A Beautiful Acceptance (the NYC series Book 2)

by Alora Kate

  “Don’t move. He’s coming, Lex, I can see him.”

  “He stabbed me.”

  “I know.”

  “That guy . . . Avon . . .”

  “What, it was him?”

  I felt bile circle around in my stomach. “I don’t feel so good.”

  “Lex,” I heard Lucas say, “I’m here.”

  He picked me up, Ki and I kept our hands on my stomach, and I closed my eyes. “Emma.”

  “I got a guy on her, Lex, don’t worry.”

  “I can’t . . . breathe.”

  “Lex,” Ki said, “stay awake.”

  I felt myself moving, but there were also tight arms around me, holding me still.

  I heard Ki talking.

  Men’s voices.

  My pain increased fast as I struggled to breathe.

  My breaths were short.

  I felt someone tap on my cheeks.

  “Lex.”

  “Come on, Lex.”

  “I . . . can’t . . . breathe.”

  Chapter 28 – Tapper

  Ki was standing in Prescot’s arms, crying, and blaming herself for taking her eyes off Lex. She said it had only been a few pictures, just a few seconds.

  I slid my eyes from them to Lucas. He was with his men, discussing the options a few feet away, and I sat in my chair watching the double doors open and close with nurses and doctors coming and going.

  Every time it opened, my heart stopped.

  Then it started again when they walked off to talk to someone else or walked away, going back to work or whatever else they needed to do.

  I kept rubbing my damp palms against my pants and then against my wheels.

  I needed to move.

  Fuck.

  I couldn’t keep my focus on anything for long before my thoughts drifted to the worst-case scenarios. I knew my Lex was a fighter, but the fucked-up part of me tortured myself with thoughts of living without her again. Permanent misery, darkness. No. I couldn’t think that way. Power of positive thinking or some shit like that. Ma used to say that all the time after my accident.

  Lex and Ki were smart, they always listed each other as sisters and next of kin on their paperwork so they wouldn’t run into issues if something like this happened.

  Ki said everything happened so fast and Lucas agreed.

  The two cars caused a distraction.

  They only needed a few seconds, and they got it.

  The man who stabbed Lex ran out the back.

  He didn’t live there.

  That was apparent.

  Lucas had the envelope gripped in his hands; apparently, the papers inside were blank and the guy left it behind. I heard them say he didn’t touch the envelope so they’re unsure what prints they would find on it. Donovan came and went, looking more frustrated each time I saw him.

  Lucas glanced at Ki when he passed her but she didn’t see anything but Prescot’s chest. “You should come with me,” he said standing in front of me, still holding that damn envelope.

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “You need a distraction, Tapper, it’ll help. Ki will be in touch as soon as Lex is out of surgery.”

  “You should go, Tapper,” she said, pulling away from Prescot’s chest. “Find the fucker who did this,” she sniffed, “please.”

  Forcing my arms to wheel myself away and out the door was difficult but I knew it was best. I needed a break, fresh air. We went to see Josh at the court house, who was the man that the girls normally went to get their envelopes.

  His head popped up when I wheeled in the door with Lucas right behind me.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Josh,” Lucas said, crossing his arm on his chest.

  Josh looked up at him, his eyes slightly bulged and he gulped.

  “Alexa and Ki were here earlier.”

  “Yes.”

  He pulled out the envelope.

  “You gave this to them.”

  Josh slowly reached for it, opened, and saw the papers were blank. “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do we.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Alexa was stabbed serving that envelope.”

  “Oh my God. Lex?”

  “Yes.”

  “Stabbed?”

  “That’s what I said,” Lucas replied, seething.

  “The envelopes are dropped off to me, from random people around the courthouse or from lawyers passing through. They sign this.” He picked up a clipboard and handed it to Lucas. “The information should be on there.”

  “You don’t look at what’s inside the envelopes?” I asked, his eyes dropping to mine.

  “Not allowed. They must be served with the envelope sealed or it’s invalid. If I get one and the seal’s been broken, it goes back.”

  “This form doesn’t have anything on it regarding Mr. Phil Pepper.”

  Josh stood and grabbed the clipboard from Lucas, and ran his finger down it, and then confirmed what Lucas said. “Shit. This is the proper envelope. How did it get in the pile?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Lucas said and Josh replied sitting in his chair, “I’m gonna get fired.”

  “You won’t get fired.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Lex is in surgery,” I told him as Lucas was walking out.

  “Is she going to be okay?”

  “Yes.”

  Lucas put his finger to his ear, and it made me want to ask for once to be kept in the loop, hear their conversations, but I didn’t. Just waited to see what was going on.

  “You got the tapes?” he asked, and I followed him down the hallway and out the door.

  I checked my phone as soon as we got outside and had no messages.

  “We got a copy of the tapes, Mac’s looking them over in the van.”

