Giving It All

by Arianna Hart

  At one point, he scanned the area until he saw her sitting in the car, then he focused back on what he was saying to the officer. Ellie was surprised to note less than half an hour had gone by since they’d pulled into the alley. It felt like hours had passed since they’d been in the warehouse.

  She jolted as Grant tapped on the window of the car. When he saw he’d gotten her attention, he opened the door. “The cops want to talk to you, get your statement.”

  “Oh, okay. I don’t really know much.” How had he gotten over to the car without her noticing? It was like she was watching a movie with parts of it skipping forward randomly.

  “They just want to see if our stories match, that’s all.”

  He helped her out of the car, and she couldn’t believe she needed his assistance. Her legs were a little shaky and her head did a quick spin before settling down again.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, just, you know, the shock of everything. I’m not used to having bleeding people at the office. What happened? Is Greg going to be okay?”

  “I don’t know. He was pretty badly beaten and had a stab wound in his stomach.”

  Ellie wondered who would have done that to Greg, but she couldn’t focus her thoughts. Her brain kept going fuzzy every time she saw the blood on Grant’s shirt.

  The police officer waved her over, but she waited as the EMTs came out of the office. She watched them load the stretcher carrying a too still Greg into the ambulance before she walked over to the officer.

  “Miss Hall?” he asked as she reached him.

  “Yes. Elyana Hall. Ellie.” The sight of Greg strapped to the stretcher threw off the blanket of calm she’d wrapped around herself in the car. Her knees began to tremble again, but she forced herself to suck it up.

  “Mr. Anderson said the two of you came here to talk to the other Mr. Anderson about the business.”

  “Yes. There were some discrepancies in the bookkeeping and we wanted to get them straightened out.” There was no way she was getting into everything that was screwy with the business right now.

  “Then what happened?”

  “Grant told me to wait in the car. He wanted to talk to Greg alone first. He opened the door and went inside, then like a minute later, he told me to call 9-1-1.”

  “Was the door locked or unlocked?”

  “I don’t know,” Ellie said. She thought for a moment, replaying the scene in her head. “I think it was unlocked. Grant has the keys to the store, but I don’t think he used them.”

  “What happened next?”

  “He asked me for a tampon and told me to go around front to direct the ambulance where to go.”

  “A tampon?”

  “To help control the bleeding. I read about it online before. They expand, you see, and help put pressure on the wound as they’re absorbing the blood.” Ellie clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from babbling. The ambulance backed out of the alley and she heard the sirens as it pulled on the street.

  “Can I have your address and phone number, please? A detective will be contacting you for some follow-up questions, probably tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Sure.” She gave the officer her information and waited while he wrote it down in his little book.

  “Do you live with Mr. Grant Anderson?”

  “No. I have an apartment above his parents’ garage. We use the same mailbox, it’s easier that way.”

  “I see. Someone will be in touch with you.”

  “Thank you.” Ellie stood there like a dope as the officer walked back to Grant and then climbed into his cruiser. She was still standing where he’d left her when Grant finished locking the office door.

  “I’d really like to get a look inside this thing, but not while the cops are securing the scene,” he said, indicating the storage container.

  “We should go to the hospital. Someone should call Greg’s mom. I think your mom has her number in Florida.”

  “I need to change my shirt, this one is ruined.”

  Ellie got a little woozy again as she looked at the blood spatters on Grant’s shirt. “We can swing by a store on the way to the hospital. I’ll run in and get you a shirt and you can call your mom.”

  “Efficient. We should grab something to eat too. Hospital food sucks, and we may be there for a long time.”

  Ellie couldn’t imagine eating anything after seeing Grant covered in blood. “After we get you a new shirt. I’m finding I don’t handle the sight of blood very well.”

  “It doesn’t bother me if it isn’t mine. Come on, I’ll drive.”

  Ellie gladly handed her keys to him. Her normally logical mind was in a daze and she couldn’t seem to figure out the next step. Thank God, Grant was here. If she’d been the one to find Greg, she probably would have panicked, and he would have bled out while she was passed out on the floor next to him.

  Just the thought of that had her stomach lurching and she barely made it to the garbage can outside of the store before she retched. Her face was hot and her mouth felt like the inside of a sewer by the time she was done. Grant handed her a damp handkerchief and a mint.

  “Thanks,” she said weakly, wiping her face with the cloth before popping the mint into her mouth. “I really don’t handle blood well. Gramma thought it had to do with being in the car after the accident that killed my parents. I don’t remember anything about that, but I’ve never done well when someone is bleeding.” God, she was babbling again. “I guess it’s a good thing I never decided to be a soldier, huh?”

  “I’ve seen soldiers pass out at the sight of their own blood. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m glad to see you’re human too.” He led her to the car and handed her a lukewarm water bottle. “You know, it pisses everyone else off when you’re so scarily efficient and organized. It’s good to see you make mistakes like the rest of us.” He smiled and kissed her forehead before crossing to the driver’s side.

