I didn’t like the idea of Journey stopping at the hospital on the way home. It was too public. The security was too lax, and she was too recognizable. The fact that she had gone into hiding would only make it worse if someone spotted her.

There was a fevered frenzy about her that had grown since the attack. This was not anything I would approve as the CEO of Westbrook Securities or as a bodyguard for that matter.

But I was trying to be the kind of man who was less domineering and more like a partner.

I had my Westbrook Securities driver deposit us at one of the back entrances. Two agents met us at the service entrance, holstered and ready to shield Journey if needed.

I stepped out of the car first and scanned the perimeter. This part of the hospital was secluded. It was a common route for celebrities to use when they were discharged.

The agents nodded at me as they flanked the door.

I guided Journey inside.

“Is all this necessary?” she asked. “It feels a little overboard.”

I folded my sunglasses and tucked them inside my jacket. “If you want to go to public places, then yes,” I answered.

We walked through the corridors and to a side elevator.

Tristan had been moved from ICU and was in a regular patient room. I punched the button for the third floor. He condition had been upgraded. That was the good news.

Journey wrung her hands together.

“It’s going to be ok,” I tried to reassure her. “He’ll be happy to see you.”

She nodded. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

The elevator stopped, but I held the door closed for a brief second. “You and Tristan survived something horrific together. It’s normal that seeing him is going to bring that up. You don’t have to do this until you’re ready. No one is asking you to push yourself. It’s ok if you want to wait a little while longer.”

Her eyes flared. “I am. I’m asking myself. That man deserves a thank you. He deserves a car or a yacht. I don’t know, anything that a person deserves for saving someone’s life. I can put aside my own anxiety for twenty minutes to tell him that.”

She stuck her chin forward and I knew her mind was made up. I’d seen that look too many times before to try to talk her out of it. If seeing her trainer brought darkness to her, I’d hold her. If the nightmares returned tonight, I’d fight them for her. She wasn’t in this alone.

I let the door go and we strolled into the hallway. Tristan’s room was closest to the nurses’ station.

I saw a flicker of recognition on some of the nurses’ faces as Journey walked past, but they were used to stars. They weren’t the ones I was worried about.

Journey tapped on the door and it swung open.

“Are you up for visitors?” she asked, peeking her head inside.

Tristan grinned. For a second I had to put myself in check and remember this man had almost died saving her. I hadn’t expected him to look like a damn Greek god.

Even in a hospital gown, he was all hard muscle. I frowned as I stood next to the door. I didn’t miss the adoring look on his face when he saw Journey.

“Journey.” He grinned. “Look at you, love.”

She leaned over his bed, kissing him on each cheek.

“How are you? I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” She pulled up a rolling stool and planted herself next to him. “What do you need? What can I get you?”

“I was asleep for most of the week so you didn’t miss anything.” He had perfect white t

“But still. I wanted to say thank you.” She choked, and I had to fight the urge to rush toward her and power her through this. “You saved my life, Tristan. I don’t know if I can ever say thank you enough.” I saw a tear land on his hand.

“No. No.” He shook his head. “It all happened so fast. It was just instinct I guess. You don’t have to thank me. Maybe do a few extra squats at the club.” He winked. “You’ve got to keep that body toned. Right?”

Journey giggled.

That was it. I had gone from wanting to comfort Journey to wanting to punch the trainer. I moved slowly, my fists loose at my side. No shit he wanted to watch her do squats. She had an incredible ass.

“I never thought that chick would have had a gun. It still blows my mind. Since when do yogis carry guns?”

My head jerked. “What did you say?”

Tristan looked at me. “Who are you, exactly? Did you get a new manager, Journey?”

Journey intervened. “No. No. I still have Dante. This is Asher Westbrook. He’s personally investigating the shooting,” she explained. “It would be a huge help if you could answer any questions he has. He owns Westbrook Securities. We’re using all his resources to find the attacker.”

