Pulse (Revenge Book 5)

by Trevion Burns

  Veda wondered how terrible she must look if even Gage, a man who’d seen her with hair removal cream on her upper lip and huge sleep bonnets on her head at bedtime, couldn’t even manage a genuine smile at her. His jet black hair wasn’t styled, leaving it falling across his forehead and into his eyes, and his dusky Italian features had grown even more shadowed than they were by nature. A muscle rolled under the five o’clock shadow of his chiseled jaw. His delicious scent—an aroma she could never quite put her finger on but always had the power to send a blast of light shooting through her—was there to greet her, righting everything that was wrong in her world, even though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly was wrong at that moment.

  Veda tried to speak, but nothing came, so instead, she moved her eyes to the right.

  Lincoln Hill dropped his head from the right side of the bed, chin smashing into his chest. He took a healthy step back as his head fell, tightening his fingers around the steel bars he also had in a death grip, knuckles going white, leaning forward as if he were on the verge of throwing up. He shook his lowered head, his long-sleeved white t-shirt and police badge swinging forward before him. His wavy brown hair tumbled down from an uneven part in the middle of his head and hung around his face like a curtain. But it didn’t hide the deep pinch of his eyebrows—one of which had a deep scar that sliced it in half—or the scowl crossing his face. His upturned nostrils flared as he exhaled heavily, the bulky muscles under his shirt flexing.

  Sensing the tone in the room, Veda was relieved to catch sight of Coco Lockwood’s ebony face and sweet smile at the head of the bed. Coco had let her black hair down from its usual ponytail, and it fanned well past her shoulders. She began to bop up and down when Veda met her eyes, waving, the sleeves of her long sleeve pink top pulled all the way down to the tips of her fingers. Appearing to realize that Gage and Linc were still shaken, Coco did another little bop.

  “I’ll go tell the doctors she’s awake,” Coco said before breezing past Jake Jones, who was also at the foot of the bed but didn’t seem to have heard anything Coco said.

  Jake didn’t even watch Coco go as she breezed from the room. His hands were buried in his blonde hair. The fringe his hair had been cut into swooped down over one of his blue eyes, which were currently bubbling with tears, lips smashed tightly.

  It was the tears in Jake’s eyes that did it. As her best friend, Veda had never seen Jake cry, and the sight sent her shooting up in the bed.

  The sudden move made Gage straighten and reach for her, voice nasally as he breathed, “Whoa—”

  “Easy—” Linc reached both hands into the bed as well, fingers splayed, but didn’t touch her.

  Every soul in the room appeared startled by Veda’s sudden movement, including her, because it had caused the IV needle she hadn’t realized was in her arm to shift, sending a pinch of pain zooming through her. She reached down to adjust it, aware that every eye in the room was staring her down. Then, she froze, realizing for the first time that the IV she was adjusting was in her own arm. Her eyes followed the IV tube up to the drip chamber hanging next to the bed.

  Her eyes flew back to Gage, then Linc. “Why am I—?”

  “You had a pretty bad fall,” Gage answered the question before she could finish, sniffling his stuffy nose.

  Stuttering, Veda tried to speak.

  “Somebody pushed you,” Linc corrected, shooting Gage a glare across the bed before looking back down at Veda. His voice lowered to Christian Bale Batman levels, perfectly matching the fire in his eyes. “And whoever did it is going regret it for the rest of their life.” He drew in a sharp breath. “And until they do, once you’re discharged, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go back to your apartment. Whoever’s gunning for you is still out there.” His sizable biceps flexed and rolled as he gave the bed bar most of his weight.

  “I hope you’re not insinuating she stay with you,” Gage smiled smugly at Linc, even as his brows pulled tight.

  Linc slowly lifted his eyes back to Gage, paused, and then spoke, voice calm, “Judging by the last conversation I had with her, I doubt she’s in a big hurry to stay with you either, Blackwater.”

  Gage’s eyes grew wounded. He tried to contain it, but it showed as he snuck a look down at Veda, his cheeks flushing.

