Neighbors and More (High Rise Series) (12 page)

The other nurse announced, “EKG normal.”

Standing next to Alexa’s bed, Dante caressed her forehead. Her
eyelids fluttered. She fixed a tired look on him, her beautiful green eyes
shimmering with fear and distrust of her surroundings. “You’ll be fine, Alexa.”
He was beginning to sound like a broken record to his own ears. His jaws
tightened in frustration. How many times had he assured her she’d be fine? Yet,
he’d been proven wrong.

“Don’t leave me, please.”

“Never.” He enfolded her cold hand between both of his.
She’d been his top priority since his return from Sicily, and he’d been at her
side continuously. Except this morning. Someone lurked, ready to hurt her. Who
and why?

The policeman stood at the door, his gaze flipping from
Alexa to Dante. “Is she in a condition to give us a report?”

“I’m her lawyer. She told me a man wearing a black mask
tried to drown her while she was swimming in the ocean. It’s a miracle she
managed to survive.”  

The policeman pulled a form from a folder he held and
scribbled on it. “Any witnesses?”

“No one was there at the time. Later the man cleaning the
beach stopped his bulldozer to help her when she collapsed on the sand.”

“Can you please, read this, and have the lady sign here?”
the policeman said after recording the information.

Dante carefully read through the written words. “It’s good.
She’ll give you more details later when she’s in a better condition.”

After Alexa signed, the policeman tucked the report into his
folder. “I’ll file it at the police station. An officer will contact you later.
I hope you feel better, Ma’am,” he added.

As soon as he left, Dante texted on his phone, calling the
detective. “Ladd will be here soon,” he said to Alexa.

A young man in white coat approached her gurney. “Mrs. Partson,
I’m Dr. Morse, the ER attending doctor.” He glanced at Dante. “Are you her
husband?”

“No, her lawyer.”

“Can you please step out? I want to examine her.”

“Stay, Dante.” She squeezed his hand, her eyes begging him
not to leave her. “Doctor, let him stay. He’s my friend.”

Dr. Morse raised his eyebrows, then shrugged. “Okay.”
Without further comments, he examined her with his stethoscope, listened to her
lungs, looked into her eyes with a light, poked at her stomach and belly.

“As far as I can see you’re fine, but we’ll have your
stomach pumped, in case you swallowed a lot of salt water. And I want an x-ray
of your chest. I’ll prescribe pills for your high BP and for anxiety.”

“No drugs, please,” Alexa protested. “I won’t take any.”

 The physician crossed his arms over his chest and studied
her. “They would help you. You’ve obviously been through a big shock.”

She shook her head frantically. “No drugs.”

Dr. Morse glanced at Dante who nodded. “She’s never taken sedatives
and doesn’t like them.”

“In that case, we’ll continue the oxygen, and keep you here
under observation for a few hours.”

Alexa sighed.

“Much better, thank you, doctor.” Dante offered her a
reassuring smile.

“The nurse will take you for an x-ray, now.”

“Dante,” Alexa called.

“I’m coming with you.”

****

An hour later, Alexa rested in the ER room, lungs x-rayed
and stomach pumped. Sitting by her bed, Dante held her hand, glad that she’d recovered
from her previous panic. With the oxygen tube still in her nose, she seemed to
breathe better than when he’d brought her to the emergency room.

“How did you come on time to help me?”

“Not on time. Unfortunately. When I woke up, I glanced out
of the balcony and saw you relaxing and floating on your back. So I decided to
join you for a swim. That scum must have attacked you while I was on my way to
the beach. Can you tell me what happened exactly?”

She related her terrifying ordeal. “Do you think someone
else may have seen him?”

Thank God, she was back to her logical self, questioning and
analyzing. “Difficult to tell at that early hour. It’ll be up to Detective Ladd
to find out.”

“Find out what?” The detective stood at the door, as if
mentioning his name had attracted him to her room.

“Someone tried to kill Alexa.”

“Hold on.” The detective switched on his little recorder and
pulled his yellow pad and pencil. “Go on.”

She repeated her story.

“How could you hold your breath for so long under water?”

“It’s a technique I’ve learned in water ballet. I covered my
mouth and nose with my hand, and concentrated on counting the seconds. Except I
did it for too long. My chest hurt and I started swallowing water.”

