by Alison Mello
“You’re a fucking pig. Leave her the fuck alone and run your drug-infested fucking club.” One of the guys backhands me across the face and the other punches me. They’re going to fucking beat me until I’m fucking dead. I hang my head, saying nothing more, but that’s when I think about Kara. Her beautiful blonde hair, her big green eyes, and her luscious lips. I fucking love her so much, and I’m going to die before I have a chance to live a life with her.
“You may think I’m a pig, but when I leave here you’ll be dead, and there’ll be no one to stop me from getting to her. I knew I was smart to back off. You’re all so wrapped up in protecting Kara from this sap, you left her unprotected and now she’ll be mine. I’m going to bury my cock in every one of her holes right after I kill that piece of shit husband of hers.” He laughs. “Then she’ll be mine and I’ll raise that precious baby of theirs.”
I scream in frustration, because there’s not a thing I can do. “You can all go fuck yourselves. I’m half beaten, and if you untied me right now, you wouldn’t stand a chance against me. I’d fucking kill each of you with my bare hands.”
“That’s why you’re tied to a chair. Funny thing is, we plan on doing the same to you.” There’s a ruckus outside the door and Noah rushes out to see what’s going on. He calls Higgins, who tells the boys to follow, but not before they use me as a human punching back for a few more minutes.
“Fuck!” I scream out, panting as I wake from a nightmare.
“Slade.” Kara jumps up from beside me and runs to my side. “Holy shit, Slade. You’re awake.” She’s sobbing as she sits on the bed beside me. She wipes her tears and tries to calm me down as she calms herself down. “Oh Slade, you’re safe. I promise you’re safe. I love you so much,” she says with tears running down her face.
“Baby, I love you too, and I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. You’re my world, and all I kept thinking about. You’re what pulled me through this situation. It was my need to be with you and protect you.” I wince as I lay back in the bed, pain shooting through my rib.
“Easy, relax,” she says, grabbing a tissue to wipe her cheeks.
The pain is still a bit intense. “How long?” I pant. “How long have I been here?”
“You were rushed in on Sunday evening. It’s now Wednesday morning.” I close my eyes, realizing I’ve been out for a while now. She must have been so scared. “I haven’t left your side the entire time.”
“How bad am I?” I close my eyes, waiting to hear.
“You have a concussion, a few cracked ribs, but the worst was your leg. You had surgery yesterday.”
“The fucker broke it, didn’t he?” I’m trying to maintain some semblance of control, but I’m struggling. I’m in pain, but I want to jump out of this bed and fuck his ass up.
“I’m sorry, Slade.” She nods. “He broke it. The surgeon says you’ll be fine, but you’ll need physical therapy.” She takes my hand places a gentle kiss on the top of it.
“I let you down, I’m sorry. I promised you I wouldn’t get hurt and I did.” I can’t bear to look at her.
“Slade, look at me.” I keep my eyes away from her, not wanting her to see how weak I am right now. I won’t budge, I can’t. I failed her and I don’t fail. “Slade, please.” She slips her hand along my jaw bone and gently turns my head to face her. I feel like the pussy I was calling Higgins and his guys as my eyes well with tears. “You didn’t fail me. You scared me, yes, and I won’t pretend I’m not mad that you went to that club by yourself, but I love you far too much to allow you to beat yourself up over this.”
“I love you too, Kara, and I swear to you I will never let my guard down like that again. You mean too much to me. When they left me in that room, all I kept thinking about was you and how the hell I was going to get out of there so I could come back to you.” She uses her thumb to wipe the tear that ran down my cheek.
She presses the gentlest kiss to my lips. She looks into my eyes with her thumb softly caressing my cheek. “Want to tell me what happened?”
I shake my head. “I will, but not right now. Right now, I just want to hold you and rest. I’m tired.” Despite the pain I’m in, I shift on the bed, making room for her to squeeze in next to me. She’s so tiny she doesn’t need much room. She rests in the crook of my neck and gently rubs her hand over my stomach. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m sorry I scared you, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I felt sooner.” I kiss the top of her head and close my heavy eyes.
