by Gina Drayer
He started for the stairs, and Dylon stepped into his path. “Let the sadistic asshole burn. He was going to kill Lee.”
Michael looked back at his friend and shook his head. “I can’t do that,” he said and stepped around him. “You two need to get out.”
Dylon waited for a second and watched Michael race up the stairs, straight into danger. But only for a second. While Michael was a good friend, Lee was his priority now. Now, and God willing, for the rest of his life.
Chapter Nineteen
With a still unconscious Lee over his shoulder, Dylon stumbled across the street. How he managed to stay upright with the stabbing pain in his knee was a miracle. As he drew near the curb on the other side of the road, his leg buckled.
A pair of hands reached out to steady him, and with the stranger’s help, he was able to lower Lee to the sidewalk. A small crowd had started to gather. They’d formed a circle around him, watching with morbid curiosity.
She was deathly pale and looked fragile, like a broken doll, lying unmoving on the broken concrete.
“Is she breathing?” someone whispered from the crowd.
Tamping down the fear gripping his heart, Dylon leaned her head back, searching for signs of life like he’d learned in first aid years ago, and watched.
She had to be breathing, damn it. He’d be able to never forgive himself if she wasn’t.
Her chest rose and fell in a steady pattern. Dylon let out the breath he’d been holding, and crumpled beside her. He pulled her into his arms, comforted by her steady breathing.
But he knew that didn’t mean she was okay. She needed to wake up. He needed to see those pretty gray eyes of hers. He needed to hear her say his name. Even if it was just to call him every kind of bastard for leaving her.
“Sweetheart, open your eyes,” he said, brushing the matted and bloody curls from her face. An ugly purple gash above her eyes oozed thick blood. He kissed her nose. “Please, baby. Wake up.”
What if she didn’t? How was he ever going to live with himself after this?
Lee’s eyes fluttered open, and she let out a low groan. “Dylon,” she breathed. “Dylon. You need to leave. It’s not safe.”
“I know, baby. I’ve got you.”
“Christian. He has a gun. He’s … Don’t …” Her head lolled back against his arm, and her eyes slid closed.
“Lee, baby. Stay with me. Come on, open your eyes.”
“Let me through. I’m a nurse.” A small woman pushed her way through the crowd and kneeled beside him. “You need to lay her flat,” she said, touching his shoulder. “An ambulance should be here soon, but we need to keep her still.”
Dylon couldn’t let her go. He was terrified of losing her. The woman repeated her request, easing his fingers from Lee’s arm. He reluctantly surrendered to her insistent pressure but refused to leave Lee’s side.
As the nurse checked Lee over, he stole a glance across the street. Flames whipped out of the third-floor window, and a steady stream of thick black smoke billowed over the building. That’s when he realized Michael still hadn’t exited the building.
“Someone is still inside,” he told the woman at his side.
“I hear the sirens. The fire department is almost here.”
He listened to the crackle of the fire consuming his home, his business, and tried not to think about his friend. He should have told him that the crazy asshole was already dead. Because if the fire hadn’t killed him, he deserved whatever fate had in store and more for hurting Lee. But Michael was a fireman, first and foremost. A hero down to his core. And if anyone could make it out of that building, it was him.
A police car sped up the street and screeched to a stop, followed by a fire truck and an ambulance. A uniformed policeman jumped out and came to check on them. His partner got out and started directing traffic.
“Is there anyone else in the building?” the cop asked.
“Yes. A friend of mine, Michael Ryan.”
“He’s the one that made the initial call,” the cop said, holding up one finger above his head. He continued talking. “Michael Ryan. He mentioned he was with Ladder Company 100. Is that right? Did he go in after someone?”
Dylon nodded watching the paramedics exit the ambulance. He knew the cop would have a million questions, but until Lee was taken care of he couldn’t concentrate.
Thankfully, the paramedics pushed through the now sizable crowd and started to examine Lee. The nurse from earlier was telling them something, but honestly, Dylon couldn’t focus. It was like everything around him was happening in slow motion.
