When I arrived at the hospital the entire staff was in disarray. They seemed to be panicked about something that was happening or had already happened. Patients and visitors were being shown to the exits and the police were everywhere. How had they come so fast. I just got off from work. I pushed past the crowd without upsetting anyone and forced myself to the front desk.
"What's happening?" I asked. The security guard only stared at me until he saw that I was in a police uniform.
"Active shooter. He forced himself into the ICU. Our team is down, so we don't know what's happening up there."
"Cameras?"
"Down. He shot them out. We have an injured officer, but we can't get to her."
"Who's up there?" I asked. "Who do you think he'd after?"
"From what I've heard it's Lexi Thompson. Maybe he'd try to kill her for real. Make sure she dies this time."
I didn't have to guess at who was behind this. Of course Wayne would get out of jail and do something like this. Sha'Kera and Hayden picked him up this morning. Maybe they were the ones to drop him off. Did they know he was up to something this stupid. If so, then why did Hayden allow him to get out of the car?
Before I could get my gun a series of gunshots flooded the lobby. More screams erupted and I turned just in time to be knocked to the ground by Wayne. He didn't stop to see who it was and I didn't stop to curse him for knocking me down. I jumped up and raced after him as he tried to leave the building.
A part in the crowd allowed me to tackle him before he could do anything else. I had him in a headlock almost immediately, but he was stronger and seemed to guess my tactic. He elbowed me in my appendix but I held on. No way would he get away from us this time. A perfect blow in the same spot caused me to let him go.
Wayne tried to run, and I'm sure he could have gotten away, but another officer tackled him. He was up on his feet in a matter of seconds. I acted fast and he soon collided with the concrete squirming from the electricity coursing through his body. Gotcha!
"Good job, Officer Monteil," Sheriff Davenport praised. "We couldn't have caught him without your quick thinking. If you're off-duty you can leave."
"Sure thing, Sheriff." I saluted him and turned to walk back into the hospital.
"Can you have the CCTV tape sent to the police station?"
"Of course. Do you need anything else?"
"No. If I do need anything I'll come find you."
I watched Jenni train the newcomers in the dojo. I guess she was good. I taught her everything she needed to know, so basically they were learning everything indirectly from me. I hope she gave me some credit.
I finally stepped inside purposely interrupting her class. Most of them looked like high school graduates and others looked as if they were in their early twenties. The age where they still picked on the female teacher for having a beau. Typical handsome guy coming to see typical beautiful woman.
As expected, they immediately started teasing Jenni. She kept a hard expression and sent them away. I winked at the females knowing they'd fall for my charm. Many of them blushed and hurried out. The rest of the dared to flirt back. The guys laughed and fist bumped me on their way out. I wonder what they were going to learn next.
"...So...what are you doing here?" Jenni asked.
"I'm pretty sure I work here too." I laughed. "Did you give me any credit?"
"Of course I didn't." She rolled her eyes. "You came to apologize or what?"
"Or what. I don't do apologies if it wasn't my fault. You should be the one apologizing to me. Never knew you were the type to go back on your word. You promised you were in any sexual relationship with him. I warned you about his wife and yet you pretended I hadn't said a thing."
"For the last time, Asher, I did not sleep with Ricardo."
"Sure. I most definitely believe you." My hand lifted on its own to rest on Jenni's shoulder. "...I'm not sorry for hitting him, Jen. I don't like how you came into my cousin's house alone with him. You know how Anna is. If I even mention you being alone with him to her...I don't know what she'll do."
"Anna and I are good friends. She'd never believe you." Jenni knocked my hand off her shoulder. "I'd love it if you left now."
"As if. Anna wouldn't dare defend you if she knew the truth. You and I both know how sensitive she is. Rico knows that if Nikki finds out he's toast. Anna is like a daughter to her. Anna's feelings are her feelings."
Jenni sighed and bit her lip. If I had been half the man I was about four days ago, I would have taken her back quickly. But I'm not. She deserves to be alone. She doesn't need me anymore. Now that she doesn't have me, she can do whatever she wants. If that means seducing other celebrities because she's dated me, then I'll let her.
