As the doors opened, Lexi reached into her pocket for her keys. She stepped off the elevator and made her way down along the hallway to her apartment door.
When she reached her door, she slipped her key into her lock, pushing the door open. Lexi stepped inside, as she slipped off her coat, wondering if she should have another glass of wine, or go straight to bed.
She walked along the hallway towards the living room but suddenly stopped. She didn’t know what, but something didn’t feel right. She didn’t know what it was, but something was definitely off.
Lexi shook her head, deciding she was just being stupid. She took a few more steps across the living room, but a noise from the somewhere in the apartment made her stop once more. Her heart hammered in her chest, as she turned slowly, she took great care not to make a sound.
She knew she needed to get out of the apartment and down to Mitch at the front desk. He could call the police for her once she was safe. That was the best thing to do.
She began back across the living room, trying her hardest to be as quiet as she possibly could. Another noise stopped her once more; she slowly turned back. Before she could react, a person, dressed all in black appeared from the hallway that led to the bedrooms. They both stood there for a moment, before the intruder quickly hurried straight towards her.
Letting out a panicked cry, Lexi spun around on the spot, dashing for the front door. She had just reached the front, when she felt him grab her from behind, lifting her up off the ground. Instinctively she kicked out against the door, pushing them both backward, sending them both tumbling to the ground.
As she came down, Lexi’s forehead bounced off the leg of the hall table, sending a blinding pain straight through her body. For a moment she felt dazed and a little nauseous, but she quickly shook her head. She knew she needed to get up and get out of there as fast as she could. As she climbed up from the floor, she could hear the person behind her begin to move again too. Lexi didn’t wait, nor did she even look back. Instead, she headed for the front door, but before she reached it, a hand grabbed her ankle and pulled her back to the floor.
Before Lexi had time to react, the guy was crawling towards her, and she knew that she was in big trouble. Without even thinking, she reached up, grabbing the Buddha ornament that was sitting on the hall table, before she swung back, hitting the intruder across the head. He released her ankle and reached for his head as he slumped back. Lexi didn’t waste any time, she quickly climbed from the floor, heading straight for the door, then running as fast as she could down the corridor. She didn’t stop until she reached the elevator. Pressing the call button, Lexi was relieved when the door opened almost instantly.
Hurrying inside, she pressed the button for the ground floor repeatedly, as she allowed herself to look back down the hallway. Her heart almost stopped as she saw the person dressed in black bursting out of her apartment door, running towards the elevator.
Lexi held her breath as she waited for the doors to close. They finally closed, just before the intruder could reach her, as the elevator jumped to life. Lexi leaned back against the cold glass surface as she tried to calm her ragged breathing. She felt a little woozy. She reached up, touching her head where she’d hit it on the table leg. It felt wet, she dropped her hand back down, and her stomach heaved when she saw blood on her fingers.
The doors of the elevator finally opened, and Lexi quickly stumbled out.
“MITCH!” She called out, as her legs gave out beneath her. “Help me.”
She crashed to the ground as everything faded to black.
Chapter 12
“Where is she?” Liam demanded as he hurried down the corridor to where Dylan was standing, talking to two uniformed police officers.
“She is in trauma three,” Dylan replied as he quickly turned, holding up his hands to stop Liam in his tracks. “She’s okay. I promise. She needed a couple of stitches and has a mild concussion. She was very lucky; it could have been a lot worse.”
“I need to see her,” Liam insisted, giving Dylan a pleading look.
“I know, but she is with her doctor right now,” Dylan replied, giving Liam a pleading look. “You’re not her next of kin. And she is not ready to talk to the police, so you can’t go in there.”
“What do you mean, her doctor?” Liam asked, giving Dylan an impatient look. “Why aren’t you taking care of her?”
“Because I’m not on call,” Dylan explained. “And I have been drinking. I only came to check on her for you because you asked. Also, I knew you would come running in here demanding to see her, and that’s the last thing anyone needs.”
“But I need to know she’s okay,” Liam pleaded, feeling like his heart was going to burst. “I need to see her.”
“I know, and I will get you in to see her as soon as I can,” Dylan promised him. “But I need you to trust me. Right now, I need you to go to the waiting room and stay there until I come to get you. Landen, Finn, Callum and Nikki are in there waiting for you.”
“What?” Liam said, giving Dylan a confused look. “Why? Why are they here?”
“We were all just leaving the bar when you called me,” Dylan explained, giving him a smile and a pat on the arm. “You know they were never going to let you go through this alone.”
Liam stared at Dylan for a few moments, before he glanced towards the doors that led through to the treatment area.
“Please,” Dylan said, giving Liam a pleading look. “Just go take a seat, and I will see what I can do.”
“Fine,” Liam sighed, but he wasn’t happy that he had to wait. “But you better come get me the second I can go see her.”
“I promise,” Dylan assured him. Releasing a long, frustrated breath, Liam turned and headed towards the waiting room he knew all too well.
The moment he walked in, his three older brothers stood up to greet him.
“Hey,” Liam said, giving them all a grateful smile before he turned to look at Finn. “I’m sorry if I ruined your night.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” Finn assured him. “I had a great night. But right now, I’m exactly where I need to be. Where we all need to be.”