  “She’s staying with me,” Jake spoke from the foot of the bed—his voice several levels softer than the two men spitting venom at each other with their eyes—attempting to defuse the situation. “I’m the only one who won’t try to feel her up during her recovery.”

  Linc shot him a look. “You live in a single story shack on the hill with every window and door exposed.”

  Jake feigned horror. “How do you know that? Stalker,” he muttered, even as he shot Linc a coy smile that invited him to patronize that single story shack anytime he pleased.

  “Give me thirty seconds and a paperclip, and I’m inside your house. On top of that,” Linc nodded at Jake, apparently unbothered at being accused of stalking. “You’re a hundred pounds soaking wet—on a good day. You can’t protect her.”

  Jake crossed his arms tight, lips in the midst of a pout.

  “Well, I can protect her,” Gage sneered.

  “Again.” Linc moved his eyes back to Gage. “Your home has windows and doors on the first floor. I’m in a high-rise with twenty-four-hour security. The only way in is through the front door. If you can get past the doorman. She’s safest at my place.”

  “How convenient for you,” Gage smirked.

  Under normal circumstances, that would’ve been the point Veda jumped in and stopped the argument between the two men who seemed born to despise one another—and Jake—who’d somehow found himself caught in the fray.

  But everything was happening too quickly for her to intervene. Her mind moved a hundred miles a minute, causing the conversation—or argument—they were having to blow right over her head. They may as well have been quarreling in Portuguese.

  As they continued to spar, her eyes dashed back and forth, mind running away with her. Her plea for peace got trapped in her throat, eyes expanding.

  She didn’t even notice the shadow looming in behind her until it had washed out the yellow glow of the stairway light. A gasp ripped from her lips, and just as she went to look over her shoulder, she was shoved violently from behind. A scream tore through her lips, burning her throat as she went flying forward.

  Veda’s eyes went to a distant place as she recalled the events that had put her in that bed, in rapid fire, each new recollection spreading her eyes a little wider than the last. Through her pounding ears, she distantly heard Linc and Gage saying her name, but she could barely hear them.

  Her silence spawned another argument, each man in the room blaming the other for upsetting her when she was in such delicate condition.

  Clutching the blanket on her lap, Veda blinked wildly.

  Her head hit the concrete steps first—a crack filling the air—and as she barreled down, faster every second, a different part of her body slammed into the concrete, each a little harder than the last. Her shoulder, her knees, her stomach…

  Her stomach.

  Veda covered her stomach with trembling hands. The action ended the petty argument that had been on its way to all out war in a flash. Silence dominated the room, the sight of her hand on her stomach eliciting a rapid inhalation of from every soul inside, leaving the air even tighter that it already was.

  “My baby.” It was more of a demand that a question from Veda, and when her eyes searched the room and found every other eye avoiding hers, she said it again with more bite. “My baby.”

  Her eyes landed on Gage.

  He winced, trying to speak.

  He couldn’t speak.

  For the first time, Veda noticed how red and swollen his eyes were. His nose was reindeer red as well, which explained the nasally voice.

  She looked at Linc. When their eyes met, he leaned against the bed bars and his head fell again.

/>   She tried to stand, managing to stagger to her feet, her knees wobbling violently, bracing a hand against the wall when she found herself intensely lightheaded. Wave after wave of dizziness assailed her, causing her to sway. In the next instant, the hand she’d been bracing against the wall went limp, and so did her kneecaps, sending her crumbling back down to the floor. The shadow behind her grew larger still, moving in so close that it drowned out the flickering yellow light on the first floor.

  Veda blinked out of her thoughts, her horrified eyes flying across the deathly silent room as Coco re-entered with the young blonde doctor Veda recognized as Dr. Penny Nailer. The doctor who’d been the one to confirm Veda’s pregnancy. The doctor who’d convinced Veda that the baby she’d once dreaded was really the highest blessing. The doctor that had quickly become one of Veda’s good friends.

  Not only had Penny just been awarded a promotion to co-chief resident earlier in the month, she was also one of the most dedicated doctors on staff, often sacrificing every ounce of sleep and personal time in the interest of caring for her patients. Veda had always hoped that, if she were ever unlucky enough to find herself in critical condition, Penny would be the resident on duty.

