The Call

by Kathi Goldwyn

  As I look at him, relief pours through me. We high five and just stand in the hallway of that fucking hospital. I’m so proud of her, too. “She didn’t need me after all,” I whisper.

  “She’s gonna need you now, dude,” Rocco assures me. I know he’s right. She’s going to need everything I’ve got to give. I want to be that man. Alex’s image is in my mind’s eye, every single beautiful inch of her, and I can hardly wait for her to get here.

  “Hey, they’re just pulling up to the front of the hospital. Do you want him to...” I take off as fast as this cast will let me. I toss the crutches aside and find myself running on this fucking cast. I move as fast as I can to get to the front of this hospital. I ignore the excruciating pain as I run towards my girl. Nothing’s going to stop me from getting to her. I need her in my arms.

  I’m determined to get to the front of the hospital as quick as I can.

  I run towards my Alex. My heart’s pounding so hard and sweat pours from my brow. Alex is here! She’s free, and I try to wrap my head around it.

  I run to the doors and they open automatically. I look frantically from left to right. Then I see Alex slowly easing out of a silver car, and she looks perfect to me. I can see she’s filthy and her wrists are bloody, but she looks absolutely beautiful. She’s barely able to stand upright.

  I can tell she’s in rough condition. I’m gentle with her when I wrap my arms around her and whisper in her ear. “You’re safe, baby. You’re safe. I love you; I love you so much. You just kicked some serious ass—you killed that motherfucker, and I’m so proud of you.”

  Alex collapses in my arms. “I’m home, Jack. I’m home.” I brush the hair out of her face and move it aside so I can see her beautiful features. Life just went from fucked up to perfect.

  Bark gets out of the car. He comes up to us and says, “Let me grab her. looks like you could use some help.” I nod to him and watch as he carefully picks up Alex in his arms.

  “This way to the ER,” I say, and he follows me inside.

  Alex is safe, thank fuck for that! I need a doctor to check her over, and then I’m taking her home with me. Jeremy doesn’t need me here. He’s got Mom and Bob. Alex needs me, and I’m going to give her everything I’ve got.

  I take her hand in mine and tell her again, “I love you, baby,” and hear her faintly whisper, “I love you, Jack.”

  That’s all I’ve been waiting to hear; my heart explodes inside my chest. I can feel the sweat forming on my forehead, and I wish she was up for some dancing cuz damnit, I feel like a waltz. There’s so much cause for celebration, but I need to put all that shit on hold and make sure she’s all right.

  Bark carries her to the ER and lays her gently down on a bed, then I hear him yelling, “Can I get some help here?”

  Yeah, they notice him immediately. I mean, he’s a tall, rough looking man in his leather vest. A young doctor comes running over and pushes Bark out of the way.

  “Give me room,” the doctor yells, and we stand back—Bark, Rocco, and me.

  “She looks dehydrated. I need her hooked up to saline, please.” A nurse rushes over and lays a line in Alex’s arm, while the doctor looks her over.

  Then the nurse washes out her wrists, and the doc comes over to us. “What happened to her?” Rocco explains what happened to Alex, tells him she just escaped after being held captive.

  The doctor—I think his name is Dr. Toronto—says, “We have to call the police.” He calls over a nurse, who’s beside him in seconds. “Would you call the police department and tell them what has happened here? I know they need to be notified.”

  “On it,” the nurse says and briskly walks to the phone. Fear strikes me where I live, deep inside. I’m pretty sure we have the proof we need and Alex won’t be arrested, but still...of course I worry. Of course she did what needed to be done to survive, and I’m insanely proud of her. But what the police think is an entirely different story. I look over at Rocco and see him shrug. Fuck me, I need to know, goddamnit.

  “Okay, well she’s resting comfortably now,” Dr. Toronto says. We all take a sigh of relief.

  “What happens now? They send someone over and then...then what?” This is all new to me, but I feel like I’m shaking inside boots I’m not wearing.

  Holy shit! Suddenly an alarm starts going off—BEEP! BEEP!—and I hear the nurse yell out, “I need a crash cart over here!”

  Fuck, Alex looks like she’s fallen apart, and I’m shoved aside so they can get to her.