“Ssshhh. I forgive you, now rest.” She kisses my neck and we both doze off.
***
The blood pressure cuff tightens around my arm, waking me from my sleep. This thing is a pain in the ass. It set to check my blood pressure every so often and it keeps waking me up. I think I’ll ask the doctor to take this thing off as soon as possible. It’s already ten, so I’m hoping the doctor will be in soon. Despite this thing waking me, I have a huge smile on my face because my girl is sleeping soundly, snuggled into my side. It feels so good to hold her.
Cooper comes walking into the room. “Sshhh. She’s finally sleeping.”
“She was pretty tired. She hasn’t slept much since you got here.”
I nod my head. “Cooper, I’m sorry. I can’t help feeling like I failed both you and Kara.”
He puts his hand up in a defensive manner. “What you did wasn’t the smartest thing you could have done, but it did the trick. Noah’s in custody. We have both of the guys who beat you and we’re on Higgins’ tail.”
“How’s Miranda? Is she safe?”
“Yes, she’s down on the fourth floor.” My eyes go wide as I fear they got to her. “Not what you think. Relax, she had the baby.”
I sigh in relief. “Thank God. They were so pissed that I wouldn’t give them Miranda’s new address. They kept saying Noah fucked it up. He must have been high and gave them the wrong address.”
“Well, she’s here for another day or so, and then they go home, and when they do, security will go with them until Higgins is behind bars.” He crosses his arms at his chest. “How are you feeling?”
“I hurt all over. I can’t believe I was out for so long. I don’t even remember getting here, and to be honest, if a nightmare hadn’t woken me, I’m not sure I’d remember why I was here.”
He shrugs. “That’s all normal. You’ve been through a lot. Just make sure if those nightmares don’t disappear, you take care of it.”
“I’ve dealt with my share of nightmares. I won’t let them get out of control.” Kara starts to stir in my arms. I notice she’s wearing a sexy pair of leggings and a t-shirt, probably what she’s been wearing for days now.
“Kara, go take a shower,” her father demands.
“Good morning, Daddy.”
He bursts into laughter. “Good morning, baby girl. Now go shower. I know you haven’t done more than wash in that sink.” His head nods toward the bathroom.
“Fine. Mom brought me some stuff yesterday.” She grabs her bag and hurries off to the shower.
“You have about ten minutes to tell me what happened for your statement if you don’t want her hearing the story.” I shake my head. Her father’s a slick bastard. He knew I wasn’t going to want her hearing the gory details of what happened to me.
“I went to the club Saturday night after booking one of the small VIP rooms. I told them I wanted Sapphire, because after our last visit, she slipped on stage and we could tell she was nervous, and would probably spill more, given the chance. When I got her alone in that room, she told me about the cameras, so instead of just talking, we made it look good. She came offstage and pretended to give me one hell of a lap dance while she told me all she knew.” I sigh and pain shoots through my ribs. When the pain eases, I continue telling him how I gave her his name and told her to go see him immediately.
“She did. That’s how we got what we needed to get the warrant to search the club. They questioned her after her lap dance with you. She played it cool and said you were
like any other client. When her shift was done she went straight to the station.”
“Where is she now?”
“She, her son, and sister are all in protective custody. They have a detail on them, and since the club is closed, no one’s the wiser.” I nod. “As soon as the warrant came through, we went to the club. It was closed, they basically left you. I’m not sure if they figured you would die overnight or they would come back the next day and finish you off.”
“I don’t remember everything, but I was leaving the club when Noah spotted me, and that’s when I knew I was screwed. Two guys grabbed me from behind and I debated fighting them off. Had I realized what they were going to do with me, trust me, I would have. They dragged me down a dark hall that lead to another dark hall. I remember barely being able to see.” I shake my head. “They slammed me into a seat and zip-tied my hands and legs. After that things get blurry. I remember Higgins coming into the room and telling me he loved her mother and he was going to love her too or some stupid shit like that. Noah, the piece of shit, tried to hit me and I laughed at him. That’s when the fucker went and got the brass knuckles he fucked me up with.”
