It was a long exhausting day of putting the final additions to her new office space. Moving her wedding planning business from her living room to an office in the business district was tiresome. She hadn’t realized just how much work was involved. In fact, Leah hadn’t realized just how huge her business had grown until now.
Thankfully, she was due to attend a bridal expo in Hawaii in a few days. That would give her time to recover this move, leaving her assistant in charge. She needed the break, having never taken a vacation since starting her business six years ago.
The break was needed as her doctor had warned about a burnout syndrome. Although her time away was work related, she promised her best friend and assistant, Bridget that she would take a couple of days to herself to relax. Her friend told her never to return until she was rested and ready to take charge of the new office. Fortunately, the next wedding was due in two weeks and all the preparations were already made.
Thinking that she heard a sound, Leah halted. With heart pounding heavily, she turned her head to look left and right of her. She saw nothing. Hastening her steps, she continued to her car.
“There are security guards here, Leah,” she reminded herself. “No need to be afraid.”
The sound came once again. This time she was certain of it. Pausing, she cocked her ears to listen. A sound similar to that of groaning greeted her. Heart rate shooting through the roof and the hairs on her head on end, she clutched her purse to her chest and looked around.
She was near her car, but she turned to look across the almost empty area. On the opposite side of the space, was a figure lying beside a Jaguar.
Eyes widening, she stepped back with a gasp.
“Oh my God!” She whispered. “Oh god.”
Rooted to the spot, she stared at the man, wondering if he was dead. Her mind went blank for a moment as fear gripped her. What appeared to be a pool of blood was all around him. Upon closer inspection, she noticed a leather briefcase and a jacket lying beside him. In his left hand, he clutched his keys.
“What should I do?”
Leah started backing away, but a small voice entered her mind. You can’t just leave him there. She was new to the building. In fact, she knew almost no one there. Should she call the security guard?
The questions ran through her mind as she kept her eyes on him. Another groan reached her and his foot moved. That told her he wasn’t dead. She wasn’t sure she should approach, but his entire chest area was red, staining his baby blue dress shirt.
“He needs help,” she whispered. “Get a grip Leah.”
Her human nature kicked in and she sprinted in his direction. By this time, she’d gained some control over her fear and pushed it aside. Having attended medical school for over a year, she knew exactly what to do. This man needed assistance and she switched her mind in emergency mode. Kneeling beside him, she observed him from head to toe. He’d lost quite a huge amount of blood, but Leah could not tell by what means or where the injury was. Plucking her cellphone from her purse, she dialed emergency.
“Nine-one-one, how may I be of assistance?” A male operator answered.
“There’s a man hurt … there’s lots of blood,” she spoke calmly into the phone. “An artery may be damaged.”
“Are you a medic ma’am?”
Leah winced. “No, I went to med school briefly.”
“No problem,” he said. “Ma’am, where are you?”
“The Lake Towers, on 7th Street,” she told him. “Basement level parking area.”
“Okay, is he still breathing?” The man asked. “Is he alive?”
“I not sure,” she replied, kneeling beside the injured man. “I will check.”
She touched his shoulder. “Hello, can you hear me?” Leaning forward, she asked. His eyes were opened a slit. That was good.
Placing her hand under his nose, a feather-like breath touched the back of it. She was surprised to see his eyes widen. As she looked into them, she felt like they were pulling her into their ocean. They were the most magnetic cobalt eyes she’d ever seen. She had to tear her eyes away to answer the operator.
“Yes, he’s alive,” she said into the phone. “I think he might be bleeding from his chest since the area is covered in blood.”
“Okay ma’am, we’ll send help, but I need you to take care of him in the meantime,” the calm voice of the operator said.
“Okay,” she replied. “I will do as you instruct.”
“Can you find anything to stop the bleeding, you said he was bleeding from his chest, am I right?”
“Yes, it appears so.”
“Can you find something?”
She caught sight of his jacket lying beside him at which time she grabbed it. “Yes, his jacket.”
“That’s good, press that to the wound and keep pressure on it.”
Looking carefully, Leah found the wound site on the left of his chest. They were aiming for the heart, she concluded. By her calculation, they might have missed the organ. When she pressed the jacket to the wound, on his chest, blood gushed from his right side. She would have missed it if he hadn’t groaned.
“Oh no!” she exclaimed in dismay.
“Ma’am, what’s wrong?”
“He’s bleeding from his right side as well,” she replied.
The operator paused, only for a second before continuing, “Can you find something else? I know it’s difficult, but please try.”
