by Wade, Maddie
“Oh my God! Is he okay?” Pax was on her feet now, shoving her arms into a jacket as Decker watched with a question in his assessing brown eyes.
“They’re taking him to St Vincent’s Memorial by life flight.”
Pax didn’t need any more. If they were life-flighting him instead of taking him by road it was bad. St Vincent’s was a cardiothoracic specialist teaching hospital too.
“Okay, where are you now, Mom?”
“I’m in the car. Pete is driving me. I was too shaken to drive.”
She actually did sound upset. Her parents had a complicated relationship and not one she wanted to try and figure out. “All right. I’m leaving now and will meet you there.”
“Okay.”
Pax hung up and turned to Decker. “My father has suffered a massive heart attack. They’re life-flighting him to St Vincent’s now.”
Decker picked up his phone and called Blake and relayed the situation. He hung up and looked at her his face completely unreadable. “Blake is on his way back now.” Decker didn’t elaborate or give her any clue as to what had happened, but his jaw was tight, and she wondered what that meant.
* * *
Head low, body crouched close to the ground, Blake went in behind Reid and cleared the entrance to the apartment building that was the most obvious choice for the shooter. Waggs moved ahead and cleared the corners as they hit the stairwell. Moving in formation they secured each level until they found the door to the roof.
His leg hurt like a motherfucker, but Blake ignored it as he covered the door for Waggs to go first. The lock was broken and hanging loose, probably from being hit with the fire extinguisher that was leaning up against the wall. Waggs went through with Reid close behind him both highly trained operatives in this situation. More so than he was. He was more about seeing the threat and evaluating it before it got to this although he’d had his fair share of situations involving breaching doors and risk.
His gun arm up he swept the rooftop, his eyes out for any threat that might be hiding in the shadows. His gut told him it was clear, but he would never assume that without knowing for sure. He liked his life and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get himself killed because he was a sloppy idiot.
Once they were certain the roof was clear, Blake moved to the side that faced his and Pax’s room. He looked over the three-foot-high wall that stopped anyone from tipping over the side and saw the closed curtains of their suite. It was almost on the same level as the roof and although it was a fair distance away, it was a relatively easy shot for someone with any skill.
Reid moved up beside him and cast his eyes over the wall then looked down and around the floor. “No casings.”
That meant whoever had shot at them had picked them up and taken them away so as not to leave evidence. That could mean the shooter was a pro or it could mean they watched CSI. Blake walked the length of the wall looking for any clue as to who had been there and shot at them. If it had been a professional, they wouldn’t have missed that shot—unless they wanted to. Could it have been a warning for Pax or was it someone closer to home?
The other alternative was that they were dealing with an amateur. One that wasn’t good enough to make the shot but watched enough ‘police procedural’ shows on TV to know to pick up the casings. Either way, he wasn’t going to get any more answers up here. With a final sweep of the roof they decided to go back to the hotel and get some sleep. He would have their stuff moved into Waggs’ room and Waggs would take the suite tonight.
They were moving down the stairs when his phone buzzed in his pocket. The silent vibration sending a tingle of apprehension through him when he saw Decker’s name appear. He stopped and the other two looked at him as if sensing his worry.
“Yes?”
His back went stiff when Decker told him that Henrietta had called, and Robert Paxton had had a heart attack. His first thought was it was a trap and they should not go to the hospital, but he knew Pax would want to go. “Keep her there. We’re on our way back now.”
He hung up and looked at Reid and Waggs. “Robert Paxton had a heart attack. They’re life-flighting him to St Vincent’s.” Blake saw the look of suspicion cross Reid’s features. He seemed to be thinking the same as Blake.
“Not to be a dick but that is some coincidence.”
“I agree.”
Waggs walked beside them as they crossed the road and having tucked their weapons from sight, moved into the lobby of the hotel. “Agreed, but a life flight is some serious shit and St Vincent’s is the cardiothoracic teaching centre, so if he has had a heart attack, he’s in a bad way.”
Blake understood what Waggs wasn’t saying. There was a very real chance Robert Paxton would not pull through, which meant for Pax’s sake he needed to take her to see her father because if he didn’t pull through and then was cleared, Pax would never forgive herself.
Chapter Seventeen
Pax chewed the skin around her fingernail until it bled as she waited for Blake to arrive. She jumped visibly when the knock on the door came. Her instinct was to run to the door but as she moved forward, she felt Decker’s hand on her arm.
“Let me.”
Pax nodded and stepped back, her heart racing, nerves frayed for so many reasons. She just wanted Blake to hold her, to centre her as he seemed to do every time. Decker moved to the door and looked through the peephole his hand on the weapon at his hip. Pax saw him relax and proceed to open the door.
Pax planted her feet not wanting to run to Blake and throw herself in his arms in front of everyone. The look of concern for her on his face when he walked in, and the open arms he met her with, had all of that flying out of the window. Her legs were moving, and she was wrapped in his arms, head buried in his neck inhaling the masculine scent of the man who was coming to mean everything to her.