  Veda knew she was in good hands, but regardless, as Penny moved toward the bed, the sloppy bun she’d tied at the top of her head close to coming untangled from the pins she’d wrapped it with, the look on her face could only be described as mildly constipated, and Veda couldn’t help the horror in her heart. She could already see on Penny’s face the truth she’d just seen on Gage, Linc, and Jake’s. The truth that remained on their faces even then.

  She knew what Penny would have to say without even asking, and she couldn’t help but wonder if this was her retribution. If the karmic God’s were circling back around to punish her for using Penny Nailer to get closer to her terrible husband, Brock Nailer, Veda’s number four, whose balls she’d just finished slicing out a few weeks earlier. Veda had been nice enough to wait for Penny to get pregnant with the child she’d always wanted before separating her husband’s gonads from his body, but apparently, that wasn’t enough to absolve her from karmic retaliation.

  Penny came to a stop next to the bed, clutching a chart in her hand, her blue eyes full of regret.

  “I want everyone to go,” Veda said, her voice already wobbling with emotion she was fighting to hold back.

  Every male mouth in the room dropped, and their gazes went doe-eye big as if they were all in the midst of asking Veda if she meant everybody or just the people in the room that each individual person didn’t like?

  Penny’s eyes moved between Gage, Linc, and Jake, her brows raised high, as if she was waiting for the inevitable explosion she could feel on the horizon in the tension-laden room.

  “Even me?” Jake asked, pointing a finger at himself.

  “Everyone,” Veda said through clenched teeth. “Now.”

  Coco tugged her sleeves down over her fingers, her gentle, hoarse voice sweet enough to warm even the coldest heart. “I’m really happy you’re awake, Veda. Call me if you need anything.”

  Clearly the least stubborn soul in the room, Coco heeded Veda’s request with a small wave goodbye, leaving the room with her head down, her black hair blowing in the breeze behind her as she went.

  Jake was next, patting Veda’s ankle softly and telling her he’d be right outside, unable to let any moment in a room with Lincoln Hill pass without a flirtatious leer, which he gave Linc as he sauntered out.

  Gage and Linc remained on either side of the bed, eyes locked.

  “Veda, I’m leading your case,” Linc said. “I need to stay behind and ask you some questions.”

  “Of course you do.” Gage gave a soft roll of his eyes. With a deep breath, he looked down at Veda, stroking her cheek softly with the back of his fingers. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right outside, okay?”

  Veda nodded sharply.

  Appearing only slightly shaken by her attitude, Gage let his fingers fall from her face with a sigh before leaving the room.

  When just Veda, Linc, and Penny remained, Veda’s eyes searched Penny’s solemn face. She felt Linc’s eyes doing the same thing to hers from beside her.

  Veda’s voice went vacant. “I don’t want the big song and dance, Penny. Just… spit it out.”

  Penny granted Veda’s wish without hesitation. “You’ve been comatose for several hours. The fall caused massive internal bleeding. You sustained injuries to your liver that formed a blood clot. It burst. Combined with blood lost from the severed vein in your temple, your blood pressure plummeted, and the baby went into fetal distress.”

  Veda didn’t look at Penny, nor Linc, her eyes staring blankly ahead, out of the window, locking onto the fat moon shining in from the starry sky. “How did it happen?”

  Penny drew in a deep breath. “The fetus died due to lack of blood and oxygen.”

  Veda stared ahead for another moment, letting the words sink in, and then her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

  “I’m so sorry, Veda,” Penny said.

  But her voice had already faded away, reduced to nothing but a mumble in Veda’s ears. Veda couldn’t help but wonder if Penny would still be sorry if she knew what Veda had done. If she knew Veda was the person who’d attacked her husband in his hotel room and put him in the hospital weeks earlier. Veda opened her eyes and gnawed her teeth, causing her jaw to lock tight. She felt the tears trying to come, and held her breath until they surrendered and faded away.