  “Code blue!”

  They put the pads on her chest and start to shock her. I’m traumatized as I stand there, watching them try to save her. Her life is in danger of slipping away, and I’m helpless. After all she’s been through, she’s going to die now?

  “Okay, stand back! Charge!” the doctor yells.

  “Oh my fucking god!” I roar, and Rocco grabs my arm and drags me to the corner of the room. He says, “Calm down, dude, you can’t help her if you fall apart.” I nod and quiet down.

  They work on Alex until she’s stable. The doctor explains that she has an arrhythmia, that her heart is beating inconsistently out of rhythm.

  As I watch them push her bed to another part of the ER, I feel a hand wrap around my wrist.

  “What the fuck?” I turn in time to see Lizzy standing in front of me.

  Oh fuck. Fuck me!

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Jack

  “Why are you here?” I sneer at Lizzy. Why is she fucking invading my space? It’s been months since I’ve seen or heard anything from her. I’ve moved on. I don’t give a goddamn fuck about what she has to say now. I think back to those pictures Jeremy showed me, the ones in Italy? Yeah, that fucked me up big time.

  All the waiting fucked me up. I can’t handle this shit right now with Alex here in the hospital. I mean, fuck, she almost died. I can't give Lizzy what she wants. Fuck that, I don’t want to give her any of my time.

  “I got worried. I just got back into town and heard about the wreck. I wanted to see for myself that you were okay.” Lizzy rubs her hand down my arm, and I jerk away.

  “You’ve seen me. Now it’s time for you to go,” I say flatly. I know I sound harsh as fuck, but I just don’t care. I shrug her away. She really has lost the right to show up like this. She’s lost me. Doesn’t she see that? Do I have to spell it out for her like a two-year-old? Give her the ABC’s of losing me? Fuck her. Like I need this right now. Everything that has happened in the last few hours...days? Well, I can’t give her anything. I have nothing left to give.

  “Jack,” Lizzy whispers and tries again to touch me. I shrug her off and say, “Don’t you get it, Lizzy? This isn’t a good time for me!” I roar. She’s pushed me too far, and I just need her to go right the fuck now.

  “Okay, I'm going.” She finally leaves. Maybe one day we can have that conversation, but right now Alex needs every ounce of energy I have left. I’m not wasting my time or any of my energy on this bullshit. I breathe a sigh of relief that she’s gone.

  I hear the ER Doctor say, “I’m looking for Alexandria Giovanni’s family,” as he looks around.

  “Here,” I say, and Rocco joins me as I limp up to him. “What’s happening? Is Alex going to be okay?” My heart slams in my chest. Fuck, if she came this far just to die here in the ER, I’d be lost forever. I hold onto her “I love you, Jack.” I think back to her saying that when my arms were around her. She has to be all right, just like Jeremy.

  “Well, I think she must have been under a great deal of stress. I’m worried about her arrhythmia. Her heart goes out of rhythm every so often. But we’re giving her meds, and I think she’ll be fine. She’s stable for now. Her heart rate has evened out.”

  “I don’t understand what happened,” I say, I need more of an explanation than that.

  “Her heart rate fell out of rhythm, and we had to shock her to get it back to normal. It’s very dangerous, what she just went through. She could die if it isn’t treated. But I thi
nk the medications we’re giving her will keep her in good shape. Make sense?” the doctor tries to explain in laymen’s terms.

  “As long as she’s good now, I’m good,” I say.

  Whew! So much shit hit the fan in so little time. My mind tries to catch up with itself and this new information. It feels like a whirring sound going off in my head.

  Rocco says, “Thanks, doc. How long is she gonna be here?” His voice is full of gravel, and he holds a growl I can hear he’s holding back.

  “We’re moving her to her room. The nurse will come find you when we have her settled and you can sit with her. Sound good?” He looks between Rocco and me.

  “Yeah, sounds good. We’ll be over there” I point to a waiting area, and the doctor nods and walks away.

  My hands start shaking. I’m trembling inside, and my body is feeling every tremor. Rocco takes me by the shoulder and pushes me to a chair and then down so I’m sitting, but I'm numb, and I can’t feel the seat.