“Sir,” the cop said, breaking him out of his fugue. “Is there anyone else in the building?”
“Just the fucker who attacked us and set the place on fire.”
The cop nodded and held up two fingers. “I’m going to need to get your statement, but it can wait until you get checked out.” He got to his feet and went over to talk to one of the firefighters.
Someone produced a blanket and wrapped it around Dylon’s shoulders. He didn’t move. He just watched as one of them put a neck brace on Lee, while the other pried open her eye and shined a light down on her.
“Female, in her twenties, with serious head trauma. Unconscious, but pupils responsive,” the paramedic said into a walkie-talkie as they moved her onto a backboard. “Severe facial bruising, possible fracture. Minor smoke inhalation, but she’s breathing on her own. Pulse rapid and thready. We’re going to need a couple more buses here. Three more possible injured.”
“Are you hurt?” Dylon looked up into the warm eyes of a young woman in a fire department jacket. “They’re going to take her to the hospital, but there will be another ambulance. My name’s Kathy. I’m an EMT. Why don’t you let me check you out?”
Behind her, two men finished strapping Lee onto a gurney and wheeled it toward the ambulance.
“I need to go with Lee,” he said trying to get to his feet, but the injured knee wouldn’t let him. He crumpled back to the cold sidewalk.
“Hold on there. Let me take a look at that leg. Are you her husband?” she asked.
“No. I’m …I’m her boyfriend.” Dylon hesitated for a moment. He didn’t have a right to call himself her boyfriend after last night. Not after he’d left her to fend for herself.
“I’m sorry. You can’t go with her.” Kathy hesitated a bit, and then asked, “Do you know how we can reach her next of kin?”
That shocked Dylon enough to look at the woman. “Next of kin. Why the fuck do you need her next of kin? She’s breathing. She’s going to be okay.”
“She’s unconscious and with a head injury—” The woman looked over to the ambulance, where they’d just loaded Lee in the back. “They’ll need someone who can make medical decisions for her. What about her parents? Is there a sibling we can reach?”
The sad thing was, he couldn’t answer any of those questions. Hell, he’d just learned her real name two days ago. And the one person who might know was the last person he wanted to talk to. But he was out of options. Lee was more important.
“There’s someone I can call.”
“Good,” Kathy said. “The other paramedic team just pulled in. You need to get that knee X-rayed. I’ll make sure they take you to the same hospital as your girlfriend.”
“What about Michael?” Dylon asked before she could leave. “Did he get out?”
“They haven’t found him yet.” She looked back to the burning building, deep creases lining her brow, and let out a long breath. “The fire took out the stairs from the second to third floor. They’ve had to work their way in from the fire escape.”
“Dylon!” a woman’s voice screamed over the crowd. “Dylon, are you all right? They said someone was hurt.” His sister forced her way between two people and wrapped herself around him, squeezing hard.
“I’m fine, but Lee,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“It will be okay,” she said, holding him.
He wanted to believe
her, but the image of Lee’s still form being carted off in an ambulance flashed in his mind. And for the first time he could remember, Dylon let himself cry.
The paramedics managed to separate Roxie from him and packed him into the back of the ambulance. They splinted his leg and insisted on oxygen because of the smoke. Dylon didn’t really care. Nothing really mattered. Nothing besides getting to the hospital and seeing Lee.
A stream of bright light pulled Lee out of her fitful sleep. Groaning, she tried to cover her eyes, but the action sent shooting pain throughout her skull. Her head was pounding. Not in a bad headache or hangover kind of way. No, it was like someone was literally standing over her with a hammer and smashing her skull with every pulse.
Actually, her entire body hurt. She couldn’t swallow, and her arms felt like lead. But she didn’t care. The pull of blissful, pain-free sleep was strong. It would be so easy to just slide back into her dreamless state, but an intangible worry was pulling her to consciousness. There was something important that she needed to do.