  “If Linc had found you even ten minutes later,” Penny continued. “You would’ve bled to death.”

  Both Veda and Penny looked at Linc, who appeared utterly unable to accept the congratulatory tone behind Penny’s words.

  “Can I have her for a few minutes, please?” Linc asked Penny. “The longer we wait…”

  “Of course, Detective,” Penny said, raising her eyebrows down at Veda while whispering, “You know where to find me.” She left the room without another word, easing the door shut behind her.

  Silence.

  Veda felt Linc’s eyes burning a hole into the side of her face but didn’t look up to meet his.

  “You good?” His deep voice floated into her ears.

  “I’m fine,” she whispered.

  Linc waited for her to meet his eyes before he continued, careful to keep his voice low and slow. “I know you’ve been through it tonight—”

  “I’m fine. Let’s just do this, please.”

  He faltered, held her gaze, and then dropped his head, retrieving a pen from the pocket of his jeans and clicking it open, followed by a small notepad, sneaking a look at her from under the shadow of his brow bone as he flipped it open. “You remember what happened?”

  “I was taking out the trash, and someone pushed me from behind on the third floor.”

  “What were you doing before the push?”

  “I was in my apartment. Earlier that night. Called Gage. Told him I was…” She had to take a moment with her eyes closed, taking several deep breaths before she continued. “Told him I was pregnant. Ordered his favorite Chinese, and I asked him to come over.”

  “Did he?” Linc asked.

  Veda shot him a look. She had a feeling he already knew the answer. “I didn’t think he’d show. We’re still broken up, and he’s been seeing someone else. But he called while I was in the trash room. Left a message.”

  “What did the message say?”

  “I don’t know. I tried to listen to it… but that’s when I got pushed.”

  “The trash room is an active crime scene and your phone is still in evidence. As soon as it’s released, I need to hear that message.”

  She nodded.

  “Any idea who’d wanna hurt you?”

  She shook her head, a lump moving down her throat, even though she could think of four people who’d potentially want to hurt her. The same way she’d hurt them. Regardless, as the head of the police team working hard to catch her, Veda knew she couldn’t sh
are that tidbit with Linc.

  “Do you owe anybody money?” he pressed. “ Anybody ever threatened you? Any enemies?”

  Veda’s eyes widened as the answers to Linc’s questions floated through her mind. Answers she knew she couldn’t say out loud. That she did, in fact, have enemies. Enemies that didn’t know they were her enemies. Enemies whose stones she’d been cutting out with wild abandon. Six enemies who’d yet to experience the bitter taste of her vengeance, waiting on a list that was beginning to feel a mile long. It occurred to her that any one of them could have pushed her.

  Had one of the ten men who’d attacked and brutalized her ten years ago figured out who she was? Decided to exact a little revenge of his own? Was her secret out?

  It had to be.

  It was the only thing that made sense.

  “I meant what I said.” His voice grew scratchy.

  Veda was snapped away from her thoughts at his declaration, meeting his eyes once more.

  He nodded at her, mistaking her stroll down revenge lane as a moment of mourning and introspection. His green eyes gleamed with more open honesty than Veda had ever seen in them.

  “I’m gonna find out who did this to you and they’re gonna regret it for the rest of their life,” he promised.

  The words were meant to soothe her, but her heart felt like it had lit itself on fire at his vow.

  “But you need to talk to me.” Linc lowered his head even more. “You need to trust me. A’ight?”

  She nodded.

  He nodded too, motioning to her with his pen. “The Blackwaters. You mentioned once that they didn’t approve of you and Gage.”

  Veda blinked rapidly as Linc recalled a random conversation they’d once had at the gym, amazed that she always managed to forget how well he listened.

  Still trying to wrap her head around a day that felt like it was going a mile a minute, she sputtered. “You don’t think—”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Which is why I have to ask questions.”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, Celeste… she hates me. She and Gage never got around to severing the umbilical chord. If you asked her, she’d tell you I snatched her precious baby boy straight from the womb. But she couldn’t… she wouldn’t…” she squinted, unable to finish.