Wrecked (Blind Man's Alibi #1)

by Sarah Grimm

  “A few days. Two weeks at most.”

  Bile crawled up the back of his throat, the need to vomit nearly overwhelming. He swallowed it back down. “No more drugs, do you hear me?”

  “Mr. Campbell, you don’t have the authority to make—”

  Joe slammed his hands atop the man’s desk and leaned in. “No, but I’ve got enough money to have a shit storm rain down on this hospital if you don’t follow the wishes of your patient. If Emma says no, the answer is no.”

  Joe had to stop at the bus on his way to the hotel. He needed find both Emma’s mobile and the thumb drive she’d spoken of. The question was, where the hell were the buses?

  Luckily, a quick text to Kirk gained him the answer so he didn’t have to contact Marvin.

  Joe climbed the steps, walked into the front lounge and swore, his mug in pieces at his feet. The last place he remembered it being was on the table as Emma had returned. With everything that had happened since, obviously it remained atop that table, unnoticed by Clay, until the bus pulled out of the arena and the mug had landed on the floor.

  Joe cleaned up the mess, then gathered his and Emma’s things. There was no way of telling when they’d get back here so he may as well take all of it to the hotel. Her cell phone and thumb drive in his pocket, he glanced at her laptop then took a seat at the table.

  He booted the computer and popped in the thumb drive. Emma’s medical records weren’t hard to find. They were the only item on the storage device. Launching a web browser, he logged onto his email and attached the file, entering the recipient’s address from memory before sending it into cyber space.

  That was the easy part.

  Christ, he wished he had something to calm his nerves. But his something was in the local emergency room in a medically induced fog. Staring down at his phone, he dialed the number of the only physician he knew well enough to talk to about this.

  “It’s four in the morning, Campbell,” Dominic snarled. Dom, not Rebecca. “What the fuck you doing calling my woman? Is there something I need to know about the two of you?”

  Joe smiled for the first time in what felt like days, even though it had only been hours. One thing he could always count on from Dom was the rash of verbal shit he dished out at the start of every phone conversation.

  Joe welcomed the distraction. “Yeah. Between shows, I routinely jump a flight to California. Your girl and I double up your pain pills and shag on your bed.”

  Dom huffed. “Wait. Am I on the bed with you?”

  Joe shrugged, even though Dom couldn’t see him through the phone. “Of course. Where the fuck else would you be?”

  “You bloody bastard. I’m gonna kick your arse.”

  “Dream on, old man. You couldn’t take me on your best day let alone when you’re still recovering.”

  Dom laughed. “Harsh. You’re fucking harsh, you know that?”

  “Put your beautiful fiancée on, will you? Harsh is having to deal with you after the night I’ve had.” He’d done his best to keep up the social niceties—or his and Dom’s version of them—but there was no way Dom could’ve missed the hitch in his voice.

  “Joe?”

  “Please Dom, not now.”

  “Sure.”

  Dominic and Rebecca’s hushed conversation came through the phone. Joe tried not to listen.

  “Joe? What’s wrong?”

  What was it about a friendly female voice when a person was at their lowest? “Rebecca.” Her name was all he managed without taking a deep breath to center himself. “I emailed you a file I need you to look at. It’s important.”

  “Sure, let me find it. Although I don’t know what I could possibly do to…”

  Silence.

  “Are you still there?” Joe asked.

  “These are medical records.” And she wasn’t happy about it. That much was evident in her tone.

  “They are.”

  “Whose are these? Wait. It doesn’t matter because unless your name is Emma Travers I can’t even look at this. It’s against HIPPA regulations. I’m not her doctor and you aren’t—”

  “I don’t give a fuck about regulations, Rebecca,” he growled. Shit, he needed to calm down. “I’m sorry, I…” He was falling apart and she was worried about rules and regulations. “We’re in Denver and Emma’s…in hospital. She won’t care if you see her records, Rebecca. I can promise you that. I…really need someone to talk to about this. Someone I trust.”