"How's Lexi?" She asked.
"...I don't know. Wayne decided he was going to shoot up the hospital. I caught him and now I'm here." I smiled.
"To brag?"
"You can take it however you want."
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️
One I saw Angela my spirits lifted. It had been more than two years since I last saw her and she looked more radiant than ever. When she finally took a look at me, I saw a flash of surprise grace her features. She smiled and I almost made up my mind to take her back too. What was wrong with me today?
"Ash!" She greeted, when she got to me. I pulled her into a hug. "Gosh, it's been so long, hasn't it?"
"Eh...it feels like you just left for France. How was the trip?" I pulled back.
"It was nice. You aunt was there for a bit before she went back to New York," Angela said. "She asked about you. I couldn't really answer..."
"Oh? She knows my number. Anna just left for France a few days ago. Did you see her or no?"
"I happened to greet her at the airport before I came here. She seemed angry about something, so I'm assuming something is going on with her and...Rico?"
I thought about what Cameron told me. I still didn't believe it. Why would Lexi do such a thing? So vulgar. Did I know her like I thought I did? I guess not. Or did Anna hear about Rico and Jenni? Maybe Ricardo told Anna about Lexi and she's angry her friend is getting accused of something like that. I'm hoping that's not the case. Anna would most likely confront Evan about it. He'd deny everything and she'd believe it.
No! That couldn't be. If Anna goes to Evan about that, then Nikki will know. No one would ever accept Lexi as my wife then.
"So..." I ignored Angela's previous question and took her hands. "Who did your nails? Katherine? one of the twins?"
"Audrey. I haven't seen Katherine since she came here. Or Callie." She frowned.
"Weird. Did the twins say where they were?"
"...No. How's Lexi? I heard she was in the hospital."
I dropped one of her hands and entwined our fingers. We began walking down the sidewalk not really talking. I was thinking about how to tell her about Lexi. Everyone knew how much Angela hated Lexi. Why would I waste my energy telling her about a person she's never had any interest in?
"...She's fine," I muttered. "The last I heard. I was going to see her earlier, but Wayne happened."
"So, is it over with you and Jenni?"
"What makes you ask that?" I let out a small chuckle.
"I don't know. We're holding hands and you hugged me all on your own earlier. I say you're either fighting or...you're finished with her."
"You're extremely observant." I sighed. "She decided to sleep with Ricardo and that's that. I'm not telling Anna anything, so she'll find out everything in due time. Not unless she already knows. Jenni even had the audacity to deny it all."
"The guilty shall continue to plead innocence until proven guilty."
"...Where's that coming from?"
Angela laughed and squeezed my hand. This was perfect. Me out with an ex who did me wrong so long ago whom I hadn't seen in so long. She's more happy to be with me than I was to just hear her voice. Not like Jenni who seemed to take my love and trust for granted. I guess everyone is going to sleep with my cousins to get back at me then. This one just hurts worse, because Rico has always been my favorite cousin.
"You know...I thought you were never going to contact me ever again. When you suddenly ditched me and ran off with Jenni," Angela murmured.
"I mean Vincent missed you so I got hell for that. When I brought her to my apartment he almost decapitated me."
"How long did it take him to get used to her?"
"Almost a year. He gave her hell for most of it until she finally went off on him."
"You let her do that!"
I shrugged. "It was either that or he'd continue to disrespect her."
Angela laughed. It sounded strained like she was faking it but it did put a smile on my face. We stopped at a food truck and bought some burgers. They weren't great, but they weren't nasty. We sat on a nearby bench and people watched. I was mostly looking for reporters, so I wasn't really listening when she pointed out the fashion trend for the month. It seemed like the women were into shorts and long shirts.
"How is Vincent anyway?" Angela asked after a short moment of silence.
"He could be better," I said.
"Could be?"
"Imagine having me as your father and Lexi as your mother. Danger and trouble is going to head his way no matter how hard I try to protect him. After Lexi told everyone she was his mother at the gala...reporters have been stalking him when he isn't with me."
