by Lexi Wilson
She nodded. “Yes,” she said softly. Her voice was so timid. “Toby is here too,” she said.
I smiled. Toby had come into school the day that I had found Kaylee on the floor. Allie had begged us and we had given in to her. I was glad that she’d had her furry friend with her the whole time. I knew how much that meant to her.
“Toby is the luckiest dog in the world to have you,” I said.
“I love him.”
I smiled. “He loves you too. I have an idea,” I said. “How about I make Toby your dog?”
Her eyes widened. “My own dog?” she said.
I nodded. “Yeah, he really loves you. You can look after him now. I think he wants you to be his mommy.”
She sobbed. “Toby is my dog? I have a dog?”
“You have a dog,” I said. “Now you keep him safe while I get your mommy. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I went to speak to my mother and Mindy while I waited for Styles to finish on the phone. I was so glad to see that Mindy was there so that my mother wasn’t alone in all of this. I gave her a hug and told her how much it meant to me that she was there for my mother like this. I glanced at Styles and wished he would hurry up with whatever phone call he was on. The longer we hung around here, the further Bill was probably taking her. Right now, we had no idea where he was going either, and we desperately needed to get out there and find him. I was about to go up to him and ask him to please hang up when I finally saw him walking toward me.
“Styles, thank God. We need to find her,” I said.
He nodded. “I’m sorry about that. I have news, though,” he said. He glanced at Allie and then back at me. “Uh, come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Everything okay?” I asked as we left the building.
“Sorry, I just didn’t want to speak in front of Allie. I have some news.”
“Good or bad?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Tell me everything,” I said as we got into his car.
As we drove, Styles told me that he had been doing an extensive background check on Bill this whole time that I was with Kaylee. He hadn’t told me because he didn’t want me to get upset and to think that he was meddling. He had never planned on doing anything, but figured it would be good to have information on him just in case things went wrong. He had found information on the car that Bill was driving and had eventually managed to track down his license plate number that day. He’d tracked it to warn him whenever Bill went out of town. He discovered that Bill had been in our town, and that he was now headed back.
“So, you know where he’s going?’ I asked.
“Well, I don’t know exactly. I’ve only been given a few navigation points, but as far as I can tell he looks to be headed back home. It’s a long drive though, so I suppose he’s going to stop on the way somewhere. I don’t know exactly how to find him, but every time he passes certain points I will get a notification. So at least we know we are headed in the right direction. It’s a start.”
I sat back in surprise. “Wow. I didn’t expect this. You’re amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re not mad at me?” he asked. “I know this was none of my business, but I’ve just had a bad feeling about this from the start. I wanted to stay ahead of the game just in case.”
“Mad at you? How could I be mad at you? You might be the reason that we are able to find her. I am so thankful for what you did.”
“We’ll get her, Jaxon. I’m sure of it.”
I nodded. “I hope you’re right. And what happens when we find her? What happens to Allie? What if they believe him over her?”
“Don’t worry about that. Like I said, I’ve been doing some digging. The guy is not nearly as clean as he likes to think he is. We’ll have a case against him. I’m sure of it. We won’t give up.”
Relief washed over me. “Thank you so much.”
Kaylee might be upset that I had gotten Styles involved and that Allie was sitting in a police station with my mother, but she would surely understand that I had no choice. I hated the thought of her sitting in the car with that madman, and I couldn’t wait to get to her. I really hoped that we were heading in the right direction and that this wasn’t a decoy. What if someone else was driving his car while he took Kaylee off in another vehicle altogether? I wanted to voice my opinion to Styles, but I assumed he had thought of all probabilities. Right now, we could only hope that Bill hadn’t thought that far ahead.
When a call came through for Styles I thought it was going to be someone letting us know the next navigation point. I had no idea how the whole system worked, but I was desperate for some more news. The last thing that I had been expecting was a call from the station informing us that there had been an accident.
“That car you flagged has been in an accident,” the man informed Styles over the speakerphone.
“An accident? Is everyone in the car okay?”