  Rebecca’s voice softened. “She’s important to you.”

  “Emma is everything. I know you understand that.” She would, because she’d just gotten her everything back. Dominic was growing stronger every day and the joy in both of their voices, the fact they’d found each other again after years apart… “You understand, Rebecca.”

  “I do,” she whispered. “I’ll call you back.”

  “I have to make a few calls. I’ll ring you in, say, an hour?”

  “Sure.”

  He rang off.

  Joe’s conversation with Emma’s friend Alison didn’t go much smoother. Once she’d gotten over the shock of him calling her, that awkward moment where she was rendered speechless just by him saying her name, things got really uncomfortable.

  “Where’s Emma?” Alison asked, her voice tinged with fear. “Why didn’t she call me?”

  “She’s in hospital. The emergency department.”

  “And you left her there?”

  Joe pulled the phone away from his ear—a protective maneuver against her screech of alarm.

  “What were you thinking?”

  He waited to make sure she was finished before replying. “She’s not alone. A friend is with her.”

  “But not you.”

  “I had a few calls to make. This one, for instance. Her mobile was still on the bus so I had to leave her.” He sighed. “I’ll be back before her meds wear off.”

  “God, she’ll hate that.” It was Alison’s turn to sigh. “You better hope you are because she won’t stay there. The minute they wear off enough for her to fight the effects, Emma will be out of there. You know that about her, right? You must. She’ll crawl out of that hospital naked if she has to. She hates those places.”

  “Fuck. She’s probably devising her escape plan already.” Joe scrubbed his hand over his face. He was so exhausted, his eyes were at half-mast.

  “How long ago did you leave her?”

  There was that tone again. The one that let him know if she were in the room with him, she would strip the flesh from his body for leaving Emma.

  “It’s okay. Gary would call if she was awake.”

  “Big scary ogre, Gary?”

  “What? Christ, is that what she calls him?”

  Alison chuckled. “She told me he acts like a big scary ogre, but he’s really just a cream puff.”

  Joe chuckled. He wondered how Gare would feel about being labeled a cream puff. Of course, knowing Emma, she’d already called him one to his face.

  “Joe? How are you doing? I know this is new to you,” she said gently. “The last time Emma and I spoke, she still hadn’t told you. I assume you’re pretty angry.”

  “I don’t think I’ve worked through any of this enough to find anger.” She was surprisingly easy to talk to when she wasn’t screeching at him. He told her what, until that moment, he’d only told Emma. “I love her.”

  “Of course, you do,” Alison said with a laugh that quickly turned to a sob. “What’s not to love about Em?”

  No matter how he wished it, Joe still wasn’t numb. In fact, he was one giant raw nerve, skating dangerously close to the line. One wrong move, one more shitty phone conversation, and he was going to lose it and break something.

  A very real possibility since he’d yet to ring Rebecca back.

  This was why he stood at the window, doing his best to find calm. He needed to talk to Rebecca before returning to the hospital, and was running out of time. The sun had already begun to rise. Emma would be awake soon. Awak
e, and wondering why he wasn’t with her.

  A ring sounded from behind him. Joe glanced over his shoulder and noticed it was the laptop—Rebecca, requesting a video chat. He sighed then rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. The very last thing he wanted was to have a visual to go along with this conversation.

  Joe crossed the room and accepted the chat. He refused to sit, choosing instead to lean with his hands atop the table.

  Dom’s face popped on the screen. “Joe.”

  “Hey.” Dom looked good. Way better than the last time Joe had seen him—pale and drawn and lying in the intensive care unit.

  “You look like shit.” Dom’s image grew as if he was leaning closer to the camera. “What can I do, Joe? Tell me, and I will.”

  His voice said it all. Joe knew before Rebecca even joined the conversation that she wouldn’t be able to offer him hope.

  Damnit. His throat burned. Joe closed his eyes against the truth.

  “Get out of here, Dom. Go.”