  Ellie leaned her head back against the headrest and knew she was all too human and capable of many mistakes. She just hoped the one her heart was making wouldn’t hurt her for the rest of her life.

  Chapter Twenty

  Grant hung up with his mother after making sure she’d stay home with his dad and not come to the hospital. She was going to call his Aunt Karen and fill her in on Greg’s condition as soon as they had some news.

  He should probably feel guiltier for not rushing to the hospital to check on Greg himself, but he just couldn’t work up the emotion. Greg had tangled himself in something nasty, and now Grant was going to have to untangle the mess he’d made. The stupid fuck had been beaten and stabbed, and if Grant hadn’t found him when he did, Greg probably would have bled out on the office floor.

  What if Ellie had been the one to find him? Or his mom? If either of them had come on their own to check out the store, they could have interrupted whoever had worked Greg over. If whatever Greg was involved in spilled over onto his mom or Ellie, Greg would consider his current condition nirvana.

  If he lived. He’d lost a shitload of blood and gut wounds were always chancy. Grant didn’t want to think about breaking the news to his aunt that her only son was dead, so for that he hoped the asshole lived.

  Ellie came out of the Wal-Mart with a lot more bags than a T-shirt would require. He pulled the car around so she wouldn’t have to search for where he’d parked.

  “How many shirts did you buy?” he said as she climbed in.

  “Just one. I got you a new shirt, me a sweatshirt because I’m always freezing in the hospital, some bottled water, snacks and a couple puzzle books to keep us busy while we wait. It always takes forever in the waiting room and the magazines are usually old and boring.”

  “You sound like you have a lot of experience.”

  “Unfortunately, yes. My grandmother was in and out of the hospital a lot. She had diabet
es, so it felt like we were always in for some complication or another. Then when your dad got sick, I’d try to spell your mom for a little bit. It didn’t always work, but sometimes I managed to get her to go home and get some rest. I’m a pro at hospital procedures.”

  “Better you than me. I only know them from the other side of the waiting-room door, and that sucked ass. I never wanted to darken a hospital’s doors again.”

  “I’ll bet. You’ve already spent enough time in hospitals. At least this time you’ll get to go home and sleep without someone waking you up every half hour to take your vitals.”

  “Thank God for that. Am I going the right way? I sort of remember how to get there, but it’s been a long time.”

  “Yup. Take a right up there at the second traffic light and follow the signs to the emergency room. You should probably be the one to go in, there’ll be forms to fill out and you’re his closest family member. I’ll park the car and meet you in the waiting room.”

  “I don’t even know who his emergency contact is. I’m not going to be much help at all.”

  “Just do what you can. We can ask your mom to ask his mom anything we can’t figure out ourselves. At least I know his birthdate, social security number and insurance policy number.”

  “Maybe I should park the car and you should deal with the forms.”

  “They won’t give them to me, privacy laws.”

  “Stupid. Okay. I’ll stall until you get there.”

  “Change your shirt first,” she said, handing him a bag as he stopped the car.

  He put the car in park and then stripped out of his stained shirt. Ellie handed him a package of baby wipes and he used those to clean up a bit before he put on the new shirt she’d bought him. It was a bright blue and a little snug but serviceable. He wrapped his blood-spattered one in the empty, plastic bag and tossed it in the backseat.

  “I’ll pay you back when we get home. Thanks.” He ripped off the price tag and stuck it in his pocket.

  “I’m not worried about it. Go on in. I’ll be there as soon as I find a place to park.” He got out and she hustled around the front of the car to get into the driver’s side.

  He stopped her before she could climb in. “Thanks, for everything.” He used his finger to tilt her head up so he could kiss her. “I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here to help.”

  “You’d be fine. I’m just glad I can make it a little easier.” She smiled softly and got behind the wheel.

  Grant shut the door for her and stepped back so she could pull away without running over his toes. He watched her pull out of the emergency-room driveway and turn toward the parking garage. When she was out of sight, he finally quit stalling and headed inside. It was going to be a long night and his adrenaline high had long since crashed.

  Ellie immediately spotted Grant in the crowded waiting room. He sat with his back to the wall and held a clipboard with a sheaf of papers on it. The blue of the shirt made his eyes pop and more than one woman took a moment to appreciate the fine figure he made in the tight shirt.

  As soon as she stepped through the doors, his eyes focused on her and she felt his glance all the way to her toes. A look of relief crossed his face and she swore she heard him mutter, “Thank God,” as she got closer.

  “I was able to fill out his name and phone number, and that was it. I don’t even have his address.”

  “I’ll take care of it. Have you heard anything?”

  “He’s in surgery. They’re not sure if the knife nicked an artery or if he has other internal bleeding from the blunt trauma.”

  “Who would stab him? And you said blunt trauma, like what? A baseball bat?”

  “That or a pipe or a fist. He was worked over by someone, and when they couldn’t get the answers they wanted by beating the hell out of him, they stabbed him and left him for dead.”

  “That’s crazy. This is Canton, not Atlanta. Things like that don’t happen here.”

  “Things like that happen everywhere,” he said with cold finality.