“I don’t have any specifics right now. They’ve been taken to the nearest hospital. I’ll pin you the details so you can head right there.”
“Oh my God,” I said to Styles once he was off the phone. “An accident. What does this mean?”
“I don’t know. But don’t worry, we’ll head right there. Here’s the pin. Looks like the hospital is two hours away. They were further than we thought. He must’ve known some shortcuts, and he must’ve been speeding.”
“Shit,” I said. “Is she okay?” I asked, even though I knew that Styles had no idea.
“We’ll be there soon,” he said instead.
We drove in silence. It was the longest two hours of my life. I kept waiting for his phone to ring for someone to bring us some news, but the phone call never came. I thought of phoning my mother, but I didn’t want them to know that Kaylee was in the hospital. I kept telling myself repeatedly that she was fine. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I lost her. When I saw the hospital building up ahead, I felt both relieved and scared at the same time. The moment we stepped inside I would find out if Kaylee was okay, and right now it was easier just pretending as if she was fine.
I got out of the car with trembling legs and made my way inside. We walked right up to the nurse, who didn’t seem to know a thing. It was a busy night with what seemed like a million people rushing through the doors. She asked us to take a seat while she found out what was going on. I had already waited so long on the drive that I had lost my patience, but there was nothing else to do but wait. I didn’t sit, though. I paced up and down the room until she finally came back.
“Yes, we have a Kaylee Jones here,” she said.
“You do? So, she’s okay? She’s alive?”
“She’s alive,” the woman said. “She’s concussed, though. Four broken ribs, a broken wrist, and a severely twisted ankle. But she’s alive. She’s going to be fine,” the woman said kindly as she placed a hand on my arm.
Tears streamed down my face. “She’s alive,” I said again.
“She is,” the woman said. “Do you want to take a seat? I will try and find out when you can see her.”
“I need to see her now,” I said. I needed to know that she was okay. I needed to make sure that I was there when she woke up so that she didn’t think that she was alone.
“Sir, she’s concussed. I’m not sure if that’s going to be the best idea right now. I’ll need to speak to the doctor and…”
“Please,” I interrupted. “Please. I need to see her. I need to see her.”
She nodded. “Okay, let me see what I can do.”
The nurse came back moments later and smiled at me. She had one of those kind faces that made me instantly feel at ease. If there was ever a person that should work in a hospital filled with worried people, it was her.
“You can go and see her,” she said. “She’s not awake though, but the doctor said it was fine that you stayed with her. I need you to fill out these forms first, though.”
“I’ll fill them out,” I said quickly. “And
thank you.”
I filled out the forms and then headed over to see her. Styles said he would hang around at the reception area while he investigated further. He promised to update me on what was going on.
“Right now, you just need to be with her,” he said. “Let me take care of the rest.”
“Thank you. For everything,” I said. “I will never forget what you have done for me.” Styles and I were not the sort of friends who hugged, but right then I gave him the biggest hug I could.
“She’s going to be fine, Jaxon,” he said. “I have a good feeling about it.”
I hoped he was right. I made my way over to the room that Kaylee was in, and gasped when I saw her lying in bed. She was in even worse shape than she had been the day I had found her on the floor. I took her hand and willed her to wake up.
“I love you, Kaylee. Please wake up. Please.”
Chapter 32
Kaylee
Tears sprung to my ears when I woke. The pain was so immense that I didn’t know what to do. This was pain unlike anything I had ever felt before. I opened my eyes and frowned. I had no idea where I was. It wasn’t Jaxon’s house but it wasn’t my old house with Bill, either. The smell hit me first. It was the smell of disinfectant. I was in the hospital. I tried to sit up, but I couldn’t. I looked around and then gasped when I saw Jaxon asleep in the chair next to the bed. I had never been happier to see anyone in my entire life. I tried to cry out for him, but my voice had gone hoarse and my throat ached. I needed water, but the glass that was on my bedside table suddenly seemed so far away. I tried to call out again, my voice coming out in a croak. Thankfully, enough sound came out to wake up Jaxon. His eyes flew open and he jumped up when he saw that I was awake.
