The Shepherd's Crook Pt. 03

"No. I was in the hall when Tatiana ran out and knocked me down. The door was open, so I came in and saw them on the floor. Liliya told me to call for ambulances, and she ran out the door."

"Why were you in the hall?" the man asked.

Ed was distracted by the knife but looked back at the soldier. "Oh, I was going to my room. Two doors over."

He looked at the medic, checking Ben's wound. The man looked up at the soldiers and Ed.

"We'll need help getting him up on the gurney. We need to keep him level, so the knife won't move."

Ed found himself lined up on one side of Ben. He slid his hands under Ben's shoulder as five big soldiers took their own grips.

"On three, we lift. One. Two. Three!"

Ed did his part, and they smoothly lifted Ben straight up as the paramedic moved the gurney under him. They gently lowered him onto the bed then everyone stepped back as the paramedics strapped Ben down.

"We've got it from here, Ed. Thanks for your help. You should go to your room now," their commander said.

"Why did you call him Wizard?" Ed asked.

The man flashed him a quick smile. "Because that's what he is."

Liliya appeared in the doorway, and Ed could see she was pissed off. He guessed she didn't find Tatiana.

The commando's leader looked at her. "Who are you?"

"Liliya Sokolov. One of Ben's bodyguards."

"Looks like you did a shit job of that. Where's your partner?" the commander snapped.

"Gone. Likely on her way to Russia. She was the one who stabbed him."

The commandos all shared looks and followed the medics with Ben out of the room.

The second team of paramedics entered and quickly transferred Evelyn to their stretcher and hustled her from the room.

Ed was pulled from the room by Liliya, who closed the door, then left him as she ran to the elevator bank.

He turned and walked back to his room. He stood facing the door, unsure what to do next.

The elevator dinged down the hall, and he turned to see who it was.

Louis, Dan, and Mark stepped from the car and approached him with smiles on their faces. The smiles faded as they saw Ed's frown.

Then Louis saw the blood on Ed's shirt and pant legs. He rushed forward. "Ed! What happened? Is that blood?" Dan and Mark quickly joined them.

Ed looked down at himself and realized he got this when he helped Ben onto the gurney.

"It's not mine," he said.

Louis looked into his eyes and saw he was dazed. "Ed, what happened?"

"Tatiana stabbed Ben. The knife... it was sticking out of him." He gestured with a hand to the location the handle was poking out of his gut. "She ran away, and Liliya tried to catch her... but she got away. Tatiana also slashed Evelyn's face." He looked down at himself. "Some of this might be hers."

"I don't understand. Why would Ben's bodyguard attack him?" Mark said.

Louis shook his head. "I don't know. Ed, is Ben alive?"

Ed nodded. "He was when I helped lift him onto the gurney. A team of commandos sent by General Davis arrived to help, but they didn't dress or look like any soldiers I've ever seen." He frowned in confusion again as the expression on Tatiana's face returned to his mind. She wasn't showing anger when she slammed into him in the hall. He wasn't so great at reading people, but he was sure she was desperate and afraid. Maybe it had been an accident?

Louis patted his arm. "Ed, this is what I want you to do." He saw he had the man's attention. "Go inside and take these clothes off in the bathroom. Rinse the blood from them in the bathtub. Take a hot shower, hang the wet clothes to dry, and get ready for bed. Before you go to sleep, I want you to call Grace and talk to her."

Ed smiled and nodded. That was a good idea. She could help him figure this out. "Thank you. Good night!"

The others smiled, and he went inside. He had tasks to accomplish and a call to make.

-=-

After saying their goodnights to Mark, Dan followed Louis into his room as they needed to talk. They took seats across a small coffee table.

Dan nodded to Louis. "Smart thinking, telling him to call home."

Louis looked at his partner. "I'm just following Grace's request. She took me aside to speak to me when we hired Ed. She said if Ed ever seemed to be having a moral dilemma or was struggling with someone's behavior, I was to suggest he call her." Dan nodded in approval.

"The woman is his light in the dark," Louis said with a gentle smile.

"I didn't know you had the heart of a poet," Dan said in surprise.

"How about this one:

There once was a man named Ben Shepherd

Whose project was the biggest on record

The Klein Group was thrilled

But Ben's bodyguard killed

Now the deal has become just a turd."

Dan scowled at his partner. "I take back the poetic heart comment."