  “Dude, I’m about to fall apart,” I tell him, because this right here has been way too much for me to process. All of it comes storming at me in all different directions, and I feel attacked, like all this shit is about to make me crumble right here, right the fuck now.

  “You’ve got to slow down, my man. As soon as we get to Alex's room, you are off the clock, get me?” All I can do is nod. I feel depleted. My energy has left the building, and I feel myself slipping out of the chair, but I can’t do anything about it.

  “I need help over here,” I hear Rocco yell, and then nothing. I feel nothing. Just black.

  I wake to find myself in a bed. I struggle to sit up and take a quick look around. What the fuck just happened? I’m so lost right now. I don’t know where I am. I know I’m in the hospital, but what the fuck? Where the fuck is Alex? And why am I in this bed? Finally, I find Rocco in a chair by the bed.

  “Hey, there you are. Relax, dude, just relax. You collapsed in the ER. I guess everything got to you, dude.” I hear a chuckle in that voice, and it reassures me that I’m not alone. But wait.

  “Where’s Alex?” My voice rumbles inside my chest. I look at Rocco, concern striking where I live.

  “Look next to you, dude. Look over there.” He points to the bed next to me, and I see my sweet girl’s sleeping there. She looks so small and fragile. She's a fierce one, though, and I collapse back on the bed.

  “I’ve got to get up.” I sit back up in the bed. “I need to get to her.” Rocco helps me ease out of the bed, and I slide into bed with Alex. I take her gingerly in my arms. I’m not letting go, not now, not ever.

  “How’s my brother?” I whisper. I hope Rocco paid attention while I was down for the count. I marvel at how he’s stayed by my side this entire time. He’s amazing, and I make a note to thank him later. What would I have done without his friendship and help? I shudder at the thought. Rocco’s an interesting man, but I never thought in a million years we would have so much to bond over. Someday, I hope to hear more of his story.

  “He’s fine. Your mom and Bob are sitting with him. The doctor says by morning he’ll be out of the woods. But everything looks good. Right now, you need to rest. You are a mess, my friend.” He chuckles, I know he won’t let anything happen to us while we sleep.

  I cuddle closer to Alex and feel myself relax for the first time in what feels like forever. My body has suffered, and I need to let go of all the tension it’s been holding on to. I feel my muscles let go, and my mind drifts to the moment I saw Alex get out of that car. Best moment ever. I play on repeat what she said to me.

  “I love you, Jack.” Again and again. I’ll never get tired of hearing her say it, but for now we both need rest.

  As I fall into a solid unconsciousness, I whisper, “Baby, I love you. I hope you know I love you.”

  And that’s everything. I sleep like the dead.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Alex

  When I wake up, I’m sore all over. My entire body is stiff, and I can barely move. Something heavy lays across my belly, and I roll to see what it is. Jack has his arm wrapped tightly around me, like he’s protecting me from any shitty thing.

  I slide my arms around him and move closer to him. I cuddle his neck. He smells wonderful...and my lust kicks into gear. Not that I can do anything about it, since I notice Rocco sleeping in the chair next to the bed. I’m too sore to move, anyway.

  What the hell? I can hardly remember much of anything, but I do remember taking Norris out. It comforts me to know he’s gone. I’m not sure how the Cribs will feel about me taking out one of their kings. There might be a heavy price to pay, but I had no choice. It was him or me. I’m still alive, right?

  I’ll deal with the consequences later.

  I look at Jack’s beautiful face marred by bruises and dark circles under his eyes. I hate seeing him this way. I know he’s been through so much, but when his eyes pop open they sparkle with amusement as they look straight into my eyes.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he whispers while giving me a squeeze. He rolls to his side so we’re face to face. “How you feeling, baby?” His arms surround me gently.

  “You look good, Jack,” I whisper. “It’s so good to see you.” I giggle as I pull him closer to me. He’s gingerly holding me; he’s worried he’ll hurt me. I take his face in my hands and kiss him softly on those lips I can’t get enough of. They’re full and lush, and I feel him react to my kiss while kissing me back; his hard-on pokes into my side and makes me giggle even more.