Dylon. Dylon and fire and smoke. And the gun. Christian had the gun pointed at Dylon.
Without thinking, she pushed the covers away and tried to sit up, but she couldn’t. She was tied down; something across her face was holding her back. She tried to call out, but there was a gag in her mouth. Panic set in, causing the throbbing in her head to intensify. She wanted to escape, reach up and untie the gag, but all she could do was lie back and hope the world would stop spinning soon.
Soft noises and mechanical sounds from far away filtered through the nausea. There was someone nearby. Dylon maybe, hopefully. She tried to open her eyes again, but the light was too bright. The mechanical beeping got louder, and Lee felt a hand on her arm.
“It’s all right,” said a male voice she didn’t recognize. “Try to stay calm. I’ve called the doctor, and she’s on her way.”
Lee managed to open one eye, and she saw a strange man standing over her wearing a mask. Pieces started to click into place, and she reached up to touch her face. Her fingers met hard plastic tubes, and she realized where she was. A hospital. That meant the paramedics had come, and likely the police, too. She was safe.
But what had happened to Dylon?
She tried to convey the question with her eyes, but the man continued to work. Lee needed answers but had no way of asking. An older Asian woman came into view and smiled down at her.
“I’m Doctor Cho. You had us worried there for a while, Ms. O’Brien. I’m glad to see you awake.” She checked to monitor and then flashed a bright light into her eyes. “She seems responsive and alert. The O2 stats are good. Let’s take her off the ventilator.” The doctor turned back to Lee and put a hand on her shoulder. “Dan here will take care of you. He is going to take that tube out of your throat. You’re going to be sore. Try not to talk. I’ll be back in a few hours, and we’ll run some additional tests.”
The nurse returned and talked through what he was doing. After the tube was out of her throat, Lee coughed, wincing against the pain. Sore was an understatement. Fire burned down her throat and it tasted as if something had died in her mouth.
“Dylon?” Her throat was raw and damaged, and the word was little more than an unintelligible croak. She swallowed and tried again, desperate to get some answers. “Where’s Dylon?”
“Don’t try to talk,” Dan said. “You really need to let your throat adjust. Drink some of this; it will help.”
He handed over a cup and Lee gingerly sipped on the sweet, salty contents. While he cleaned up the equipment and checked her over again, Lee looked around the stark, empty room. She was utterly alone save for the medical staff.
“Was Dylon hurt?” she asked, her voice still hoarse but not as weak. “He was. There. With me when—” She stopped. Not just because of the pain. She wasn’t ready to relive those terrifying hours.
“I don’t know,” he said, giving her upper arm a squeeze. “You haven’t had many visitors. There’s your guard, and the woman from the DA’s office. Your parents are here. As soon as we’ve checked you out, I can send one of them back. But you’re not going to be up for much visiting today. Ten minutes for each.”
Her mom was the first. She spent her ten minutes sobbing and telling Lee how much she loved her. Then her father came in. Normally bright-eyed, he looked like death. There were dark smudges under his eyes. She’d bet he hadn’t slept at all last night.
Had it only been one night? “How long have I been here?”
He frowned and the dark circles exaggerated the creases around his eyes. “Three days,” he said.
Lee could only blink, shocked by his statement. Three days? She’d been in the hospital for three whole days. She wanted to ask about Dylon, but their time was up before she could work up the nerve. Then Janet walked in.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said.
Lee wanted to scream at the woman. All this was her fault. But she had questions and not a lot of strength left. She kept it to the essentials. “Dylon?”
“He’s fine. Just a few minor injuries. He pulled you out of that building just in time. The floor collapsed by the time the firefighters got there,” she said. “He’s quite a man. I can see why you felt safe there.”
Safe up until Janet had ruined it.
“Where is he?”
“He’d be here,” Janet said, “That is if he knew where you were. He came to the hospital in every day, demanding to see you. And has called my office a hundred times.”
Lee closed her eyes in relief. She tried to tell her stupid heart that him checking in on her and wanting her to stay weren’t the same things, but she couldn’t extinguish the small flame of hope.
