I didn’t like the idea of Abi 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 Taylor Securities or as a bodyguard for that matter.

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

I had my TS driver deposit us at one of the back entrances. Two agents met us at the service entrance, holstered and ready to shield Abi 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 Abi inside.

“Is all this necessary?” she asked.

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.

Javier had been moved from ICU and was in a regular patient room now. I punched the button for the third floor.

Abi wrung her hands together.

“It’s going to be ok,” I tried to reassure her.

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 Javier 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.”

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 she we strolled into the hallway. Javier’s room was closest to the nurses’ station.

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

Abi tapped on the door and it swung open.

“Are you up for visitors?” she asked.

Javier 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 Abi.

“Abi.” He grinned.

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.

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

“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, Javier. 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.

That was it. I had gone from wanting to comfort Abi 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?”

Javier looked at me.

Abi intervened. “This is Reid Taylor. He’s personally investigating the shooting,” she explained. “It would be a huge help if you could answer any questions he has. He owns Taylor Securities. We’re using all his resources to find the attacker.”

“What did you just say, Javier?” 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?”

Javier looked at me then Abi. “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?”

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 Abi.” He turned his gaze upward and she smiled at him.

What in the hell did this mean? The emails had been from a man. The gym video had been too blurry to distinguish any characters 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.

Abi gave me a stern look as if to say I was rushing him.

“No.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen her.”

“Anything else out of the ordinary besides the shirt? Tattoos? Piercings?”

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

“You saw that?”

“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 said something?”

“I think so. I don’t know for sure.”

Abi patted his arm. “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 Bex at the office. He was my lead agent and had updated me every hour. He never mentioned the shooter could have been a woman. We were certain it was an obsessed fan. Some lunatic who thought Abi had shunned him.

It 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.

“Abi, we need to go.”

“But, we just got here.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder and extended a hand to Javier. “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 tonight.”

“But tonight is the first award dinner.”

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

“Abi, 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.

I waited for her outside of 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 Javier.

I nodded. “Worse. But you’re not alone, baby.”

She squeezed my hand. “I know.”