  He didn’t need to see to know Rebecca was shoving Dom off screen.

  With a deep breath for courage, Joe opened his eyes. Then quickly averted his gaze. “They say it’s a brain tumor. Something called—”

  “Glioblastoma Multiforme, yes.”

  “Tell me what to do, Rebecca,” he said on a strangled whisper.

  “Look at me, Joe.”

  “Don’t! Goddamnit, don’t use that tone.” The one that told him he was screwed. Joe looked into her eyes and his heart stopped. The pain was all encompassing. “You know people. Tell me who to call, where to take her to get help. There’s got to be someone—”

  “According to her records she’s been through chemo and radiation therapy. She opted out of treatment in February when her doctor told her it wasn’t stopping progression.”

  “She should have told me. Six weeks ago when…”

  “You didn’t know? Jesus.” With tears in her eyes, Rebecca shook her head. “You couldn’t have helped her then, either. It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

  Except in his life. If she’d told him she had cancer, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t have walked away from her and never looked back. Never known the joy of loving her.

  Or the pain of losing her. “I can’t…I only just found her.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Fuck, he was tired of hearing that. “How long does Emma have?”

  “There’s no way for me to—”

  “Guess, Rebecca.” Joe raked his hand through his hair. He swallowed back emotion, desperately trying to compartmentalize what he was feeling. “You’re a doctor.” She was a genius from what he’d heard. Literally. “Just take a guess. Please.”

  Rebecca studied him for a minute. “Does she suffer from headaches and nausea? Has she had any blackouts?”

  “Yes.”

  “Seizures?”

  “All of that.”

  Rebecca drew a deep breath and released it on a sigh. “What does the staff doctor say?”

  “He wants to admit her. Pump her full of meds and make her comfortable.” He swore colorfully. “Fucker’s already medicated her after Emma said no.”

  The news pissed Rebecca off. She straightened in her seat, her color rising. “That is completely unethical. Is Emma still at this hospital?”

  “Yeah, and she hates it. She’s never tolerated being locked inside for too long. Not the bus, the arena or a hotel. She always has to get outside.” Joe swallowed hard. “I have to get her out of there.”

  Her gaze full of comfort and understanding, she said, “yes, you do.”

  “I’ve been waiting…hoping for something. A miracle, I guess. It’s not coming, is it?”

  “She probably only has a few days…a week, maybe.” Her voice cracked. “It’s hard to say.”

  God, it hurt. It hurt so damn bad, he couldn’t breathe. “I have more money than any man needs for ten lifetimes and what good does it do me if I can’t save the woman I love?”

  Rebecca started to cry. A tear streaked down her face then another. Dom re-appeared, swiping the backs of his fingers down her cheek, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

  It was too much. Just too fucking much. These people who meant the world to him, aching along with him. Joe pushed away from the table as pain tore a hole inside of him.

  The door to his room clicked and swung open.

  He scrubbed his hands over his face, surprised to find his cheeks damp, then faced the door and froze.

  “Emma.”

  How the fuck? She wouldn’t know what hotel the band had checked into, what room he was in. Unless… Gary. Of course.

  “Sunshine, why aren’t you in hospital?”

  She crossed to him, the pain in her eyes less than he’d witnessed last night. She was no longer crying. However, her right arm trembled slightly as she cupped his face and ran her thumb over his cheek. “I left.”

  “You left?”

  She glanced down at her damp thumb, her expression concerned. “I can’t breathe in that place. I checked myself out. It’s time for me to go home. I want to go home, Joe.”

  Heart stuck in his throat, he could only nod.

  Emma shifted her gaze from him to the computer.

  Joe followed her line of sight. “Guys, this is Emma. Em, I know you recognize the old man. The lovely woman next to him is his fiancée, Rebecca.”

  “Hello,” Rebecca said in greeting.

  Dominic flashed his most charming smile. “She’s way too pretty for you, Campbell. What does she see in you?”

  Emma smiled back. “So, is it a British thing or a rock god thing?”

