Taking a cautious look to the left and right, but not seeing anyone, I straightened, edging forwards as the woman rolled over and looked up at me.
"Lexi?" she whimpered, her bloodied hands clutching her leg.
I frowned as my jaw dropped. "Penelope? What happened?"
"Someone jumped over that fence and rushed me. He knocked me down and... and... I think a gun went off. I think I've been shot!"
"Shot?" I took in her dark jeans, black sweater, and ballet pumps as cold fear went through me. Did I shoot her in the scuffle? As I thought that, it didn't ring true... Where was the ski mask? And the dark jacket missing the material I ripped off it? Where were the boots that kicked me?
"It hurts so bad," Penelope moaned, tears rolling down her cheeks. She nodded in the opposite direction. "I think he took off down the alley. What happened? I don't understand! Why would someone shoot me? He didn't even take anything."
"It happened just now?"
"Yes. I've never heard a gun go off before. It was so loud!"
"Did you see who did it?"
"No, he wore a mask. I was just walking back along here and suddenly, there he was. I was taking a shortcut to Rob's house; and he, this guy, jumped over the fence and I think I must’ve surprised him. He lifted his hand and I thought he was going to mug me, until I saw the gun. I tried to knock it out of his hand, but he hit me and I fell, and then he shot me. I thought I was going to die. Am I going to die?"
I knelt beside her, taking another close look at her leg. Her jeans were damp, but there wasn't any spurting blood pooling around her. That was a good sign. "The bleeding is slow. I don't think any major arteries were hit."
"I need an ambulance," she wailed.
As soon as she said it, someone yelled my name before I heard a stampede of feet. A vehicle turned into the alley, flooding it with light from the high beams, almost blinding me before someone skidded to a halt next to us.
"Lexi, are you okay? I heard gunshots." Maddox panted as he slid to a stop in the dirt.
"I'm okay. I saw the person exiting at the back of the house. We fought, but he got away and raced into the alley. I chased him but I was too slow. Penelope surprised him and got shot," I told him quickly. "Is Juliet okay?"
"She's fine. One of Solomon's men is with her and the police are on their way."
"Who's that?" I asked, nodding to the car. The door opened and black boots hit the ground. The beam blinded me as to the boot owner’s identity, but moments later, Solomon was crouching beside me.
"You rushed an armed assailant?" he asked, running his eyes over me before glancing toward Penelope.
"He wasn't armed..." I stopped. Where the hell was my gun? Fear flooded me, followed by a wave of dizziness.
"You should have waited for backup."
"Maddox was my backup."
The two men nodded to each other. "You know I have the house under surveillance," said Solomon.
"They didn't see anyone break in, did they?" I didn't need to wait for an answer. I knew they hadn't, otherwise they would have protected Juliet faster than Maddox and I could have gotten there. "I called you first, but no one picked up; and Juliet needed help. I couldn't wait."
"What were you doing in the alley?" Solomon asked, his attention turning to Penelope. Another man joined us, dropping to the ground, with an emergency medical kit in his hand. Fletcher. I wondered if he were the one working surveillance.
"I was taking a shortcut and thought I'd save time by walking through the alley and going in through the side access to the house. I thought I'd drop by since I knew Rob was going out. I planned to keep Juliet company. Plus, Robbie is at my mom's and I had free time. I thought it was safe. Bedford Hills isn't exactly Frederickstown! Ow! Ow!" she whimpered as Fletcher applied a gauze pad to her leg with one hand while dialing 911 with his other.
I slowly got to my feet, feeling like I just ran a half-marathon without any training. The world spun around me and I blinked through the dizziness, relaxing into a pair of hard arms and a warm chest.
"You're hurt," Solomon said, his hands slipping down my torso. "And bleeding."
"It must be Penelope's blood," I muttered, glancing down at the oozing crimson on my side. Did other people's blood ooze?
Solomon unzipped my jacket and gently pulled it off. "No, sweetheart, you've been shot."
"Aw, crap. Again?"
"I think the assailant stole your top," he said as we both took in my pale skin and pink bra. He tucked my jacket around my shoulders and said something to Maddox. Maddox jogged over to Solomon's SUV, popped the trunk, and returned a moment later with a clean t-shirt for Solomon to slide over one arm. I drew the line at lifting the other after my skin burned with the stretching of my wound. Solomon tightened his arms around me. "You'll be okay," he whispered into my ear. "It's only a flesh wound. You were damn lucky, Lexi. Damn lucky he was a bad shot."
The ambulance was there in minutes. They loaded Penelope onto the bed inside, slipped an oxygen mask over her face, and herded us away. The EMT looked me over, and confirmed I wasn't ready to bleed out imminently, but advised me to get looked over anyway. He made no comment on my strange attire. But just as he was climbing into the cab of the ambulance, he told me I looked familiar and asked if he’d treated me before. I was afraid to reply honestly that he probably had.
"You know, if I'd known you were topless, I would have gotten here much faster," said Solomon softly. We were walking back to the house, his arm around me, carefully avoiding my padded side. The garden gate stood open. Maddox and Fletcher walked behind us as we headed for it while someone, I wasn’t sure who, kept a watch on the crime scene.
"Remind me to text you that in future. Anyway, I was getting a shower when Juliet called. I forgot to put my top on," I explained.
"And Maddox?"
"He's definitely wearing a top."
Solomon raised his eyebrow.
"I tried everyone; and I had no one else to call, so I called him and he met me here," I explained.
"Why didn't you alert my men?"
"I would have if I’d known who was running surveillance."
Solomon sighed. "It was Flaherty. I'll give you a copy of the rota."
"Thank you."
"They saw you at the porch when Maddox drew his weapon so they called me and followed you two. I got here as fast as I could."
"Where were you?"
"Meeting with Lancaster Friedland."
"And you didn't tell me?" I asked a little too loudly, but probably not nearly indignantly enough.
"It was a last minute thing."
"Did you learn anything?"
"Lucas is working with their IT department. He wants to narrow down all the trades made and match those timings to Juliet's location, which should have been at her computer. We've also added in the emails Juliet was purported to have sent to her assistant and a few other people. The list is long, so it's going to take a little time. Fortunately, the firm has good security; I'm hopeful we can definitely prove Juliet's whereabouts conflicts with the times and dates the rogue trades were made."