Mr. Hayes glanced in her direction, his face going pale. “That explains some things.”
Tracy snapped her head up at the sound of a car peeling out and scatting little rocks everywhere. “No!” she whispered, taking a step away. It was John Tice and he was well on his way to being long gone.
"What is it?" Mr. Hayes asked, keeping his eyes and the gun on the would-be-assassin.
"It’s John. He’s getting away,” Tracy replied, frustration making her words sharp. “He's not even going to try and help this guy.”
It came as no surprise to either of them. John Tice was the type of guy who got away with things because of his position, even if that meant throwing his hired help under the bus. It was nothing new, but it made Tracy wonder if maybe they had scared him enough to lay low. Maybe her restaurant wouldn’t be worth it to him anymore and they could go back to their lives.
“Get my phone,” Mr. Hayes commanded. “Left back pocket. Just hit the six and hold.”
&nbs
p; Tracy did exactly as he said. Within seconds of being pushed, a voice came through. “Hayes Security. Mr. Hayes, how may I help you?”
“I need a full detail at my current location. Level five,” Mr. Hayes barked. “And tracking on John Tice.”
“Of course sir,” the voice replied. “The estimated time of arrival will be six minutes.”
Tracy stared at the phone. It was a ten minute drive just to the highway.
“I also need a doctor,” Mr. Hayes added, his voice softening slightly.
“One of the security detail is a fully trained medic, sir. Will that suffice or would you prefer a medical doctor?” the voice asked. “ETA for a MD is thirty minutes.”
“The medic will suffice until the doctor gets here,” Mr. Hayes replied. “But I want the doctor.”
“Of course, sir. The team will be there shortly. Would you like me to stay on the line until they arrive?”
“That's not necessary,” Mr. Hayes informed the voice.
“Of course, Mr. Hayes. Have a nice day.”
The line disconnected and Tracy stared at the phone for a moment.
“What was that?”
“Private security,” Mr. Hayes answered, as if it were obvious.
“Why the hell didn't you bring them to this?” Tracy shouted. She glared at him, but he was focused on keeping the gun pointed at the unconscious man. Right now, he was their only lead.
“Because John said to come alone,” Mr. Hayes replied, his voice aggravatingly patient. “I have no doubt that he would have discovered them. I'm honestly surprised he didn't know you were here.”
“Well, I'm sneaky,” Tracy said, holding her arm. Somehow, it hurt more now than when she was first shot. “Plus, no one looks twice at a crappy old car. There's a reason I didn't drive the Porsche.”
Mr. Hayes smiled. “That's my girl.”
He was going to say more, but the heavy hum of a helicopter stopped him. Tracy now understood how the security team was arriving so quickly. They were flying in.
Tracy gripped her arm while she waited for the helicopter to land. Luckily, the parking lot was empty as it was still ridiculously early. There were no workers yet, so the helicopter had ample space. She closed her eyes from the dust and waited for the blades to slow.
Everything moved in a blur. Men in dark uniforms with weapons took the gun from Mr. Hayes and bound the hands of the man from her dreams. He disappeared off somewhere and Tracy was sure she didn't want to know where he went. One of the men pulled her aside and poked and prodded her arm, making sure that it was just a flesh wound.
“You'll need stitches,” he told her, carefully wrapping her arm in a bandage. Crimson quickly seeped through the pristine white. “Luckily, the bullet just grazed you. You must have a guardian angel looking out for you.”
Tracy laughed at that. She'd heard it before. Her guardian angel needed to work on its skills. Getting hit by a drunk driver and shot within the same year couldn't be the mark of a good angel. She was going to need to speak with whoever was in charge one of these days.
“How are you doing?” Mr. Hayes asked her, leaving the group of uniformed men working on a computer.