Louis shrugged. "But my point is made. The man is reportedly healthy as an ox, but what if he dies from this tonight? Was this contingency in our contract with him? I don't think we contemplated the ramifications of doing business with someone who has three people protecting him from assassins. Real assassins, not the imaginary ones self-delusional people fear are after them."

Dan sighed. "So, we cancel the rest of the appointments and contact the companies we're ready to create contracts with and let them know we're in a holding pattern for word on Ben's health."

Louis pondered that for a moment. "Let me call Ben's lawyer, Walter Greyson. He needs to be informed if he hasn't already been. We can ask him what the contingency plans are."

Dan nodded.

Louis dialed the number and waited while it connected.

"Walter Greyson and Associates. How may I direct your call?"

"Hi, this is Louis Klein calling to speak to Walter Greyson, please."

"Certainly, Mr. Klein. Hold, please."

A moment later, Walter's voice came on. "Walter speaking. What can I do for you, Mr. Klein?"

"Hi Walter, please call me Louis. I have my partner, Dan, with me. May I put you on speaker?"

"Certainly."

Louis pressed the button and put the phone on the table between them. They leaned toward the phone. "Can you hear us?" Louis asked.

"Yes," Walter said.

"I take it from your sunny mood you haven't received news from Ben's team here," Louis said gently.

There was a momentary pause. "No, I haven't. What's happened?"

"Ed Walters, an employee of mine, witnessed the aftermath. He informed me that Ben was stabbed in the abdomen with a knife, apparently by his bodyguard, Tatiana Pushkin. Ben was rushed to a hospital, but we have no information on which one or what his condition currently is. Apparently, Evelyn Killcade was slashed across the face and taken to the hospital. Only Liliya Sokolov remains with him as Tatiana fled the hotel. You might be able to get more information if you have the number for General Davis, as he sent a team of commandos to protect Ben. They arrived after the attack and went to the hospital with Ben and Evelyn."

Walter was quiet for a moment. "Shit."

Dan and Louis shared a look as Walter's voice wobbled.

"Okay. I do have a number I can call to reach the General. I'll see if I can find out more."

"Evelyn was arranging our flights and hotels, and I think we're going to have to put off the rest of the tour, cancel the appointments, and either stay in Germany with Ben until we can fly him home or arrange commercial flights home. Unfortunately, we don't have any of the contact numbers to take care of these things for her."

Walter's voice sounded a little firmer now that he had a plan. "I'll call you back as soon as I've reached the General. Thank you for contacting me. I will do what I can from here. If you could contact the hotel front desk and see about extending your stay for a day or two, that would be helpful."

"We will do that immediately. Thanks, Walter."

"Thanks. Bye." The line went dead.

Louis and Dan shared another look then Louis picked up the handset on the room's phone. He'd deal with that now.

He hoped Walter got some good news from the soldiers the General sent to help Ben.

-=-

Ed rested back against his headboard with the phone on his lap. It had taken a few minutes to figure out how to make a long-distance call, but it was finally ringing.

"Hello?" Grace's voice immediately made him feel better.

"Hi Grace!" he said.

"Ed! What time is it there?"

He looked at the digital clock next to the bed. "Just a little after eleven."

"Shouldn't you be going to bed? You have an early flight to Paris, right?" she said with a smile in her voice.

"I-I don't know if we're going to go to Paris, London, or New York. Ben was stabbed tonight by one of his bodyguards. He was rushed to the hospital, but I don't know how bad his injury is."

"Oh my god, Ed! Are you okay?" she gasped.

Ed shook his head. "I'm really sad about Ben. He's such a nice man, and he was in so much pain. I hope he'll be all right. I don't understand why his own bodyguard would do this. I knew she hadn't been very happy during this trip. She has such a bad temper, but her stabbing Ben doesn't make sense."

"I'm so sorry you went through this, and I'm sure Ben will be okay now that he's at the hospital. You've talked to Louis about this?"

"Yes, he was the one who told me to call you before I went to bed. After I washed all of Ben's blood from my clothes, I mean."

Grace was quiet, and he heard muffled sounds, then she came back on. "Until you have more information on what happened with this bodyguard, there isn't any point in trying to figure out why she did it. She might not have been mentally stable. In the meantime, listen to Louis and Dan, and I'm sure they'll keep on top of this situation. If you have more questions or just want to talk, please call me."

"Thanks, Grace. I knew you'd know what to do. I love you! Send my love to our daughters and to the ladies."

"I will, Ed. Get some sleep now. Things will be clearer in the morning, I promise. I love you, too!"

Ed smiled and hung up. He connected his phone to its charger and turned off the light.