“I want to see him,” Lee said in a whisper.
“I can’t let that happen. The marshals have a very strict rule. The only reason your parents are here is because you were incapacitated. We’re still assessing the danger you’re in and whether Mr. Evans acted alone or under Del Rossi’s orders.” Janet patted Lee’s knee. “If it were up to me, I’d let him be here, but we can’t risk it. There’s still a chance that Del Rossi’s people will come after you. Do you remember anyone else with Mr. Evans?”
Lee tried to remember what had happened, but so much was still fuzzy. She remembered waking up and seeing Christian pointing the gun at Dylon. She remembered Dylon kissing her. Telling her that he loved her. Or was that all part of a dream? She didn’t have any right to hope that he’d still want her. Not after she’d flung his love back in his face. Lee knew she should be satisfied with knowing he was safe, but she wasn’t.
Lee shook her head.
“The DA wants you and your parents under protective custody until we know it’s safe. Although, I don’t think you anything to worry about. Without Christian Evans, we don’t have a case against Del Rossi.”
“Christian?” she croaked.
“Dead.” Janet looked up at the clock and sighed. “I don’t have much time. I just wanted to let you know that you’re done. There’s not going to be a trial. We’re going to keep the guard here at the hospital, and you can talk to the marshals about staying in protective custody if that’s what you want. It’s the safe thing to do, but you’re always free to turn down the offer and go back to your life.”
She was free to return to her life. Go back to being Lee O’Brien. But all she really wanted to do was go back to being Lee Taylor.
“Michael?” Her voice was little more than a whisper, but she needed to know.
“The firefighter, right?”
Lee nodded her head, anxious to hear the news. Please, just don’t let him be hurt.
“They got him out safe. He was badly injured when the floor collapsed, but I think he was released from the hospital yesterday.”
Lee heart clinched. Michael was another casualty of the destruction she wrought on the lives around her. There were a thousand more questions she needed answered, but her words turned into a croak. She took a quick sip of her drink to soothe th
e rawness of her throat when a knock came on the door.
“My time’s up. It was a pleasure, Lee,” Janet said and squeezed Lee’s hand. “I’m sorry things turned out the way they did. Good luck, but somehow I don’t think you’ll need it.”
She understood and appreciated that Janet was trying to keep her safe, but Lee needed to see Dylon. At the very least, she needed to hear his voice. When the door clicked shut behind Janet, Lee eased out of bed and tried to stand. The world started to spin and her vision blurred around the edges. She latched on to the bed rail to keep from falling. Standing had been a mistake. She took slow, deliberate breaths, and was trying to keep from vomiting when the nurse came back in.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’ve been sedated for the last three days due to swelling in your brain. Do you really want to injure your head again?” Dan rushed to her side and eased her back into bed. “That bright yellow bracelet means you’re a fall risk. You don’t get out of bed for any reason unless someone is here to help you.”
“Phone,” Lee croaked.
“You can’t talk on the phone right now.” The nurse shook his head.
He was right, of course. The little bit of talking she’d done since waking up had ruined her voice. No matter how much she wanted to talk to Dylon, with her throat raw, there wasn’t much she could say. Lee pointed to the notepad, and Dan brought it over. She scrawled Bernadette’s number on the pad with Dylon’s name, and a simple request. Would you call him? Ask him to come visit me?
Dan read the note and sighed. “Let me guess. Dylon is the broody man who’s been stalking the waiting room for the past three days. I can try to call him, but I’m not sure it will do any good. There’s an officer assigned to your room twenty-four-seven. There are only three visitors on his list. Your room is harder to get into than the Up&Down. Right now, you need to rest.”
“I need—”
“You need to get back in the bed,” the nurse said sternly. He helped her back under the covers, and after she was all tucked in, he let out a sigh. “The doctor wants another CT scan. I can make a few calls and maybe arrange for a chance meeting down in radiology.”
