Page 59 of Use Me
I blinked.
“Rhys.”
I blinked again, this time realizing I was staring at Philip with my mouth hanging open. “You—you shot him.”
“Of course. He had a gun pointed at us, and my fucking sister’s unconscious.”
I snapped out of it and rushed to Ashtyn. Her brother was checking what I assumed was her pulse on her neck. “But you killed him.” I didn’t know why it shocked me because I’m pretty certain I would have killed the bastard too. Maybe it was seeing a man lose his life in front of my eyes that stunned me.
“I have to say that was a first for me, but I wasn’t going to let him hurt any of us. Ashtyn’s breathing, and the paramedics should be here any second.” He took his cell phone out of his pocket, pressed a few buttons and then held it to his ear. “Yeah, dispatch. This is Detective Valor, badge number 57689. I responded to the call at,” he rattled off Ashtyn’s address while I brushed her hair away from her face. “Please be advised that I’m in plain clothes, shots were fired, and suspect’s deceased.”
“You’re a cop?” I asked, looking up at him as he slid his phone back into his pocket.
“Yeah.”
“Not that I’m not grateful, but how did you get here before the other cops?”
“Ashtyn told me about this guy when I saw her on Thanksgiving.”
“She did?” I looked back at her, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was only sleeping on the couch, not unconscious from ether.
“Yeah, and I just got off duty and wanted to check on her to see if she had any more info on this guy. The doorman almost didn’t let me in, but I showed him my badge, and he told me you said Ash was getting attacked.”
I stood and took a deep breath, trying to calm the adrenaline that was still coursing through my veins. “If you would have been a second later, he would have shot me, so thank you.”
He turned to me and stuck out his hand. “You’re welcome. Next time hold the fucking elevator for me. I’m Ethan, by the way.”
I took his hand. “I will, and damn, I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”
Iwoke to a room full of people.
Right away, I realized that I was lying on my couch, and a blanket was over me. From the quick look at my chest, I was still in my dress and shoes from the Emmys. I didn’t know what had happened, but I wasn’t chained somewhere with Philip looming over me.
When I turned toward the voices, the first person I saw in my haze was my brother. “Ethan?”
He looked over at me when I called his name, and as he moved, there was movement from my right side. I turned my head to see Rhys was moving toward me as well. Something tugged my arm, and I noticed a female paramedic was by my side with a blood pressure cuff around my upper arm.
“How are you feeling?” the paramedic asked.
“Foggy. What happened?”
“Your head should clear soon. Ether only stays in your system while it’s being administered. And you’ll need to ask a detective about what happened. I don’t know.”
“How long was I out?” I felt as though it had been hours, maybe even days.
“Maybe twenty minutes,” Rhys answered.
“What happened?” I asked Rhys this time. I noticed he was still in his tux.
“I’ll fill you in once you’ve had time to get all the ether out of your system.”
I turned my gaze and looked at my brother. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story.”
Rhys handed me a bottle of water that he was already holding. “Drink some water.”
“Yes,” the paramedic agreed. “You need to rest, and we need to get you to the hospital, but let’s bring you closer to the window so you can get some fresh air first. That will help clear your head faster.”