He knew he'd sleep better now that he'd spoken with Grace. She always understood.

Chapter 35

Out the front picture window of Ben's home, Ashburn Court was bathed in the early morning light as parents brought their children to the daycare.

Just another normal morning in the neighborhood. Gabriella took another deep breath.

She sat in Ben's living room with Tina and Lucy with their children. Catherine and Chanel were there as well as Ashley and her children. Hannah was at work, but she was on Gabriella's speakerphone and could hear them. Trish was still away on her business trip, and they hadn't reached her yet.

Gabriella passed her gaze over the nervous women. "I just spoke with General Davis thirty minutes ago. Ben just got out of surgery. The operation took over eight hours as they had to repair the damage to his small intestine. He said it was fortunate that the blade was as sharp as it was since that made their repairs easier. The General said the prognosis is good and Ben will be fine, but he will need recovery time. At least a month based on the extent of the damage."

Tina and Lucy were crying, and Gabriella was fighting back tears of her own. She saw Cat was crying against Chanel's shoulder, but the police officer's expression was barely controlled rage. Gabriella knew she'd been against bringing the assassins into the neighborhood, but she wouldn't argue the point now.

"I'm going to keep trying to reach Trish. I think she's in London now and will be flying home tomorrow," Gabriella said.

"When will Ben be home?" Tina asked.

Hannah chimed in. "He'll be coming to my hospital for a day or two when he first gets back. We'll confirm there were no complications from his flight, then we'll send him home. From what I understand, he will be able to leave the Berlin hospital in three days. If they don't keep him longer than that, add a day for the actual transit, two days for our confirmation, and he'll be home in under a week."

"The only reason it felt safe for Ben to travel was because he had his personal security. Now we hear one of them was responsible for this!" Ashley gasped.

"It came as a surprise to all--most of us," Gabriella said, correcting herself as she saw Chanel begin to object. "There were clear signs that Tatiana wasn't happy being here, and Ben was having issues with her, but for her to stab him? Liliya was closest to Tatiana, and she didn't see this level of danger. Something must have happened in Berlin." When she saw they were absorbing that, she added something else. "Evelyn was also hurt by Tatiana, but her injuries were not as severe."

Gabriella's phone made an odd chirp sound. "Oh! That could be Trish! Stay on the line, Hannah! I'm just going to answer the other call."

She pressed the answer button. "Hello?"

"Hey Gabriella, I saw you left me a message, but my cell died, and I couldn't retrieve them. What's up?" Trish said curiously.

Gabriella fought back a gasp as the situation suddenly crashed over her, obliterating her calm. Tears came to her eyes, and she looked at Chanel, who read her face and nodded.

"Trish? This is Chanel. Ben's been hurt. He's in a hospital in Berlin recovering from being stabbed by Tatiana."

"FUCK!" Trish shouted.

"We've got the kids here, Trish," Ashley called out.

They could hear Trish panting on the other end. "S-sorry. What hospital?"

Gabriella's control returned. "It's called Charité. It was the closest to his hotel, and I'm told it's excellent. He'll be there for a few days--"

"I'm going there now. I don't have a working cell, so I'll call you when I get there." The line went dead.

Blinking in surprise, Gabriella brought Hannah back on the line. "Hannah, that was Trish. She's going to Berlin to check on Ben at the hospital."

"Good. He needs people he can trust at his side," Hannah said, and Chanel nodded.

Gabriella could see Chanel was feeling more comfortable knowing Trish would be there to protect Ben. She glanced around and saw relieved expressions on a few faces.

"We'll get Ben back in a short time, then we get to pamper him as he recuperates. That's good news," Gabriella said with a trembling smile, and she got the same from the others. She wondered if Ben would survive their pampering.

She looked to Chanel. "Is there anything you can tell us about your investigation on the property?"

Chanel shook her head. "It's too soon. We'll likely have something by the time Ben returns." Her expression brightened. "We are making excellent progress on tracking down all of the investors who paid into the shell company which bought the home before Beth owned it. Grace Wilson is following the money back to their sources. There are at least a dozen people involved beyond Shelly's uncle whose name we linked to the numbered company."

"What went on in that house?" Catherine asked.

"Something ev--very, very bad," Chanel amended as she saw the children watching her. "Good thing Ben's having it completely torn down and every bit carted away. He'll build something beautiful in its place."

Ashley's girls smiled and nodded to her.