“Oh, Kaylee. Oh, thank goodness. You’re awake,” he said with relief.
“I…” I couldn’t get the words out. I pointed to the water. He held it out to me, putting the straw into my mouth as I sucked. The moment the water rushed down my throat I felt better.
“Don’t talk,” he said. “Let me call the nurse quickly so she can give you something for the pain.”
I nodded. I desperately needed something. When the nurse came in she seemed delighted to see that I was awake. She was a kind-looking woman, and I felt immediately calm having her there. The pain medication worked immediately, and I sighed with relief as my body relaxed. She said I could have some time alone with Jaxon, but that she’d be back in about an hour with the doctor. I had a million questions, but the only person I really wanted to speak to was Jaxon, so I just smiled and thanked her.
“Jaxon,” I said. “You’re here. I’m so happy to see you. What happened? I was in the car. I was in the car with Bill,” I said as the memories began flashing before me. “Oh, he took me. He took me from your house,” I said.
Jaxon nodded. “I thought you’d run away.”
“You did?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. I thought you’d run away. It was only when I saw that your car was still there that I realized he had come for you. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“You didn’t. You were on the phone. You were in your room. You couldn’t have known he was watching. I don’t even know how he got in. I went to make you coffee. I wanted to do something nice for you. Then, suddenly he knocked me on the head and took me to his car. He drove away. I was so scared. He was drunk, Jaxon. He was out of his mind drunk.”
“Is that why you had an accident? Because he was drinking and driving?”
She shook her head. “Sort of. Jaxon, I turned that steering wheel. I did. I turned it and we crashed.”
“No. He was driving drunk. That’s why you crashed. You hear me, Kaylee. Don’t you put this on yourself. Not after everything he put you through. That man is the cause of the accident. Not you. Okay?”
I nodded. “Okay. The car rolled. I couldn’t get it under control again. I tried, Jaxon. I tried. Then the car stopped and I couldn’t get out. Then…then I woke up here. How did you find me?”
Jaxon told me all about how Styles had been onto Bill the whole time, and how he had gone ahead and trailed Bill without his knowledge. He said that he was on his way to find me when they got the call about the accident.
“I’m sorry, Kaylee. I know you didn’t want me to get anyone involved, but I had no choice. I had to ask him for help. I couldn’t do this alone. I couldn’t just sit around while that monster drove you around. I couldn’t.”
She nodded. “I’m not upset with you. You’ve been the best thing that has ever happened to me. You did everything for me. You’re still doing everything for me. Don’t apologize. But…Jaxon…what’s going to happen now? What if they give Allie back to Bill? You don’t understand what he’s like. He’ll find a way to take her away from me. He’ll tell them that I’m an unstable mother. I can’t let him do that.”
“Kaylee, Bill didn’t survive,” Jaxon said gently.
I stared at Jaxon in surprise. I could not believe what I was hearing. “Are you…are you telling me that he died? Bill is dead?”
He nodded. “Bill didn’t make it.”
“Oh,” I said in surprise. “Oh.” I couldn’t think of what to say. I didn’t want to be happy about someone dying, but the feeling of relief and fear that ran through me was impossible to ignore. I looked at Jaxon. “He’s gone,” I said. “He’s gone.”
“He’s gone. You’re free, Kaylee. He can’t hurt you anymore. You are free from him.”
“Oh, Jaxon. I can’t believe this is happening. I turned that wheel. I did that,” I said again.
Jaxon shook his head. “Kaylee, listen to me. You can’t say things like that. You didn’t do anything wrong here. Okay? Think of your daughter. Think of Allie. You need to be strong now. Bill was drunk. Bill was driving like a maniac. Bill swerved and caused the accident. You didn’t touch that wheel. Okay? This is your chance now, Kaylee. This is your chance to finally get your life back. You need to understand how important this is.”
I lay back and thought about what he was telling me. He was right. This was the break I was looking for. Without Bill in my life, I would finally get the chance to have a normal life. I wouldn’t have to hide anymore, and I wouldn’t have to live in fear. I could live the life that I have always wanted to live. I looked at Jaxon and nodded.