  Ellie filled out as much of the forms as she could. Luckily, most of the information she knew from doing payroll for the store. When she was done, Grant handed them in to the secretary and came back to where she sat.

  “They said we could wait in the surgical waiting room. It’s up one floor.”

  “Okay. Let me grab my stuff.” She slipped her messenger bag over her shoulder and gathered up her purse. She’d stuffed the drinks and snacks in her bag after parking the car so she didn’t have a pile of Wal-Mart bags to haul through the hospital.

  The surgical waiting room was much nicer and had a coffee machine. Ellie made a beeline for it and sighed as the smell of hot coffee filled the air. It might not be the best, but it had caffeine, and she needed that right now.

  Grant sat where he could see both the door to the waiting room and the monitor that had the status of patients scrolling along it. Ellie found a plug for her laptop and sat next to him. As long as she had to wait, she might as well get some work done.

  Usually, the process of making numbers line up and fall into place relaxed her. There was something very soothing about the predictability of accounting. Sure, it got frustrating, especially when people expected her to wave a magic wand and make all their financial woes disappear, but the numbers themselves didn’t lie.

  Most days, she could get lost in her work and let the rest of the world go by. Today, she kept getting distracted every time the door opened or Grant moved. Finally, she realized she wasn’t going to be able to focus and closed her laptop.

  “Who could have done this? Why? I just don’t understand,” she asked.

  “The why I’m sure has something to do with the excess money in the store’s account. As for who, it has to be Greg’s partner.”

  “He has a partner?”

  “There’s someone who’s buying whatever it is he’s getting from Mexico. It sure as hell isn’t car parts.”

  “What do you think it is?” Ellie asked, fearing the worst. “Drugs?”

  “That seems most likely. If his partner had someone in Mexico smuggling the drugs inside the parts, they’d be difficult to spot even with X-ray. Anderson’s is a reputable dealer, and we have an established business. There’s no reason to look all that closely when there are so many other sketchy enterprises setting off red flags with the DEA.”

  “Your poor father. If he finds out his business is being used to smuggle drugs, it will kill him.”

  “I’ll take care of it. He doesn’t have to know. Once we hear what’s going on with Greg’s condition, I’m going back to the store. I want to see what’s inside that storage pod out back. If there are drugs in there, I’ll contact the police right away. Hopefully, they won’t close down the entire business while they investigate.”

  “I can call the clients we lost and tell them you’re taking over while Greg is injured. I’ll let them know we’re going back to our old supplier and offer them discounts to come back to Anderson’s. That is, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Do whatever you think is best. My folks cannot lose their business.”

  Ellie knew he was thinking about his father cashing in his IRA and feeling guilty about it. She wished she could tell him everything would be all right, but she just didn’t know enough to say that with any certainty. If Greg was using the business to smuggle drugs, the DEA could shut them down, even though Mr. Anderson didn’t know anything about it. Eventually, he could get the business back, but the damage would be done and he’d have to start from scratch.

  The Andersons would lose their insurance carrier too, which would be devastating for Mr. Anderson’s rehab. There had to be a way around this. It just wasn’t fair that Grant had given up so much for his country and now there was nothing he could do to help his parents.

  “Do you have any friends in the DEA? Any contact
s?” she asked him.

  Grant thought for a minute before answering. “I think my buddy Dingo has a brother in the DEA in Florida. Why?”

  “Can you find out what will happen to the business if we find out Greg has been using it to smuggle drugs? If they freeze the assets, that will destroy your parents.”

  Grant swore softly as he appeared to think about what she’d said. “I’d better see if I can get in touch with someone. This is going to be a goatfuck in no time.”

  “Maybe if we go to them with our concerns, we can get immunity or something. I can call Nadya and ask her. She’s a lawyer. She should know how that works.”

  “Don’t do anything yet. Let me work my contacts and see what I can find out first.”

  He pulled his cell out of his pocket and fired off a text. Seconds later, it chimed with a return message. “I’m going to find some privacy so I can call Dingo. Shoot me a text if the doctor comes out.”

  “I will. Good luck.”

  “Thanks, I’m gonna need it.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Grant hung up with Dingo and wandered back into the hospital lobby. He felt a little better about the situation knowing his swim buddy was on his side. Dingo said he’d talk to his brother and explain the situation without giving any names. If there was a way out of this mess Greg had gotten them in, Dingo would help him find it.

  Shit, but he didn’t want to go back into that waiting room. Just the smell of the hospital was giving him hives. There was so much pain and suffering, it practically filled the air, suffocating him.

  Man up, pussy.

  Ellie was holding down the fort while he stood in the lobby whining to himself. This wasn’t even her problem, and yet he’d just left her there to wait by herself. He forced himself to go to the bank of elevators and push the Up button.

  While he waited, a man joined him carrying a bouquet of pink roses and a balloon with It’s a Girl! written across it. Grant moved over a step to give him some room and nodded in his direction. He did a double take when he noticed the man was missing his right arm, right eye and had severe scarring along his face and neck.