  “When you find the guy, please tell me it’ll be the end of him.”

  “The men will be taken care of.”

  “And by taken care of, you mean, the end of them.”

  “Donovan is consumed with payback; trust me, it’ll be the end of them.”

  We met Lance and Mac in the truck, and Mac said they saw nothing out of the ordinary on the video. A few people had dropped off envelopes, and they’re thinking that it was snuck in with one of those stacks. So now they had to find out who all those people were, track them down, and get some answers. It’d take time. Time, I felt that could be used at the hospital. I asked them to bring me back, they did and I sat there, waiting.

  Again, I was waiting on Alexa Tanner, but this time it was worth it.

  This time it would matter.

  Forever.

  “You okay?” Ki asked, sitting in a chair next to me.

  “Fine.”

  “You aren’t, but that’s okay. I’m ‘fine’ also.”

  I saw Prescot walking out the door. “Where’s he going?”

  “I’m hungry. I know it’s weird, being able to eat when Lex is in trouble but I can’t help it. I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”

  “Stress.”

  “Yes.”

  I didn’t want to know but I had to ask. Knowing what happened today might help settle the anger that was festering inside. We were at a different hospital and I couldn’t go up to the therapy room, but then again, I probably could get away with it.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  She glanced down and I saw the blood on her clothes.

  “Maybe you should change your clothes, Ki.”

  She crossed her legs and tried to hide, but it didn’t work. “We only had two envelopes left. I always stay back to take the pictures. Alexa was at the door, it opened, I snapped a picture, but I couldn’t get his face because he didn’t step out toward her. Normally, when the men see Alexa they like to get close, flirt with her, try to get her—” She looked at me. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, continue.”

  “Well, then there was an accident, literally right behind me. It was so close and so loud,
that I jumped at the noise and turned around. I snapped a few pictures, just in case I was needed as a witness, I guess . . . well, I turned back around, and I saw the man had his hand on her shoulder, and then he let go of her and left. Alexa just stood there, and within seconds, I took off running because I knew something was wrong.”

  “Can you show me where the wound was?”

  She touched her stomach, the left side. “I believe right here. Her hand was on it first, then mine covered hers. I know it was kind of high up.”

  “Christ.”

  “She was having problems breathing.”

  “He could have hit her lung.”

  “True. When she said she couldn’t breathe, I figured she was having a panic attack or was going into shock.” Her voice was shaky and she had tears rolling down her face. “I didn’t know . . . it all happened so fast, but she didn’t look good, Tapper. She passed out when we got into the van.”

  “She’s a fighter, Ki.”

  “I know.”

  “Alexa didn’t live the life she was given, struggling to feed herself, raise herself, teach herself everything there was to learn in this life, just to give up now.”

  She shook her head and we sat in silence.

  Waiting.

  Ma called, wanted to come over for dinner, and I explained what was going on and she rushed right over to the hospital. Against my orders.

  “I had Prescot get extra food,” Ki said, pulling a lid off a plastic container. It was filled with chicken and rice.

  “The thought of food makes me sick.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ki mumbled with food in her mouth.

  “I can.” Ma was looking at Ki’s food. “Haven’t had Chinese food in a while.”

  “Here,” she grabbed the large brown paper bag and handed it over, “I’m sure there’s something in there you’d like.”

  “Did you get wontons?”

  Ki smiled, but couldn’t answer because her mouth was full of food. Prescot grabbed an eggroll and kept his eye on Lucas who was talking to Lance outside of the waiting room.

  Two detectives came by, got statements, and talked to Donovan and Lucas for a while. I needed Lucas to deal with them before the police did. Fuck the court system and collecting evidence.

  Donovan gave the man what he wanted, he had no reason to go after the girls.

  Ma fussed about me not eating but understood why. In private, she asked about my personal needs and I told her not to worry. I had extra bags with me to drain my bladder and worse-case scenario, I’d have to use the ER services if something comes up.

  She tried to distract me, telling me about how much she liked bingo and that Harrison really was a gentleman. She blamed herself for not giving the man a chance but also knew that her days were numbered and didn’t see the point in making new friends, especially a man.

  The doctors gave her a year to live, which was roughly eight months ago. She said she feels the healthiest she has in years, and I was glad she wasn’t in any pain.

  Ma’s been there for me my entire life, raising me, getting me into MMA, and never giving up on me. Never. She’s all I had, until Lex came around.

  Ma gripped my hand tightly and said, “The girl with the pretty face will be just fine, Tap; and I’m allowed to worry about you.”

  I wasn’t worried about myself.

  I was worried about the love of my life.

  Chapter 29 – Tapper

  “Surgery went well. We repaired the damage and her lung will heal on its own. She’s stable but needs to stay in the ICU for the night.”

  “Can we see her?” Ki asked, who was standing next to me.

  “Not yet. She’s got someone at her side.”