“What did you just say, Tristan?” I pressed again. “Yogi?”

He blew a long breath of air. “She must be bat-shit crazy. Didn’t get Zen on that morning.”

I stood at the foot of the bed. “Are you saying you saw the shooter and it was a woman?”

Tristan looked at me then Journey. “Yeah. I saw her. She was maybe twenty feet from us, standing between the cars. She had on yoga pants and a tank top.”

“And that makes her a yogi?” I questioned.

He shook his head. “I saw her before she raised the gun because she had a fluorescent Namaste on her shirt. It was bright even at sunrise. In fact, if she hadn’t had that on I wouldn’t have had time to step in front of Journey.” He turned his gaze upward and she smiled at him.

“You were so brave.”

What in the hell did this mean? The emails had been from a man. The gym video had been too blurry to distinguish any characteristics of the shooter, but we had all assumed it was a male suspect. What the fuck was going on?

“What else? What else do you remember? Did you recognize her from the gym? A client maybe?”

He rubbed his temple with his free hand. The other was strapped in a sling.

Journey gave me a stern look, cautioning me to slow down. I didn’t care if I was rushing him. It felt as if the information could disappear. I needed to extract it.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen her before. That was the first time.”

“Anything else out of the ordinary besides the shirt? Tattoos? Piercings? Can you describe how tall she was?”

Tristan paused. “She did have a tattoo on her wrist.”

“You saw that?” I was surprised.

“I probably wouldn’t have noticed it except it was on her shooting arm. I wasn’t close enough to see what it said. But it was like time stood still. I saw the gun, like it was frozen or something and then I saw the tattoo.”

“But it said something? You’re sure it was words and not a drawing?”

“I think so. I don’t know for sure. It seems like it was a message, not just one word.” He scrunched his forehead in concentration.

Journey patted his arm. “Let’s take a little break. I don’t want you to get a headache. Can I get you something? Want some water? Or a protein shake?”

He laughed. “No. I’m good.”

I wanted to run through the analysis again. I needed to call Tomas at the office. He was my lead agent and had updated me every hour on all incoming information. He never once mentioned the shooter could have been a woman. We were certain it was an obsessed fan. Some lunatic who thought Journey had shunned him. A guy. A psychopath. A male. It had to be.

The shooting had all the signs of a revenge attack. The emails seemed to confirm our theory.

But now I realized we had been wrong from the beginning.

“Journey, we need to go.”

“But, we just got here,” she argued. “I want to stay a little longer.”

I eyed her. That wasn’t going to be possible with this revelation.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and extended a hand to Tristan. “Thank you for what you did. I hope you know it makes you a hero.” He shook my hand, gripping probably more than he should.

“Thanks, man.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “We’ve got to reassess the protocols for tonight. We need to discuss if it’s even possible to leave the compound.”

“But tonight is the first awards dinner.”

If I had to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of here kicking and screaming, I would.

“Journey, if you want to go to that dinner, we need to leave now. All the plans have shifted.”

She nodded. Maybe she was starting to realize there were things she had to compromise too.

“It’s all right,” Tristan offered. “I’ve got some hot nurses waiting on me.” He winked at her again.

“You say your goodbyes and I’ll wait in the hallway for you.”

“Ok.”

I stepped through the door and waited for her outside the room.

A minute later she appeared.

“Is it really that bad?” I saw the worry on her face and had to admit she had been strong in there for Tristan.

I nodded. “Worse. But you’re not alone, babe. You’re not going to be alone.”

She squeezed my hand. “I know. For the first time in a long time I actually believe that.”

“Good. Let’s get out of this hospital and go somewhere we can talk. Everything has changed.”

Our palms slid together as we traveled through the corridor and exited the back entrance of the hospital. I scanned the sidewalk and the parking bays before ducking inside the car after Journey. The sick feeling that had started when I realized we were off track with the suspect had grown. I wondered what else we had gotten wrong.