Leah looked around. The lot was almost empty. She was tempted to take of her top and use it to stop the blood. It was then she remembered that she had the suit she’d picked up from the dry cleaners in her car.
“My jacket. I have to get it from my car. I will hang up so I can tend to him while you send the ambulance.”
“I understand,” the operator replied. “You’re doing great. Help is on the way.”
Leah hung up and ran across to her car where she retrieved her jacket. This was one of her favorite suits. She liked the light lavender color and though she’d had it a long time, it was the most comfortable suit she had.
She bunched up the jacket and pressed it to his side. It was awkward since she had to lean halfway across him to press on both wounds. In doing this, her chest quickly covered with his blood. Checking to make sure he was still breathing, she brought her cheeks to his nose. His breath was faint.
“Hang in there, the police is on their way,” she whispered, her voice a little croaky. Slowly his eyes closed. “Don’t go to sleep,” she urged, but his eyes closed anyway.
She stared at him for a moment. There were beads of sweat on his face and a lock of dark hair pressed to his forehead. Time passed slowly. Leaning across him in that awkward position was beginning to make her back ache.
Not once in eight minutes did the security guards on duty check the parking area. This was not good. Leah was scared that the attackers may return and she would be their next victim. The police were taking their sweet time getting there as well.
She looked down at the man and wondered whether he was an executive in the building. Being new to the business district, she hadn’t yet met many people there. For the past three days that she’d been in the building, she could identify exactly four people including the investor on the seventh floor as well as his secretary. Had she seen this one, she would definitely have remembered his face.
Her eyes traveled over him as much as she could see as she wondered who he was and why he was attacked. It was then she noticed his watch. It was an expensive brand. Leah frowned. The briefcase alone would be worth a few thousand dollars. The attackers touched neither. She wondered why.
Fear gripped her a she realized that her entry might have interrupted them. Perhaps they left in a hurry when they heard her coming. Frantically, her eyes darted around. Only five cars were in the lot including the Jaguar and hers. What if one the vehicles belonged to the assailants?
Leah kept her eyes peeled for any moments. This didn’t seem like a theft, but one could never tell. Unwittingly, her eyes dropped to the face of the man. What did he do to deserve such a fate? Could it be that he messed with someone’s wife? He certainly had that playboy air about him with his tall, dark handsome features.
No, this was no theft, she figured. The wound on the chest was close to his heart. They knew exactly what they were doing. The cold fingers of fear clawed at her chest and her breathing became heavy. They could return at any moment to finish the task and here she was, lying halfway across this bleeding man.
Somehow, she found that her eyes strayed back to his angular face and well-defined lips. Yes, he messed with someone’s woman. The sound of sirens interrupted her perusal as the paramedics arrived.
From there, everything happened quickly that she had no control over her movements. As the paramedics carried him into the ambulance, she found herself going inside as well. They were well on their way to the hospital when she realized that in a few short hours she should be on a plane to Hawaii.
“Oh no,” she muttered under her breath.
“Excuse me?” One of the medics queried, looking questioningly her way.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized.
She needed to get some sleep before boarding the plane. Now, she was pulling up outside the hospital in an ambulance with a strange man. As soon as the ambulance stopped and the doors were open, she alighted and began walking back to the road. She’d have to call a cab to return her to her car.
“Aren’t you coming in?” one of the paramedics asked.
Shaking her head, she replied. “No.”
They rushed him through the emergency entrance. Leah needed to leave, but something pulled her in. The motion sensitive doors kept opening and shutting as she made to go in several times then turned back. After a few minutes if indecisiveness, she went inside.
The nurse at the information desk eyeballed her as she craned her neck to see through the emergency section. A few people stood waiting outside the door and she figured that they must have contacted the man’s relatives. He must have some kind of identification on him. She never thought to check on that herself. Finally, she drummed up the courage to ask the nurse about him.
“The stab victim, will he be okay?” she asked.
The nurse eyed her carefully. “Are you a relative?”
“No, I was the one who called 911.”
“Oh yes, he’s in surgery now. You can talk to the doctor when he gets out.”
She lingered for a few more minutes and then turned to leave. As she went through the main doors, a man rushed passed her and trotted up to the desk. It was time she left.
She was outside when the police arrived. She concluded that the police was there about the man. As the only witness, she would have to give a statement, but she could not afford to miss her flight. As she walked to the gateway of the hospital, she called a cab from her cellphone. Within ten minutes, she was on her way back to get her car. The thought of entering the parking area filled her with dread.