Taking her first deep breath since her mother had called, Pax felt the shudder run through her as he held her tightly not letting her go or pulling back. He gave her what she needed kissing her hair. When she had gotten her emotions under control, she took a last calming breath and pulled back. “Did you find anything?”
Blake shook his head “No, whoever it was is long gone.” He stroked her cheek softly the pad of his fingers slightly rough. “You want to go to the hospital?” he asked as if he sensed the inner struggle she was having. Pax nodded not able to voice the words to explain her messed up feelings towards her father.
Blake nodded and kissed her head. “Get yourself ready then and let me talk to the guys.”
Pax frowned. “What about the investigation?”
“The guys can carry on as before and when we’ve visited your father, we can reassess and decide if we’re still going to visit Sally Nixon or Waggs goes to see her instead.”
That made sense to her. Once she knew her dad was okay—or not—then she could figure out this mess with Blake’s help. She didn’t allow herself to go down that path of her father dying, she didn’t even know how to feel about that. Yet she did. The pain in her chest told her how she would feel about him dying. Her hand flexed against Blake’s bicep and he looked at her as if he somehow knew how she was feeling. His smile was one of reassurance that left her incredibly grateful that he was here, but his eyes filled her with warmth and a sense of protection came over her she’d never felt.
She looked up at the serious men who were talking across the other side of the room near the sliding glass doors trying to compose herself. These men, all of them, were here for her and suddenly it hit her like a truck that she was not alone. For the first time in forever she was allowing people to help her and not pushing them away believing that she wasn’t good enough.
Blake ran his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her closer, so she stood hip to toe with his hard body. He gave the back of her neck a gentle squeeze as he dropped his voice low. “You good, baby?”
Pax took in the softness of his voice, the heat from his body and nodded. “Yeah. I am.” And she was because he
was there, and he was reading her mood and giving her what she needed.
He didn’t pull away but dropped his forehead to hers. “That’s good, Gracie.” He let her hold him for a few moments before he gently pulled back and eyes locked to hers kissed her softly just a touch really but enough to ground her in a way she needed. “Go get yourself ready and then we can go.”
“Okay, Cal,” she returned.
She headed to the bedroom and closed the door behind her before quickly pulling on a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a sleeveless cream blouse, and shrugging on a khaki military style jacket. She put her hair in a messy top knot and kept her make-up light to save time. While getting ready she didn’t once think about what her mother might think. No, her only thoughts were about the man who was trying to fix this situation with her. Her feet slid into khaki stilettos that made her legs look ridiculously long, and she grabbed her oversized navy bag and shoved a few essentials into it before she stepped out.
Blake’s head snapped up as she closed the door and Pax saw him do a head to toe before a seriously sexy smile crossed his handsome face.
Not letting it show how much that pleased her she walked directly to him where he was now standing with the others. Wanting to show him how much his support meant she didn’t hesitate to slip under his arm that automatically came around her as if they had been doing it for a long time and not just a week.
That was the thing with them, it felt right in a way nothing else had. Not even her relationship with her family had been this way. She loved her parents, but she was coming to realise she didn’t like them. Her father had hurt her, breaking her heart in a way that it would never be the same yet that was okay. She knew that what she had now would never have come to be without that heartbreak, and for the first time, she saw that.
Her mother was different; they had never fallen out as such, but they had also never been close, not how a mother and daughter should be. Ever since she had become a teenager her mother had been jealous of her, making remarks that put her down or made her feel smaller than her and not worthy.
It hurt but she’d been able to handle that so much better than what her father had done. It hadn’t always been that way. When she was a child her mother had been wonderful. Never the cookie making kind but fun and sweet. Everything had changed when she had been around thirteen.
Pax shook off her thoughts as Blake and the others resumed their discussion. “I don’t want you guys anywhere near the hospital. It will slow shit up if we have to find a different way to interview everyone.”
Reid pushed back a hank of hair that had fallen over his eyes. “We should get Lopez doing background checks on everyone, including Benny’s biological father. See if anything pops.”
Blake nodded. “Good call. Can you do that, Decker?”
Pax found it odd that he’d asked Decker when Reid had been the one to suggest it. She was about to shove it off as how they did things when she saw Reid’s jaw tighten angrily. He kept quiet and so did everyone else.
“Yes, of course,” Decker replied hitting a speed dial button on his phone and walking a short distance away. It was close to midnight now, but in the UK, it was around eight in the morning.
Blake gave her a light squeeze to get her attention. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” she answered knowing that she had been stalling a little. She wanted to go see her father, but she was also terrified of what she would find.
Blake nodded and led her to the door with Waggs and Reid covering them. They made it to the car park, and she saw a shiny black Chrysler sedan waiting for them. Waggs clicked the locks and handed the keys to Blake. “Be in touch in a few hours or before if we have anything to tell.”
“Cheers, Waggs.”
Blake helped her in and crossed to the driver’s side and got in, clipping his belt before resting his arm on her headrest. He turned to look over his shoulder as he reversed out. Something about him doing that was incredibly sexy.