“Okay, I understand,” I said to him. “I understand. He was driving drunk.”
Jaxon looked relieved at my words. “Good. That’s good. You’re going to be fine now, Kaylee. You’re going to be fine.”
“Allie,” I said. “Where is she? Does she know what’s happening? Oh, she’s not going to understand.”
“Don’t worry. She’s fine. She’s at the police station with my mother and Mindy. They’re all keeping her safe. How about we call them so you can talk to her quickly? She’s been scared and she’ll be so happy to hear your voice,” he said.
“Yes, please!” I said. There had been a time when I had thought I might never hear her voice again. I sat up like an excited child, my heart pounding in my chest as Jaxon made the call. He put the phone on speaker so that we could both talk.
“Jaxon, are you okay? What’s going on? Is Kaylee okay?” Lisa said, and I started crying just at the sound of her voice.
“Mom, she’s fine. She just woke up,” Jaxon said as she smiled at me. “She’s here with me now. She wants to say hello.”
“Hi, Lisa,” I said into the phone. “Thank you so much for everything. I’m okay now. I’m okay.”
“Oh, darling,” Lisa said. “We’ve been so worried. It’s so good to hear your voice. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” I said.
“I have someone who is desperate to talk to you. Hang on a second,” she said. I looked at Jaxon, and smiled nervously as I waited for Allie to come onto the phone.
“Mommy?”
I cried at the sound of her voice, and took a deep breath to try and steady myself. I had to remind myself to stay strong. Allie need me to be strong right
now. “Allie,” I said. “My darling. Are you okay?”
“Mommy, I miss you,” she said.
“I miss you too. I love you so much.”
“Are you coming home?” she asked.
I smiled. I liked that Allie knew that home was now with Jaxon and his family and not with Bill. “I’m coming home soon. I promise you. I’m all fine now. Have you been a good girl?”
“Yes. Mommy, guess what?” she said.
“What?”
“Jaxon gave me Toby. He said Toby is my dog now. I have a dog!”
I looked at Jaxon. He really had done everything possible to make sure that my daughter was fine. I squeezed his hand. “That’s wonderful news,” I said to her. “He’s a lucky dog to have a mom like you. Give him a cuddle for me.”
“Okay! Come home soon.”
“I will. I have to go,” I said, as I noticed the nurse walking in with the doctor. “But I’ll call again later. Okay? I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy.”
“That was amazing,” I said to Jaxon. “I feel so much better now.”
“I’m glad to hear my patient is doing well,” the doctor said as he walked up to me.
The doctor introduced himself and took me through my injuries. I wasn’t surprised to hear that there were so many. In fact, I was surprised that there weren’t more. As the doctor said, I got off quite lucky considering I had been in a car accident. The doctor wanted to check on my injuries though, but I asked him if Jaxon could please stay.
“We won’t be too long,” the doctor said. “We can ask Jaxon to come back later if he wants. He can hang around at reception.”
“Please, can he stay?” I asked. “Please?”
“Of course,” the doctor said. “If he’s okay with staying, then he can stay.”
Jaxon grinned at me. “Trust me, there’s no way you’re getting rid of me. I’m here to stay.”
Chapter 33
Jaxon
The doctors let me stay at the hospital the entire time, mostly because Kaylee begged them to let me be there. They could probably see that she needed someone by her side so they said yes, and I was so grateful to them for that. When Kaylee was asleep I would sit with her for a while, and then I’d go home to shower and change. I was getting very little sleep myself, so sometimes I’d try to have a power nap at home. Sometimes I fell asleep on the chair at the hospital, but it was never very comfortable. Not that I could complain, of course. It was nothing compared to what Kaylee was going through. She was in a lot of pain, and on a lot of medication, but her strength and resilience astounded me. Even the doctors told me what a pleasure she was to work with. She was a fighter and never complained about her situation. I wasn’t surprised, though. Kaylee had been fighting for her life for a very long time. I was sitting with her now, but I could see she was getting tired.