  I hear Rocco clearing his throat, and we all laugh. It feels so good to me. Life has been really shitty these past few days, so to be surrounded by the two men I love most in the world? Yeah, that’s something to celebrate. I won’t forget this anytime soon.

  “Hey, let me go round up some grub for us,” Rocco says. He stands up and straightens his jeans.

  “I’m starving!” I say, and Rocco takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I'll go find out how Jeremy is, too,” Rocco says as he starts for the door. “Any requests?”

  “Coffee. Please coffee,” is all Jack says.

  Once Rocco is gone, Jack pulls me close to him again and I sigh in contentment. This is home, my safe place, in his arms. I won’t ever want to be anywhere else but right here in Jack’s arms.

  “This has been crazy, right?” I look lovingly into Jack’s face.

  “Fuck me it has! I hope Jeremy is okay. Looks like you’re more than okay,” Jack says on one breath. He's grinning broadly, and I can’t believe the last few days really happened. “Alexandria? I learn something new every day,” Jack says with another happy smile.

  “Family name. It was my mother’s and her mothers. It goes back many generations.” I never felt like an Alexandria—it’s why I shortened it to reflect who I am inside. Maybe it’s time to embrace this family name. I feel like I’ve grown into it.

  “I love it,” Jack says, and then adds, “It’s beautiful, just like you.” I blush, hearing these words. Jack’s the beautiful one. “You’re too cute, look at you blush.” I hide my face with my hands and Jack gently pulls them back down to kiss both cheeks.

  “So, tell me, baby. Tell me about what happened back there with Norris.” I knew this was coming. I want to share all of it with jack.

  “I had a three-strike plan. I was just waiting for the perfect moment. I knew I was running out of time. I slammed my thumbs in his eyes first. I knew if that landed perfectly, he wouldn’t be able to fight me. Then I clocked his balls with my knees and slammed my fist into his trachea. Three strikes to target, Jack.” I take a deep breath, smoothing Jack’s worry lines. Then add, “I knew he was going to kill me; I just knew it.”

  “You did the right thing, baby. You hit the targets.” He chuckles, bringing his lips to mine again.

  I snuggle closer to my man. “I worry the Cribs might be out for retribution. But I guess I can’t really think about that. It was horrible, living like that. I thought he was going to rape me. Who gets off on watching someo
ne pee?” I bitterly laugh.

  “He was a perv, darling. What a fucking perv,” Jack snickers. He looks pissed enough to spit.

  “Well, I didn’t want to jump on him too soon. You know what I mean?” I say, and then add, “I wanted to take him by surprise. I knew I’d only have one chance at it. If my plan didn’t work, I’d be dead right now.”

  “Smart girl. I’m glad you had a plan, baby. And I’m so glad you’re well and alive here with me.” Jack snuggles into my neck, then pulls back and asks, “What’s the doctor say about your condition? Do you have to stay here long?” I can tell he’s worried, but fuck, I'm worried about him.

  “Well, I guess it’s my heart. They want me to stay until they know what’s really going on. I think I was just overloaded by the time I got here. Thank god Rocco had guys out there watching the place. What I don’t get is how they knew I was there?” I look into his gorgeous blue eyes; I see a man in love.

  “We had men at all the properties Norris owned. We figured that’s where he’d hide you. You know, out of sight. Rocco got men courtesy of the Watchmen. When we figured out where you were…well, we were coming to get you. I’m so sorry we failed you, baby.” Then Jack goes on to explain the entire situation with the car crash. By the time he’s finished, he seems exhausted.

  What he’s been through I can’t even imagine. I know he’s beat to shit right now. He was going to come in and save me. I think that’s so fucking cute. I mean, come on now, Jack is a desk jockey. I’m still so impressed that he was willing to become someone else for me, someone who’d come save me.

  “Oh sweetheart, don’t apologize. Please stop that. All I know is I’m so happy to be here with you. I kept thinking I had to get out of there and back to you. That’s what kept me going, really. Getting back to you.” I smooth the worry lines on his face with my hand and swipe his lower lip with my thumb. “To tell you I love you.”