“Thanks, Finn,” Liam replied, giving him another grateful smile, before he turned to Nikki, smiling at her too. “And thank you too; for earlier I mean.”
“Don’t mention it,” Nikki replied, giving him a smile, but it didn’t hide the worry on her face. “How did it go?”
“Oh you know,” Liam shrugged as he took a seat. “Started off okay. We began to talk, then I took my giant foot and stuck it in my stupid mouth.”
“Oh no,” Nikki sighed, giving him a sad look. “I’m sorry, Liam.”
“If I’d just done everything differently,” Liam sighed miserably. “If I hadn’t said the stupid things I said to her, maybe she would have stayed and talked longer. Maybe she wouldn’t have gone home right at that moment, and none of this would have happened to her.”
“This was not your fault,” Nikki insisted, reaching for his hand, squeezing it tightly. “What happened tonight could have happened at any time. This scumbag is everywhere it seems. He’s been doing this for weeks. There was no way you could have known where he was going to hit next.”
“But if I’d done my job and caught the son of a bitch,” Liam sighed once more, feeling completely and utterly useless at that moment. “This wouldn’t have happened to her.”
“And you will catch him,” Landen said from where he was sitting. “Liam, this is not your fault. Okay, Lexi is a bit shaken up, but she is okay. You can’t keep blaming yourself for every little thing that goes wrong.”
Before Liam could reply, Dylan appeared at the door. The moment he saw him, Liam instantly stood up.
“What’s wrong,” Liam asked, a feeling of dread settling over him.
“Nothing,” Dylan assured him, but Liam knew by the look on his face, he wasn’t going to like what his brother had to say. “I just came to let you know that Lexi’s doctor has giv
en her a sedative and has decided to keep her here for the night.”
“Why, what’s wrong?” Liam asked, knowing this was not good.
“She’s just a little shaken up,” Dylan replied. “She got a little upset, so her doctor gave her something that will help her sleep. She will be out for a few hours.”
“Can I go see her now?” Liam asked, but he already knew the answer.
“She can’t talk to you till the morning,” Dylan replied, giving Liam the reply he was expecting. “I’m sorry.”
“But I need to see her,” Liam pleaded, knowing there was no way he was leaving that place without seeing her.
“Liam, Eric is with her,” Dylan explained, his words like a kick to the guts. “How would you explain to him why you’re in there? She is with him now. I know that sucks, but it’s how it is. You can’t make this harder for Lexi than it already is.”
Liam stared at Dylan as his brother’s words settled in his brain.
She was with Eric now.
Dylan was right. Liam knew she had moved on. At least his head knew it; but his heart, in his heart, she still belonged with him. She would always belong with him.
“But she’s going to be okay?” He asked, knowing that right at that moment, there was nothing he could do to change things.
“She’s going to be fine,” Dylan assured him. “I’m sorry, Liam.”
“It’s okay,” Liam replied, smiling at his brother. “You’re right. This is how it is now.”
He glanced at the others, who were all sitting there watching him, the same pitiful expression on their faces. Liam hated that they all felt sorry for him like he was some pathetic, broken animal. He didn’t want their sympathy. He didn’t want anything, except for Lexi.
“I think I’ll go home and get some sleep,” Liam said turning back to Dylan, giving him a smile. “I will be back in the morning to take her statement. We need to get this asshole off the street as soon as we can.”
“Liam,” Callum said as he stood up. “Maybe going home alone tonight isn’t such a great idea. Maybe you could come back to my place. Spend the night. I know Macy would be delighted if her Uncle Liam was there when she woke for breakfast.”
“Thanks, Callum,” Liam replied, giving him a grateful smile once more. “But I think I need time to clear my head. But maybe you should take Nikki back with you. I don’t think it’s safe right now for any women to be alone in this city right now.”
“She is coming home with me,” Landen assured him. “She is going to stay with us for a few days. Until you get this asshole, and Liam, I know you will get him.”
“Thanks, Landen,” Liam replied, grateful for his brother’s words. “Now, go home to that beautiful wife of yours. In fact, you all need to go home. Take care of those you love.”
Turning back to Dylan once more, Liam gave him a nod before he headed out of the waiting room, then down the corridor, each step he took, harder than the one before. He hated leaving her there, hated that he couldn’t even see her.
Stepping out into the night air, he closed his eyes and took a long, calming breath. This was all such bullshit. This was not the way it was supposed to be. Liam would have given anything in the world to go back to that night, five years before. He would have done everything so differently, starting with never going back to that stupid party. He just wondered how he’d managed to get everything so completely wrong.
As he stood there, outside the hospital, he thought about everything that had happened earlier that night. About how he’d bumped into Lexi in the bar, and how she was so mad at him over the waitress.
He couldn’t believe that she agreed to talk to him, but she had.
Then he thought about the words she said to him as she was standing in the elevator just before she left his apartment.
She said she never hated him for what happened between them. She said she still loved him. But then he remembered what else she’d said. She said that sometimes things were far more complicated than they seemed. He had no clue what she was talking about, but he knew there was something he wasn’t seeing. He just had no clue what that something could be.
