Page 58 of The Hitman and the Psychic

She blinked her eyes open. “You’re back already? Did you catch him?”

“No… I didn’t go over there. Why are you on the floor? Are you hurt somewhere else?” She’d said she wasn’t, or I wouldn’t have left.

She shook her head and winced. “No. The sight of blood… especially mine… always makes me feel faint, so I had to lie down. I’m feeling a little better now. Can you help me up?”

“Maybe you should stay there.”

“No… I’m okay now. Besides, the floor’s hard, and the whistling is starting to get on my nerves.”

“Right.” I resisted the temptation to glance around the corner into the living room. I didn’t want to risk gettingshot if the bastard was still waiting for me. That was too close. How had the shooter known I would be standing right there at precisely that moment? It made my skin crawl.

What about Serenity? The glass in the painting had shattered, sure…but what if the bullet had actually hit her? I swallowed. If so, she’d nearly died saving me.

“Stone? What’s wrong? You look a little pale.”

I shook my head. “Nothing. I just realized how close that was.” I met her gaze. “How did you know?”

She held out a hand, and I helped her back into her chair. “Oh that. You still have some chips left.”

“What?” I raised my eyebrows.

“I was clearing the table, and you hadn’t eaten all your chips, so I was bringing them to you.” She swallowed. “When I came around the corner, I saw a vision of you getting shot, just like before, only this time there was more to it. When the vision cleared… you were standing in the same spot.” Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t sure I’d make it in time.”

My breath came out in a whoosh. “Shit. I’m sure glad you did. But… you got hurt instead.”

“I’m fine… barely a scratch, right?” Her brows dipped. “I heard the glass shatter, so a piece of it must have hit me.”

“Yeah… looks that way.” I wasn’t about to tell her otherwise. From what I’d seen of the wound, it wasn’t that deep, but I was grateful that Dix, our doc on call, was on his way and could patch her up.

From my position in the kitchen, I could barely make out the hole in the wall where the bullet—bullets—had ended up, so at least they weren’t in her… thank God. Serenity let out a breath, and I noticed she’d slumped a little in her chair. “Do you need to lie down? I don’t want you to faint.”

“I’m fine. My arm’s just getting tired from holding this cloth.”

“Here. I’ve got it.” I gently placed my hand over the cloth, and she let go. The cloth was pretty bloody, so I applied more pressure.

“Ow.” She tried to pull away.

“You need pressure to stop the bleeding. Were you just holding it there?”

“No. I put pressure on it.” She scowled. “Just not that much because it hurts.”

“Sorry.” I grimaced. “There’s just a lot of blood.”

“It’s fine.” She sighed. “I guess this means I have to go to the ER. I really hate hospitals, you know?”

“Actually… we have a doctor on call. He should be here any minute.”

“Wow… that’s… uh… really great. I guess it pays to be a…” She closed her eyes. “A…businessman.”

I chuckled. “That’s for sure.”

A knock sounded at the door, and Vanetti pushed it open. He gave me a nod before focusing on Serenity. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.”

“Good.” He motioned to the man who had followed him inside. “I brought Dr. Pettey with me. Dr. Pettey, this is Serenity.”

“Nice to meet you, Serenity. Call me Dix. Let’s take a look at this cut on your head.” He got right down to business, moving my hand away from the cloth. That was one of the things I liked about Dix, he was no nonsense.

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