“Were you able to identify your attacker?”   

“He had a ski mask. I felt the knitted material when I tried
to scratch his face.”

 Ladd kept scribbling on his pad. “Did anyone see him
attacking you?”

“I don’t know. I was too busy struggling to save myself. Maybe
the bulldozer driver saw my attacker. Maybe one of the neighbors was on the
balcony and witnessed the scene.”

His eyebrows scrunched. “I will certainly interrogate them.”

“Your suspect in Bairey’s death is the same one who tried to
kill me.” Hopefully, the morning’s dreadful episode had let her off the hook.

“That has still to be proven.” Ladd’s ominous tone grated on
her nerves, but Dante’s finger rubbed against her palm, warning her to watch
her words. She sighed and clamped her jaws.

How would she have survived today, if not for Dante’s
unwavering support? Would he always be ready to bail her out of trouble?
Don’t
count on it, girl
. Greg had offered his help, support, and love. Where had
that led?

But Dante was not Greg.

“Anything else? Mrs. Partson, are you listening?”

No, she was not. And she hated to be called, Mrs. Partson.
Especially when she’d stopped being Mrs. Partson three years ago, and didn’t
want to be reminded of her old ex.

“Mrs. Parts—”

“Please, stop calling me that. I’m divorced.”

“Oh? Isn’t that your official name, Alexa Partson?”

Dante’s thumb stroked her again and his warm fingers
enveloped her hand. “Alexa would prefer to be called by her name. Or Ms. Alexa
if you insist on being formal,” Dante added with a chuckle.

Ladd raised a sarcastic eyebrow and shrugged. “We’re done. I
hope you feel better soon, Ms. Alexa.” He glanced at Dante. “Wherever you two
go, make sure I can reach you. I’ll see you tomorrow at the funeral.” He left,
and she glared at his back.

 “How do you feel now?” Dante asked after the detective
left.

“I’m good. The chest pain is gone and I can breathe
normally.” She slipped out the oxygen tube and inhaled. “Really, I’m well
enough to check out. But...”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to go home. Oh Dante, I’ll look at every man in
the building and wonder if he was the one who attacked me.”

“It’s a good way to be continuously on your guard. But I’ll
be with you. All the time,” he added with a tender smile that reached deep into
her heart.

Yes, Dante was not like Greg. She brought their entwined
hands to her mouth and pressed her lips on his fingers.

He bent and kissed her cheek. “Hey, we can’t start something
here. In an ER room. Unless...” He grinned, waggled his eyebrows, and then went
to close the door.

“Are you crazy? The medics will kick me out.” Her pulse
accelerated, but she chuckled at his antics.

“If they catch us.” They burst out laughing. He leaned over
her and gave her a searing kiss. Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled
him over her, delighted to forget her misery in his arms, and eagerly returned
his kiss. The hospital loud speaker intruded on their delightful interlude.
Alexa remembered her surroundings. Snatching her mouth away, she buried her
head against his shoulder. “Take me out of here, Dante.”

He released her and straightened. “I’ll see if the doctor
can discharge you.”

“I wish I could shower.” She scratched her neck and
grimaced. “Sorry, I’m itchy. Can you please ask a nurse to bring me a wet towel?
I want to wipe away the salt water and sand.”

Half an hour later, she was wheeled out of the ER, refreshed
by a sponge bath, and covered with a blanket thrown over her beach dress. While
waiting for Dante to get his car, she switched on her cell phone. Damn, Greg
had left four messages. She shoved the phone back into her pocket. Dante pulled
up to the curb and helped her settle inside his car as carefully as if she were
made of porcelain. She chuckled when he leaned over her to buckle her seatbelt.
“I can do it. Really, I’m good.”

Except that deep in her heart, she still shivered at the
thought that a killer had tried to drown her and the bastard was running lose.
Maybe watching her.

“Greg already called several times,” she said after Dante
exited the parking lot.

Dante glanced at her. “So, are you going to tell him about
today?”

“No, I don’t need his sympathy or his help.” She vehemently
shook her head. From now on she’d stand her ground. Her brush with death had
taught her a valuable lesson. To count only on herself and not let any man
control her. “I just want to stay in my apartment in peace.”