"...It can't be that bad."
"It's more than that, Angie."
"Well, does he know about the thing?"
I smiled and shook my head in amusement. Of course he didn't know. Or at least I didn't think he did. Why would I put him in even more danger than he already was? I wasn't looking for a better life for him, I was looking for a safer one. It wasn't working so far.
"Is that a no or I asked a stupid question?" She asked.
"I don't even know," I said. "I just don't want him to have to figure it out on his own if I never get the chance to tell him myself."
"He's smarter and braver than you think, Ash. Don't count on him to ask you about it himself. He probably won't even be mad at you."
"That's what I'm afraid of..."
Angela laughed once more and rested a hand on my thigh. I didn't try to move it. Jenni never once showed this type of affection to me. Was it because she felt guilty about dating me just to get family secrets from me? Or was it because she wasn't used to affection because she was a reporter? Either way, I never got to express how much I was grateful for her.
"When did you meet Lexi?" She asked suddenly.
Wow! Way to change the subject.
"It's not as glamorous as you think," I said.
"Just tell me. It can't be that boring."
I sighed and placed a hand on top of hers. How hard was this going to be? All I had to do was work my way around the truth as much as I could.
"Um...I do remember walking with to her house for the first time with Wayne and one of her early bodyguards. Lexi had left the house seconds before and introduced herself to me. I thought she was weird, but I literally think that about a bunch of people.
Her parents were inside arguing. At the time, Brad and her mother were having a falling out, so I heard arguing was normal for Lexi. The police were suddenly squealing past the gate up their driveway. The bodyguard knew what was and we all raced to find Lexi."
"What happened after that?"
"Not much. While Brad was being taken away, I comforted Lexi and basically slid into her life. Her mother seemed to know me--and I'll never figure out why--and kicked me out. We met in secret after that until her mom finally moved on and had another guy as a distraction."
Angela seemed to be thinking hard about something as I finished. Was she not going to say anything?
"How famous was she when...you dated?" She asked.
So. Many. Questions!
"Hmm...not as famous as she is now. She was mostly singing songs given to her and modeling a bit. She wasn't as famous as me, because if I even showed my hair reporters knew it was me. I do remember running from dispatch though. It was the last time I bought Lexi out in public." I laughed. Thinking about that again was hilarious. I never found the situation funny at the time.
We laughed together and I realized the situation was even more funny. Angela's laugh made me die on the inside every single time. It sounded like a pig, so everyone passing us was looking at us weird. I was more worried about being recognized, so I told Angela it wasn't that funny but kept laughing.
"Oooh, we should go to the park!" She announced.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm not trying to get chased by dispatch again."
"I'm not worried about dispatch right now. I just want to see a park again. I didn't get a chance when I was in France. Plus, the sun is about to set and I haven't seen a pretty sunset in months."
"Ready to be in the tabloid?"
Angela nodded and stood up. I did the same immediately checking for any reporters trying to stalk us. Today was not the day to mess with me. I'd rather end up on the news rather than some magazine people only ready for juicy stories. I was still in my uniform and had my gun and taser, so I can plead self defense if someone tries to get too close.
We continued to walk for a while. I hadn't been to the park in so long that I'd forgotten that one was just a little ways down from where we had been sitting. We passed it twice! Angela claimed she would rather calm her mind than worry about getting caught on camera. I thought otherwise. We were two French models holding hands and walking around close to late evening. We were walking talking tabloid articles. They were out and about and it made me uneasy.
"When do you go back to France?" I asked.
"..Don't do that," Angela muttered. "I don't want to think about it."
"What if I want to go back with you?"
"Liar."
"True, but I really want to know. I don't want you to suddenly disappear on me like you did two years ago."
"Never going to happen again."
I laughed. Who would have thought I'd be enjoying a chat with her right now? I claimed to hate her for how she hurt me when we broke up, but now it was refreshing. Like a gathering with old friends.
"...So, when are you going back?"
"That's none of your business."