turning the page. "He looked good all through the night, which is very positive. No change at the last check. Pulse is strong. Breathing steady. We'll need to do some more tests today."

"What kind of tests?" I asked.

"All standard procedures," said Dr. Forsythe. He replaced the clipboard on the foot rail and took out a small light. He shone it into my eyes and had me follow his finger. "I think you should go home now and get some rest," he said.

I shook my head. "I'd rather stay here."

"I know and we can get a cot set up for you, given the circumstances, but there's nothing you can do right now. We're going to kick you out of the room while we conduct some more tests anyway, so you might as well head home, have something to eat that isn't from our cafeteria, and get some uninterrupted rest."

"I ate already."

"Plus, Mr. Solomon could do with a few of his personal items. No one likes wearing our less-than-modest hospital gowns," he said kindly. "I can assure you we'll take good care of him."

"I think you should listen to Dr. Forsythe," said Mom.

"But..."

"I'll stay here and sit with Officer Broderick," she said. "I'll call Garrett to pick you up. You'd know what John needs and prefers to wear better than any of us."

"Listen to your mother," said Dr. Forsythe. "I'll be back in thirty minutes."

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