  “What?” Dom asked.

  “The exceptional good looks and charm.”

  Joe chuffed. “You find that ugly bastard attractive?”

  Emma’s gaze returned to him. She ran her thumb over the strip of hair below his bottom lip. “Nowhere near as attractive as you.”

  “Of course not. Who is?” he teased.

  The smile she gave him was so close to its usual intensity, a lump formed in his throat. Christ, she was beautiful.

  “I’m going to bed. You’ll come sing me to sleep?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  She leaned in until her mouth hovered just above his. “I also want you naked.”

  Joe settled his hand on her waist and brushed a kiss to her lips. “Then that’s how you’ll have me, Sunshine.”

  With one last look at the laptop, Emma walked away.

  His smile vanished.

  “Joe.” Rebecca’s voice trembled. “What are you going to do?”

  Tears were in her eyes when he looked to the screen, so he glanced away, back in the direction Emma had disappeared. “I’m taking her home.”

  “If there’s anything you need,” Dom said quietly, the teasing note no longer in his voice. “Just call.”

  Joe nodded and disconnected. He went in search of Emma and found her sitting on the side of the bed.

  Credit card in one hand and cell phone in the other, she spoke softly with whoever was on the other end of the line. “I need a jet. Denver, Colorado to Cleveland, Ohio. One passenger.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  She startled, her eyes meeting his. “No. You have to—”

  “I’m going with you,” he repeated, stepping farther into the room and stripping his shirt off. “You and me, Sunshine.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I’ll call back,” she whispered into her phone then disconnected. “You don’t want any part of this, Joe.”

  He didn’t bother to deny it. He didn’t want any part of it. He needed to be a part of it.

  Joe toed off his shoes, bent at the waist and pulled off his socks.

  Emma continued to stare down at her phone. “There will be seizures and blackouts. My personality may change.”

  “You mean like the glorious mood swings yesterday?” He shrugged and stripped out of his jeans. “Piece of cake.”

  She
laughed then froze. Her gaze moved over him from head to toe and back again. As her tongue darted across her lips, he damn near groaned. “Why are you stripping? Are you trying to distract me from this conversation?”

  Hell, if he had thought of it, he probably would have. “Is it working?”

  “You are a gorgeous man, you know that?” Her fingers brushed his abs and he sucked in a breath. “Of course, you do. I could see it in your eyes the night we met. You knew how gorgeous you were and how quickly you could have me naked.”

  He took her hands and eased her to her feet. “If you remember, I never did get you naked that night.” Grasping her shirt by the bottom edge, he pulled it over her head and off. “I never even got a kiss from you.”

  “Is that what you want now?” she asked, stroking her palm over his cock. “A kiss?”

  “Christ,” he hissed, suddenly painfully erect. Circling his fingers around her wrist, he moved her hand to his chest. “This isn’t about sex, Sunshine. You asked for me naked. I aim to please.”

  “I asked for you naked because… Never mind.” She shook her head then released the button and lowered the zip on her jeans, sitting on the edge of the bed to finish removing them.

  “Hey.” What was this? Emma never had a problem speaking her mind. Joe tucked a finger beneath her chin and tipped her head up. The tears in her eyes tore at him. “Talk to me.”

  “I know I look terrible. Too thin and—”

  “You’re beautiful.”

  “Yet you don’t want to make love to me.”

  Her hands were on the move again, dancing across his flesh, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. “I do. God, I do. What I don’t want is to hurt you.”

  When she tugged his wrist, he sank to his knees before her.

  She cupped his face in her hands, smoothed her thumbs over his cheeks. “The only way you hurt me is if you turn me away. I need this, Joe. I need you inside of me, one more time, before I leave.”

  He kissed her softly. Then again, not so softly. “You’re not going home alone. Do you hear me?” Crawling onto the bed, Joe rolled her beneath him, supporting his weight with his elbows on either side of her face. “Christ, do you really expect me to walk away and continue with the tour like you don’t matter?”