“Of course,” I mumbled, pulling the sheets away from my body.

Lee’s hands took mine and my eyes went back to his. “Vance didn’t agree. Said he needed to do it. I want you to be there for him and Nick. They’re gonna need you. Vance agreed to that.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Hurry, Vance is waiting downstairs.”

I flew from the bed, got dressed faster than I ever had in my life and ran downstairs.

Vance was standing, staring out the front window. I noticed he was wearing one of Lee’s sweaters and I didn’t want to know what that meant.

Lee was on the phone.

Lee said, “Gotta go,” into the phone when he saw me and flipped it shut.

Vance’s eyes moved to mine and I felt my stomach pitch by what I saw in his.

Or more to the point, what I didn’t.

I bit my top lip and swallowed then released it.

“Hey Vance,” I said.

He lifted his chin.

“Let’s go,” Lee was already moving to the backdoor.

Lee had the Explorer blocking the back alley. I wanted to sit in the back but Vance opened the front door for me and motioned me in.

“You…” I started.

He shook his head.

I didn’t delay any further.

Lee drove the two blocks to Jules’s house while I was turned in my seat to Vance. “What do you want me to do?”

Vance was looking out the window but when I asked my question his eyes moved to mine again and he said, “Just be you.”

I nodded, not really knowing what that meant but thinking I could at least do that.

Lee stopped and idled and Vance was out the door. I looked at Lee. He jerked his chin toward my door. I nodded again and trailed Vance to Nick’s door.

Vance knocked and I stood next to him. I felt stupid just standing next to him so I reached out and touched his hand with my knuckles. Immediately his hand twisted and his fingers closed over mine hard. I bit my upper lip again as his hand crushed mine but I didn’t make a peep.

The outside light came on, the door opened and Nick stood there. He looked through the screen at Vance then at me then back to Vance.

Vance and I watched as he closed his eyes tight and before Vance or I could say a word he opened his eyes again and I had to suck in both of my lips at the pain written on his face.

Then he pushed open the screen door and he said, “Come in and sit while I get dressed.”

* * * * *

Roxie

Hank’s phone rang.

I was warm and cozy, stuck between the heat of Hank and our chocolate lab, Shamus. I felt the cold air as Hank rolled away.

“Yeah?” I heard him say. I was already falling back to sleep, cuddling into Shamus’s warm, soft fur when I heard Hank say in a quiet, tortured voice I’d never heard him use before, “No.”

I turned and looked at him in the dark and as I did that he sat up, twisted and switched on the light. Then his whisky-colored eyes moved to mine and what I saw there made me stare.

“We’ll be there. Yeah. Shit. Yeah.” He flipped his phone shut.

“Whisky?” I called.

He put his hands under my armpits, pulled me toward him, across his lap and buried his face in my neck as his arms went tight around me.

“Whisky,” I whispered, beginning to tremble. Something was wrong, really wrong.

His head came up and his eyes found mine. “Sunshine, Jules has been shot. Twice. It’s bad. We gotta go.”

My breath caught painfully at this news but Hank either didn’t notice or he wasn’t going to be delayed. He got up, arms around me taking me with him. When he was standing, he set me on my feet.

We dressed silently. Hank finished first (as usual) and let Shamus out the back for a quick break before we left.

We made it to the hospital and I saw Eddie and Jet first. They were already in the waiting room. Jet was sitting with Sniff, arm around him and he was staring at the floor. Eddie was pacing. My eyes scanned the room and I saw Indy with Jules’s Uncle Nick, both sitting, Indy holding his hand.

I kept scanning and Vance was there too, standing and staring out a window. Lee was with him, not close, but also not far.

Hank started to go to Lee but stopped when the door opened behind us and Bobby walked in. Lee’s eyes had come to us when we arrived but when he saw Bobby he came our way.

“What?” Lee asked Bobby when he arrived at us.

I peeked at Vance, his eyes hadn’t moved from the window.

I found this alarming. Vance was a Nightingale Man, an action man, Mr. Alert and he hadn’t even moved, not a muscle, not when Hank and I arrived, not even when Bobby arrived.

My gaze swung to Jet, who caught my look and shook her head then to Indy, who did the same. I felt suddenly cold and was about to move to Vance when Hank’s hand squeezed mine and Eddie hit our huddle.

“We had to lock Luke down,” Bobby told Lee and I drew in my breath at this latest bit of shocking news. “Mace did it. Luke lost it. Totally pissed at Hector for taking Jules to Cordova. Doesn’t give a shit that Hector didn’t know about Shard,” Bobby’s eyes moved to Vance. “I thought you might need me… Vance.”

I didn’t know what he was talking about but whatever it was, it certainly wasn’t good.

“Vance is hangin’ in there,” Lee said.

Bobby nodded and his eyes moved from Vance to Lee.

Then Bobby drew in a deep breath. “I waited,” Bobby said on an exhale and he blinked slowly then kept talking, “until Vance got up to the offices. I saw him on the monitors parking the Explorer. I figured I could wait to tell him about Hector breaking into Law’s place until Vance got upstairs. Five minutes could have –”

“Get it out of your head,” Lee ordered.

“I shouldn’t have waited,” Bobby replied.

Lee leaned in, face tight and serious. “Bobby, right now, get it out of your f**king head.”

Bobby nodded once then his gaze sliced to Vance. He shook his head sharply then he turned and was gone.

We all watched the doors close behind Bobby and my heart went out to him because obviously he was blaming himself for something but I turned as Lee spoke.

“Fuck,” Lee whispered, “he shouldn’t have f**king waited.”

I leaned into Hank and Hank’s lips went to my ear.

“Go to Vance now,” he told me.

I nodded. Hank dropped my hand. I walked across the room and slid my arm around Vance’s waist.

He turned to me and when his eyes hit mine, I blinked.

His eyes were dead. They weren’t blank, they were dead.