His deep voice rumbled through me reminding me of the first time I’d heard El speak.
“You know who I am?”
“Yes, you are the woman who saved my youngest son from jail and stole my oldest son’s heart. Your reputation precedes you. I figure that Samuel would be here if it were just a friendly visit. He’s not, and you are, so that means that something happened. I would like to know, in detail, what that something is. I also need to know if Roc is okay.”
“Mr. Elkanah…”
“Reggie, please.”
“Reggie, Roc is okay. Samuel was shot yesterday afternoon. He was leaving the courthouse with one of the lawyers from his firm. Someone came up on the courthouse steps and fired off several rounds. Samuel jumped in front of his colleague, pushing him out of the way but El was hit three times. According to the doctor…” I opened my notebook, so I could read verbatim what Doctor McIntyre had told me. I’d asked him to tell me again so that I could accurately relay the information to Reggie.
“One bullet went through his stomach and missed all the vital organs and arteries. The second bullet went through his back and rested millimeters from his spine. The third bullet hit his upper thigh area, nicking his femoral artery. They were able to carefully remove all three bullets and repair the artery, but they don’t know what the end results may be. Because the bullet was so close to his spine, it can result in a whole host of problems including paralysis. El also sustained a significant gash on his head that caused some swelling in his brain. He lost a lot of blood in transit to the hospital and during surgery.”
I closed my notebook and reached into my bag for a tissue.
“I’m sorry,” I said as I dabbed my eyes.
The tears hadn’t stopped since they started. They took breaks but as soon as I gave myself a minute to think about El’s condition, they started again.
“Can I see that?” Reggie asked motioning towards my notebook.
After sliding the book across the table, I took the time to wipe my face and get myself together. Reggie silently examined the words on the page, took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.
“Who did this to Samuel and why?”
“We don’t know, yet. We have a security firm working on it along with the police.”
“Roc, how is he holding up?”
“We had to talk him down last night. He was about to send his guys on an information gathering mission,” I answered while using air quotes.
“I figured.”
“I can’t say that I totally disagreed, but I knew it wouldn’t help matters. I have every confidence that either Chambers Security will find out who did it or El will wake up and tell us who it was.”
“It appears that right now, you are leading the family?”
“Leading the fam…No, I’m just trying to make sure everything is handled. Vivian and Torrey…”
“Are going to be depending on you to make decisions. Which you’ve already started to do. Did the hospital already put him on a quarantined floor?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did they provide added security?”
“Yes, sir. Countee, the owner of the security firm, brought in some men and he’s running background checks on anyone that will have access to the floor. I spoke with the hospital chief, and she has been very accommodating. All our requests have been met.”
“Whether you like or not, you are leading the family right now. Nothing in life happens by chance or coincidence. You didn’t meet Samuel by happenstance. It was orchestrated because the family needed someone that would fearlessly take the lead during this time. Samuel knew you could do it because he watched you do it with Roc’s case. The family knows you can do it because they too have already seen you at work.”
“I would never make a decision about Samuel without Vivian’s permission.”
“Of course she has the final say, but you make sure her requests are followed. Then you follow your gut and make the necessary decisions. I have a little piece of mind knowing that you are out there directing things. Take care of my family, Ms. Patterson.”
This was the second time a man in this family had asked me to take care of the family. This time around I understood the request and would make sure I honored the request to the best of my ability.
“I will.”
“Good. Please keep me informed of my son’s progress.”