“We found them. It’s all we need. They’re all looking at attempted murder.”
“Good morning, Mr. Ryan. It’s good to see you awake.”
“It’s good to be awake.”
“How are you feeling?” The doctor picks up my chart.
“Hungry, and can we take this cuff off now? It’s kept me up since early this morning.”
“Yeah, once you realize it’s there, it has a tendency to do that, but now that you’re awake, we can take it off. Your blood pressure has been pretty stable anyway.”
Kara comes walking into the room. “Good morning, Doc.” She takes a seat next to me.
He bids her good morning and tells me he’ll have the nurse get me some light foods to try, and if I keep them down, he’ll gradually move me to heavier foods. He drops the clipboard at the foot of the bed and he’s gone.
Next thing I know the entire crew is walking in the door. Zane, Sky, Logan, Katie, Shane, Sadie, Jonah, and even Cole. “Wow, when I sent the group text, I didn’t expect you all to show up at once.” She turns to me. “Slade and Miranda will be by in a little bit. She and the baby are being released today and are planning on stopping in before they go home with Charlotte.” She pats my leg.
Everyone is hugging me and shaking hands with me when the nurse walks in. “Wow, why wasn’t I invited to this party?”
“You are totally invited, especially if you have food for me.”
“I do.” She laughs and places the tray on my table before wheeling it over. “Now listen here. I know you have a private room, but you still have to keep the noise down. There are far more people in here than we typically allow. Don’t make me kick some of you out.”
“No, ma’am. We’ll be good.” I shake my head as I adjust the back of my bed so I can eat, or should I say drink. It’s pretty much a liquid diet. Tea, black coffee, apple juice, broth, and the main dish to all hospital liquid diets, green Jell-O. I fucking hate green Jell-O. She gives me a smile and makes for the door. “Umm…Nurse?”
“Yes?” She turns back to me.
“I thought you were bringing me food. This is all drinks. How is this supposed to fill me?”
“Jell-O isn’t a drink.” She winks.
“Yeah, and it tastes like shit.” She laughs.
“I’ll see what I can scrape up after you manage to keep that down.” She walks out, not waiting for a response. The guys, of course, find it funny.
“Baby, you have to get me some real food. I’m starving.”
She raises her brows at me. “Next time you decide to run off to play Rambo, think about this moment right here, along with all the other shitty moments you’ve had to recollect.” She crosses her arms over her chest with attitude. “Start with that.”
“I said I was sorry.” I drink my black coffee. I like cream and sugar in it, but I’m used to drinking it black from my Army days, so that doesn’t bother me so much. I drink the broth next, and then fight down the Jell-O. I finish off with apple juice and then push the table away.
Everyone is staring at me because it took me about five seconds to put that all down. “Hungry much?” Logan busts my balls.
“Dude, fuck you. I haven’t had food in days. I’m starving, and clearly this is part of some sort of punishment.” He laughs.
Chapter 19
Kara
We’re all sitting around Slade’s room, talking and catching up. Slade is giving Cole a list of things that he needs from home that we didn’t think about when we left in a hurry. He’s going to check on the place, get our mail, and get everything before making his way back here for dinner tonight.
“Well, we should get Charlotte home. I’m pretty tired.” Miranda stands from her chair, taking hold of Stone’s arm.
“Thanks for stopping in. We’ll come by as soon as I’m out of this place.” Slade hugs Miranda and shakes hands with Stone. “Congrats, guys,” Slade tells them as they grab the carrier with the baby sleeping in it.
“I’ll walk you guys out,” Cole says to them. “I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” Cole tucks the list into his pocket and follows them out.