“We’ll be home in a few minutes.” Dante squeezed her hand.
“I know it’s been a horrible day for you, and I can’t forgive myself for not
waking up on time to be there when you needed help.”

“You couldn’t guess what would happen.” She snorted, but
tears filled her eyes. She wiped them with the back of her hand, furious at
herself for this new bout of emotion.

“From now on, I’m sticking to you.” He smiled and then
winked. She couldn’t help laughing at his amorous attempt in the ER. “Aren’t
you supposed to go to work?”

“I’ll call the office to give a few instructions to my
junior lawyers, and then work from home. Actually, we could stop now before
going back home. Would you like to visit my office?”

“Yes. But...” She looked at her beach dress and his t-shirt
and swim trunks. “We’re not presentable.”

“If we go back to our condos to get dressed, we won’t be
able to leave for some time, what with Greg and others calling.” He made a
sudden U-turn. “We’ll make a quick stop at the Mall. Do you think you can buy
an outfit in ten minutes?” His eyebrow rose in challenge.

Amused, she shrugged. “In general, it takes me hours to
choose a dress, but I’ll do it in ten minutes while you buy yourself a decent
pair of pants.”

“No, we stick together, remember. I’m coming with you, and
then I’ll drag you to the men’s department.”

“What a fun experience.”

What a nice, cozy experience
. Shopping with Dante,
like a married couple. Her heart tightened, wishing, hoping... She stiffened,
smashing the lid on crazy wishes. No more men in her life. When this horrible
episode ended she’d be on her own, for a long time.

Picking a black skirt and black and white printed shirt, she
rushed into the dressing room, and then modeled it for Dante. “Not your usual
style, but lovely on you. You look like a career woman. Keep them on.” He
called a seller. “My friend likes this outfit and wants to wear it right away.
Can you ring it for me?”

“Sure.” The woman tore the tags, rang the sale, and then put
Alexa’s beach dress in a bag.

“Here are the shoe racks.” Alexa grabbed a high heeled white
pair of pumps that Dante put on his credit card. “I’ll pay you for all that at
home.”

“Not on your life. After all, we’re buying these extras to
visit my office.”

She tried to protest, but he pulled her away. “Now that
you’re outfitted, it’s my turn.”

“It took me less than ten minutes. Let’s see if you can be
as fast.”

Dante burst out laughing. “Definitely a record for you.” On
their way to the men’s department, they passed the perfume counter displaying a
dozen sample vials of various fragrances. Alexa chose one, read the label. “
Boucheron
,
that’s my favorite.” Without hesitation, she sprayed the light floral perfume
on her throat and wrists and raised her hand to Dante. “Do you like it?”

He inhaled and smiled. “Hmm, I love it.” To prove his
approval, he brushed a quick kiss on her wrist. “Don’t tempt me to spend more
time in this store. Let’s go.”

Pulling her hand, he rushed her to the men’s department where
he snatched a white shirt and a pair of navy blue pants, socks and shoes, and
immediately paid for them. “See I’m done. Wait for me at the door of the
fitting room while I change. Don’t move one step.”

 Less than two minutes later, he was out looking so handsome
in his professional clothes. She stared, then sighed and averted her gaze.
Get
a grip, girl
. She’d enjoy her time with him while it lasted. Dante was a
good lawyer, a dear friend and fabulous kisser, but commitment was not on his
agenda, and she needed to become an independent woman.

Chapter Nine

Throwing a quizzical look at the passenger mirror, Alexa
raked her fingers through her hair. “I’m a mess,” she muttered and tried to
tame her tangled locks.

“Open the arm compartment,” Dante suggested, his eyes on the
road as he drove to his office. “You’ll find a comb.”

“You’re a precious friend.” She chuckled and smoothed her
hair. “I don’t have make-up, but—”

“Trust me. You don’t need it.” His voice rang with approval.
She blushed and licked her lips.

Afraid to let intense feelings overwhelm her, she averted
her gaze to glance out of the window. The
BMW
entered a parking lot off
Federal Highway. She scanned the tall glass high rise. “No way, you work here? To
think I pass this building almost every day.”

They rode the elevator to the tenth floor, walked along a
dark carpeted corridor, and stopped in front of a wooden door adorned with a
golden plaque engraved with
Morganstein & Cantari  Law Firm
. Dante
opened the door and let her pass into a reception area.