Gabriella got their attention once more. "Please pass along the news about Ben if you meet any neighbors not currently here. I tried reaching Penny and Karen, but they got an early lift to school with Jayden. Rain left early, too."

"We'll fill in Daphne and the twins when we drop off the children," Lucy said.

The rest nodded to her, so there was nothing left to share, and the day needed to begin. Ben was healing and would be coming home.

The knowledge that a life important to them had almost ended needed to be put aside.

Life moved forward.

-=-

Ben slowly surfaced from a deep sleep. The room he was in came into focus even slower. He felt weak as a kitten. Then nausea made itself known. He moaned.

"Ben? You awake?"

The voice was familiar as his brain sluggishly tried to connect dots. His eyes swung left to look at red hair and a crooked smile.

He felt another wave of nausea sweep over him, and he closed his eyes to steady himself. He frowned.

A name popped into his mind. "Trish?"

"Yes! Yes, Ben! It's me! So glad you're back!" she gushed, and he felt soft lips touch his forehead.

This made him open his eyes again.

She was close, and she had a black eye?

Ben's rage tried to rise, but whatever meds he was on interfered with that emotion. Still, his vision sharpened as he checked out her lovely face for more injuries. "Who... who hurt you?"

Trish's smile split her face. "This is nothing! Some bearded neanderthal tried to get fresh when I got to the hospital and tried to enter your room. He didn't move aside when I told him who I was, then he decided to get handsy. It took me a little longer to put him down, and he got in one good hit, but in the end, he was unconscious on the floor, and I was standing over him with a broken chair in my hands. His team showed up, and they were willing to listen when I told them who I was. The CO was pretty pissed at his goon."

The door opened behind her, and Trish turned to look at the tough-looking man dressed in black with a combat harness over his sweater. "Speaking of the CO."

The man nodded to Trish and stopped next to her to smile at Ben. "Mr. Shepherd, I'm Fisher, the Commanding officer of my squad. General Davis assigned us to keep an eye on you while you're in Germany. I'm sorry we took so long to get to you the night we were called in. We might have been able to prevent Tatiana from attacking you."

Ben leaned his head back against the pillow as another wave of nausea swept over him. "She-she didn't attack me."

Fisher frowned. "The knife in your guts says otherwise."

Ben took slow deep breaths to ride out the sickness.

"She was trying to cut Evelyn's throat. I pulled her clear, almost, but moved myself into range of Tatiana's strike. She couldn't stop, and I was in the way." Ben looked at Fisher. "Where's Evelyn?"

"I'm here, Ben."

He turned his head to the right and saw another bed. She was lying in it and had bandages over her face and eyes. "What happened to your eyes?" he asked in concern.

"Scratched cornea's from the dust in the packet she threw at me. I also have a minor concussion from hitting the floor, whiplash from being yanked backward so hard, and a cut across my cheeks and nose. But I'm alive and healing because of you. Thank you, but don't ever do that again."

Ben snorted and immediately regretted it. He moaned.

"What's wrong, Ben?" Trish asked.

"Feel sick," he moaned weakly.

"The doctor mentioned you might experience nausea," Fisher suggested.

"He was right," Ben whispered. He stared at the ceiling and tried to endure the next wave. It was exhausting, and he felt himself slipping under again. He forced himself to open his eyes and saw Trish's worried expression. His time sense was fucked.

"How long?"

"You've been in the hospital for three days," Fisher answered.

Ben frowned. "What about Louis and his team?"

"They canceled the rest of the meetings and took the jet home. They said they would reschedule when you were better. Only three countries left to do."

Ben scowled. "They could have done the meetings without me."

"There is no hurry, and they said they preferred having you in these meetings," Trish explained.

He turned his eyes to Fisher. He wasn't wearing a uniform, just the harness. He saw no insignia of any kind. "What branch of the army are you from?"

Fisher grinned. "The secret one."

"Ah," Ben sighed, then thought about how important their time likely was. "Why are you still here wasting your time on me?"

Fisher snorted. "General's orders. Originally, we were supposed to protect you from a team of assassins sent by the Russians, but your Ruskie bodyguards took them out before we arrived. There was bad intel, and the team was already in place when we learned they'd been assigned. The one who stabbed you took out the two shooters in the building across from your hotel. The blonde killed the last one in a newsstand on the corner. We haven't received any word on additional teams sent after you, but the General is taking no chances. We stay until you are on your way home. Your jet will return tomorrow. Hopefully, you'll be well enough to travel. My men are going stir-crazy sitting in this hospital."