“I have to get going soon too.” My father looks at his watch. “I have a bunch of guys busting their ass to find Higgins. I should probably get an update.”
“What will happen to his club?”
“Eventually, it will become property of the state and they’ll auction it off. Why?”
“I may buy it.” Logan laughs. “Not only would it piss Higgins off, but it’ll give Mikey and I the club we’ve wanted to open together.”
Sky shakes her head. “Yeah, because you don’t have your hands full with the two you’re running right now?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I’ll train Kelly to run Thrive and I’ll move Shane to Heat. He and Stone can run Heat together, and when Slade gets his lazy ass out of the hospital, he can help us update the security system there.” Everyone starts laughing. Of course they know Slade is far from lazy, but Logan has fucking jokes today.
“Hey, stop rushing him. It’s bad enough once he’s released he’ll be itching to get back to work. This man can’t sit still.” I give Logan shit for picking on Slade.
The doctor walks back into the room. “You won’t have to worry about that for a bit. He’s not going home just yet.” Slade growls. “You can growl all you want, young man. I’m used to it. You’ll go home when your orthopedist and I agree you’re ready. For now, I’ve removed your food restrictions, since you’ve kept everything down without an issue. I’ve ordered them to deliver you a dinner with more substance. If your family delivers you food, you’re welcome to it.”
“Thank fuck for that.” Slade rolls his eyes.
I slap him on the arm. “Watch your mouth.” I turn to the doctor. “He’s a bit cranky today.”
“I can see that. Don’t you worry, I’m used to it, and trust me, I’ve seen far worse.” I laugh when Slade jokingly sticks out his tongue. “All I have to do is threaten more green Jell-O and suddenly they behave themselves.” The doctor chuckles.
I laugh harder, Slade made a big deal of hating green Jell-O. “I’m sorry. Please just keep the green Jell-O away. That stuff’s so gross.”
“Now I know what to get you next Christmas,” Logan teases.
“Dude, you have some serious jokes today.” Slade chuckles but quickly stops when he feels pain shooting through his ribs.
Sky slaps Logan for messing with him. “You two are too much today. Behave,” she scolds, causing the doctor to laugh.
“Listen, you’re making great progress, but we have to monitor you for a few more days before we can let you go home. Your swelling is all going down and your ribs will start to feel less tender each day, but you need to rest.” The doctor shrugs. “If you overdo it, then it’s only going to take longer for you to heal.”
&n
bsp; “Thanks, Doc,” Slade says.
“My pleasure. Relax a bit, and I’ll be back tomorrow to check in on you after I meet with your orthopedist. He should be in to check on you as well.” Slade nods and the doctor leaves the room.
My father stands from his chair. “I’ll come back later with your mom. I need to go check on the investigation.” He gives me a hug. “You listen to the doctors so you can get the hell out of here.” My father shakes hands with Slade.
“I will.” Slade nods at my father as a nurse comes in carrying a brown box.
“You’ve received a package.” She places it on the table in front of him and exits the room.
My father has a leery look on his face. He pulls a knife from his back pocket and slits the box open. Slade opens the flaps to find a handwritten letter.
Slade,
Congrats on living to see another day, you piece of shit. I should have fucking killed you myself. Thanks to you, most of my guys have been arrested and the cops are busy building their case on me, but they still have to find me. You see, I have a plan, and I won’t stop until I see it come to fruition. I’m coming for Miranda, and once I have her and the baby, we will be gone and no one will know where we are. We’ll all have new identities and a new life. I’ve been stalking the house, and now know the baby has been born. That means the time is right. She will become mine as her mother once was. I have to get back to my plans, but I want you to do me a favor. Let Stone know that I plan on taking good care of Miranda and the baby.
Watch your ass,
Randall Higgins
Slade hands the letter to my father and looks in the box. Underneath the letter is a sign that Slade had made for Miranda and Stone for Christmas last year. “Fuck, they’ve been in their apartment,” he growls.