After Lexi had left his apartment, Liam walked back inside, straight to his kitchen where he had grabbed a glass and a bottle of Scotch from the cupboard. Walking to the island in the centre of his kitchen, he poured himself the biggest glass of Scotch he could. But then he stood there and stared at it for a moment.
He thought about Dylan and the promise he had made to him. Then he thought about Lexi. He knew if he were ever going to get her to listen to him, he would not find a way in the bottom of a glass.
He’d stood there for the longest time before he picked the glass up. Holding it tightly, he brought it to his lips, but something stopped him from taking a sip. Instead, he turned and walked back to the sink, pouring the contents of the glass down the drain.
He then picked up the bottle and did the very same thing to that.
Suddenly he felt tired. He turned, making his way back across his apartment, then down the hallway towards his bedroom. He didn’t even bother stripping off his clothes. Instead, he kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto the bed, his head full with thoughts of Lexi.
When the phone began to buzz, he woke with a start. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep, but he knew it wasn’t long.
The moment the officer said it was a girl in her late twenties that had disturbed a burglar and had been hurt. Liam just knew it was Lexi. He didn’t know why; it was just a feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. When the officer said he believed that it was the same asshole that had been responsible for the recent string of burglaries, Liam was beyond pissed. He knew if he hadn’t have been so distracted lately, he would have picked up this scumbag already, and Lexi wouldn’t have been hurt. He couldn’t help but feel that once again he’d let her down. Maybe she really was better off without him.
Still, he knew he needed to get to the hospital to make sure she was okay. He had a squad car come to collect him, knowing he’d drank too much to drive safely. Before he left, he called Dylan. He needed to know that she had someone who knew what they were doing, taking care of her. It hadn’t even occurred to him about the fact Dylan had been drinking too. He just wanted to know she was okay.
Now he was standing outside the hospital, as a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach almost consumed him. There was no way he could walk away from there without seeing her. He just couldn’t.
He knew if he went back in straight away, Dylan, Landen or one of the others would try to talk him into leaving. So instead, he walked across the road to an all-night coffee shop and ordered himself a black coffee. He took a seat next to the window and watched the hospital entrance until he saw Dylan and the others leaving.
Liam waited a few minutes, making sure they really were gone. Then he left the coffee shop, heading straight back to the hospital.
Making his way to the nurse’s station, he pulled out his badge and asked where Lexi was now. The nurse behind the desk told him she’d been moved to the second floor.
When he got to the second floor, he made his way to the nurse’s station on that floor, to ask for Lexi room number.
The young nurse smiled as she checked the charts, then gave Liam the room number.
“Thank you,” Liam said, giving her one of his killer smiles. He knew she would have to follow protocol, and he hoped that he could use his charms to get around that.
“I should call her doctor,” the young nurse said, returning his smile. “I’m don’t think Ms. Daniels is supposed to be disturbed tonight.”
“I know, Caitlin,” Liam said, reading her name from her tag. “But I’m friends with Ms. Daniels. With Lexi… Please. I just want to check on her myself. Make sure that she is safe. I give you my word I’ll be as quick as I can, and I won’t wake her.”
Liam held her gaze with his, giving her a pleading look. She stared at him for a moment, as slowly a smile spread across her face.
“Please,” Liam repeated, smiling once more. He knew from the flush of her face that he had charmed her enough to get her to agree. If nothing else, he knew how to get his way with, young, naïve women. It was his gift.
“As long as you’re just going to check on her,” Caitlin said, smiling at him once more.
“I promise,” Liam assured her.
Liam turned and started down the corridor, towards Lexi’s room. He was halfway there when the door to her room opened. Liam stopped, unsure of what he should do now. A couple of moments later, Eric stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Liam turned his back to him so Eric wouldn’t see his face.
He held his breath as Eric passed him by. Walking toward the nurse’s station, he stopped to talk to the nurse.
“Caitlin, I’m going to head down to the on-call room for a couple of hours,” he informed her. “If there is any change with Lexi, or if I’m needed for any reason, please have me paged immediately. She should be asleep for another few hours, so I will be back before she wakes up.”
Liam couldn’t help but feel a little pissed that he was actually leaving her alone. After what she’d been through, she needed to have someone with her. However, he was also a little relieved. He wasn’t really sure what he was going to say to Eric when he got to Lexi’s room, now he didn’t need to worry. It would be just him and her, just as he wished it could be.
He stood for a moment, and watched as Eric made his way down along the corridor, then disappeared around the corner.
Releasing a long breath, he glanced towards Caitlin, who gave him a bright smile, before she returned to her paperwork.
Liam turned back towards Lexi’s room, making his way down the last few feet of the corridor to her room. He stopped at the door for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Finally, he reached for the handle, slowly opening the door, before he stepped inside.
Liam stood for a moment next to the door, wondering what he should do. He watched her sleeping for a few moments, his heart almost bursting with a mixture of love and sadness, in equal measures. His eyes went to the bandage on her head, and his stomach knotted with frustration. He hated that she was hurt.
Liam (The Murphy Boys Series Book 4) Page 12