Pax had no idea what it was, but she found it turned her on more than it should. A smile curved her lips and she looked out the window to hide it, she needn’t have bothered though because Blake missed nothing.
“What was that smirk for?” His eyes slipped to hers before concentrating back on the road. It was just over an hour to St Vincent’s from where they were. Luckily, they would miss any traffic at this time so she figured they could make it in about forty-five minutes.
Pax continued to look out the window and decided to toy with him to distract them from the shitty situation she had gotten them in. “What smirk?”
“The one you were wearing a few seconds ago.”
“Can’t tell you. If I tell you I’ll have to kill you,” she said in a playful tone.
Blake caught on to her mood quickly. His eyes moved the length of her thigh before the hand that was closest to her rested on her leg. Warmth and heat radiated into her from his touch. “If you tell me, I’ll tell you what I wanted to do to you when I saw you in those sexy as fuck jeans.”
Pax’s eyes flashed to him and she felt the warmth spread through her at his words. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, in that case I guess I could tell you.” She didn’t elaborate wanting to draw the flirtatious banter out a little as the car ate up the miles on the freeway.
She waited for a beat and he glanced at her. She could feel the blush that crept over her cheeks, making her damn her fair skin once again.
“Well?” he asked.
“I was smiling because…” She paused then. “You know when you put your arm over the back of the headrest to reverse?”
Blake looked at her and frowned obviously confused. “Yeah?”
“Well, it’s hot.”
Blake looked across at her again; his lips teased into a grin. “Hot? You think it’s hot when I do that?”
“I think you’re hot breathing,” she muttered under her breath.
“Pardon? What did you say?” he said hand to his ear.
“I said, yes, you’re hot when you do that.”
Blake suddenly pulled the car to the side of the road causing Pax to brace as he hit the vehicle into park. She glanced at him, surprised but had no time to react before he leaned in and kissed her hard and wet. The tip of his tongue touched hers and her mind went blank of all thought except how it felt to have Blake kiss her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered at that moment.
He slanted his head as he drove his fingers into her hair and cupped her head using her hair to gently pull and angle her so he could go deeper until she was squirming in her seat. Eventually, after what seemed like minutes but were probably only seconds, he pulled back. He didn’t release her though, he held on to her hair, cupping her head as his blue eyes smouldered in the darkness that was lit only by passing cars.
“So fucking beautiful and you gave me that when I know you’re worried about your dad. You still had time to give yourself to me.”
Pax remained silent not knowing what to say because it hadn’t felt like she was giving to him. It had felt natural.
“Want to fuck you,” he growled, and Pax felt her body go liquid. “Haven’t got time and what I want to give you needs time. But I will say this—what we have, Gracie, is special. Seeing the crack in that glass tonight where the bullet hit drove it home to me. You are it for me. I’m all in with us. No holding back, none of that shit. We do this. We do it and we do it to build a life together.” Her heart cracked at his words and she felt the second it healed back into a healthier place. “You want that, baby?” he asked his voice growling and rough.
Never in her life had she wanted anything more than to build a life with this man. He was everything to her. Although she recognised it had been since Monaco that she had been falling for him. Now she felt like the fall was complete. She didn’t give him that yet. She didn’t want to tell him she loved him and frighten him. Despite his words, Blake had been a ladies’ man. He was a good man, a kind h
onourable one but starting something and being all in was different from declaring love for someone wasn’t it?
“Yeah, I want that.”
Blake nodded and she saw an understanding in his eyes as well as relief. “Let’s go see your dad so I can show you what those sexy jeans do to me. Sexiest ass I ever did see,” he said almost to himself as he pulled back onto the road and into traffic.
“Cal?” she asked as she left her hand in his as he drove.
“Yeah, gorgeous?”
“Thank you.”
“What for?” He seemed perplexed.
“Everything,” she said throwing up her hands to encompass the car.
Blake gave her a smile that made her heart stutter and her breath hitch. “No problem, beautiful.”
The rest of the drive was quiet, and they reached the hospital in an hour including the make-out session pit stop. Her muscles tensed as Blake came around her side after parking and helped her out, his body blocking her from anyone wanting to take a shot at her. Once inside the glass doors of the reception area, he held tight to her hand as he found out what floor her father was on.
Pax felt sick as they took the elevator to the second floor where the cardiothoracic theatre was.
Blake lifted her hand as the door stopped and kissed her knuckles. “Ready?”
Pax looked at him and nodded then faced the doors as they opened. She was ready and she could do this. Together they walked out onto the floor to meet whatever came her way. She had a wonderful man beside her. She knew he was on her side no matter what.
Chapter Eighteen
Blake was gripping on tight to Pax as they rounded the corner of the hospital corridor and saw the nurse’s station where they stopped, and he asked about Robert Paxton. The nurse pointed in the direction and they walked through a set of double doors and saw Pete and Eddie hovering outside a relative’s room.
