I woke 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.”

“Do I need to go the hospital?”

“I would advise you do go.”

Rhys and Ethan helped me off the couch and then brought me to a window where the paramedic placed a chair. Rhys opened the window, and a rush of winter air blew in, sending a chill over my body. I took a few sips of the water.

“But I don’t have to go to the hospital, right?”

“Well, given it was only ether and all your vitals are stable, you don’t have to, but—”

“I don’t want to.” I took in another deep breath of the fresh air. I was already starting to feel a little better, and given what I knew about ether, doctors once used it like they used Propofol as a general anesthesia. “My other brother’s a doctor and if I don’t feel better, I’ll have him check me out.”

“Okay,” the paramedic said. “Just promise me you’ll get a lot of fresh air and drink plenty of water.”

I nodded. The paramedic took my blood pressure one more time. “What happened to Philip?” I asked both Rhys and Ethan, not caring who answered.

Rhys and Ethan looked at each other, but my brother was the one to answer first. “He’s—”

Rhys knelt beside me and brushed a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear and spoke before Ethan could finish, “He can’t hurt you anymore, Cupcake.”

“He’s in jail?” I looked up at my brother for confirmation.

Ethan took a deep breath. “No. I shot him.”

I gasped, and my eyes widened in shock. I hadn’t realized Ethan arrived while everything was happening. I assumed that he was called in afterward. “You did?”

“Shit went down, Ash.”

“Apparently,” I replied dryly. My stomach started to feel a little queasy, so I turned back toward the window and took a deep breath of the chilly, fresh air.

A detective came over and pulled Ethan away. Rhys started to rub circles on my back. “You want to walk over to my place?”

“Yes.” I definitely didn’t want to stay at my place.

Rhys looked toward the paramedic, and she nodded. “If you can walk, that should be okay. Just go slow.”

“Let me see if we’re allowed to leave.” Rhys stood and spoke to my brother for a few seconds. After it looked like they exchanged numbers, he came back. “We can go. Ethan pulled some strings or something, so the detectives will come over to get your statement tomorrow morning.”

I nodded and started to stand. Rhys reached out and guided me as though I was a ninety-year-old woman. I actually felt as though I was. It didn’t dawn on me until I noticed the lump on the floor that Rhys was taking me the long way around toward my front door. My breath caught as I realized who was under the white sheet.

“Is that …”

“Yeah.” Rhys moved to block my view.

“He’s dead?” Ethan had said he’d shot him. I didn’t realize that he meant he’d killed him.

“Yeah.” Rhys laced our hands together, and we walked past investigators and out my front door. When we got downstairs, Rhys muttered, “Crap. I didn’t grab you a coat.”

“It’s okay. We’re only walking across the street. I think I’ll survive.”

Rhys took off his tux jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. It was warm and smelled like him. As we walked out of the elevator, Rhys pulled me to him, draping his arm across my shoulders.

“Ms. Valor!” I looked over to see Jose rushing to us. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe this happened while I was on my dinner break.”

I stopped walking. “Honestly, Jose, I think he was waiting for that moment.”

I didn’t know if that was true or not, but it seemed it was the only way it could have happened. Plus, my stupidity thought I’d had flowers delivered while I was at the Emmys, and that it was Jose who was bringing them up to me. But, of course, it was late at night, and deliveries usually don’t happen after five. Foolishness had clouded my judgment.

“I know, but if—”

“You’re a doorman, not a security guard.”

“I know, but I know who comes in and out of this building at all times.”

“Except when you’re off duty or on break,” Rhys reminded him.

He gave a slow nod with a tight smile. “Right.”

I grabbed his elbow and gave a slight squeeze. “It’s not your fault.”

Rhys and I stepped toward the door, and Jose opened it for us. “Have a good night.”

We hurried across the street and then up to Rhys’s condo. Once we were inside, Rhys led me to his shower and then told me he’d be back with a drink. I expected him to bring me more water, but instead, after I’d showered and dressed in one of his T-shirts, he handed me a tumbler with an inch or so of an amber colored liquid.

“Whiskey?” I asked as I sniffed it.

He nodded. “It will help you sleep.”

“What about you? You had to have been there when Ethan shot Philip.”

“I was.” Rhys sighed and looked away from me. I got the impression he didn’t want me to see how scared he really was.

“And you’re okay?” In my foggy state, I hadn’t even thought to ask earlier, but now my head was clearing, and I was feeling better, and more of what had happened was dawning on me.

“Well … I saw a guy die with you in his arms. That’s not something I’m okay with.”

“Ethan shot him while I was …” I whispered, but couldn’t finish the thought.

He nodded. “Yeah. Drink up, and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Rhys undressed and moved into the shower as I went to the bedroom and took sips of the whiskey in bed. When he exited the bathroom with only a towel around his waist, he moved to his nightstand and gulped down his whiskey. I watched, still sipping the smooth liquor as Rhys stepped into pajama bottoms and then crawled onto the plush mattress and leaned against the headboard just like I was.

“Where do you want me to start?”

I felt my heart start to beat a little faster. I wanted to know what had happened, but it still made me nervous, as if I was standing on the edge of a cliff and just the thought of jumping made me anxious and uneasy.

“I guess start right after I was knocked out.”

I was silent while I processed the entire story he told me, and then I sighed. “I think we need another drink.”