  “Gunner.”

  “Yes. And we have extra security on the floor. You guys should go home. Get some rest.”

  She nodded, sat back down next to Prescot, and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m not leaving.”

  I wheeled passed them and said, “I have something to take care of, but I’ll be back.”

  “I’ll text you if something comes up,” Ki reminded me as I went toward the parking garage.

  Donovan left a few hours ago; hopefully, to take care of the problem, and Lucas and his team were in and out. They had no new information but were still tracking down leads and keeping us informed.

  Wheeling myself outside, I took in the darkness of the city, which didn’t happen very often. No stars could be seen, the moon was hidden as the clouds had rolled in. I could smell rain in the air, the light feel of humidity clung to my skin. After the day everyone had, the rain felt like relief was on the way. Like it was coming to wash all our problems away.

  But I knew it wasn’t that simple.

  I wheeled into my car that was in the parking garage and took care of business. I’d be good for the night but had to start drinking water again in a few hours so I didn’t get dehydrated. My foot started to twitch shortly after I was done, and I tried to move it on my own. I willed my toe to move, all of them, but nothing happened.

  I slammed my fist on the top of my thigh.

  Nothing.

  I hit my other leg.

  Nothing.

  I hit them again at the same time.

  “Move!”

  My hands wouldn’t stop.

  Punch after punch.

  Scream after scream.

  They wouldn’t move.

  A loud rapping noise on my window startled me and I saw Lucas standing next to the car. I hit the button, the back door opened and I wheeled out.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I muttered, waiting for the trunk to shut, then locked it back up.

  “I’m fine also, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to someone.”

  “Should I ask how you knew where I was parked?”

  He chuckled. “Just doing my job.”

  “Did you find them?”

  “We found the man who stabbed her.” He started to walk away and I followed him to the elevator. “Using him to get to Avon.”

  “Make him suffer.”

  “Trust me, he will.”

  “Donovan at work?”

  He nodded, confirming what I needed to know, that Donovan was going to make the asshole suffer.

  “Are you ready to go back in?” he asked, while we waited for the elevator. I was more than ready for a lot of things.

  I was ready for Lex to wake up so I could take her home.

  I was ready to tell her I loved her.

  I was ready to hear her say the words back.

  I knew she loved me, but for some reason, she couldn’t say it.

  But in the deepest parts of her eyes, I saw it. I felt it, and she sure as hell showed it.

  “Yeah.”

  We moved in silence through the parking garage and back into the waiting area. Ki had her head laying on Prescot’s lap, sleeping, and he was on the phone. I saw one of Lucas’ team, Lance I believe, sitting in the row behind them. Eyes open, watching. He nodded at Lucas when he saw him and went back to work.

  The rest of the night went by slowly. Painfully slow. There was only so much you can do on your phone before your eyes started to burn from watching the screen. My mind was too distracted to focus on anything on my phone, and at one point, I threw it on the chair in frustration. Only an hour had passed.

  People came and went. Never invading our little bubble in the corner of the waiting room. Never making eye contact with our group; only speaking in whispers over coffee.

  I slept on and off, so did Prescot. At one point, a nurse must have come and draped blankets over my legs and across Prescot and Ki. Early in the morning, a different nurse asked if there was anything they could do for me, looking pointedly at my wheelchair. I didn’t need their help. I told them to focus their attention on helping Alexa heal and make sure she’s comfortable. I asked them to keep her feet uncovered, she hated blankets covering her toes. The nurse smiled at me and went back to her coffee.

  At one
point, I left the waiting room. I couldn’t watch any more infomercials on the TV, and I couldn’t will myself to sleep. It was early morning, just after dawn, and I wheeled myself down to the lobby. I moved soundlessly up and down the corridors, stopping in front of the dark gift shop, noting they were not yet open. I let my eyes drift over the flowers, all boring spring bouquets, no lilies. I ordered some online as I made my way back to the elevator, selecting the delivery options for the hospital and her home. When her beautiful eyes opened, she would be surrounded by her favorite flowers. I made it back to the waiting room without anyone noticing I even left.

  “Tapper.”

  The woman’s voice had me snapping my head up. I jerked toward Ki and she was smiling. “They’re letting me see Lex now.” She stood. “I told them you were coming with me.”

  She had changed into a clean gray T-shirt and jeans and looked like she had been awake awhile.

  “How long have you been up?”

  “Long enough to change my clothes. Come on.”

  I followed her down the hallway and to the elevator. “Does anyone ever try to push you?” she asked while pushing the round silver elevator button.

  “No.”

  “Probably because they see how strong you are.”

  “That and I don’t need help.” I realized how that sounded and after we were in the elevator, I apologized.

  “It’s fine. I wouldn’t want anyone’s help either.”

  “I still didn’t have to snap at you.”

  “Like I said, it’s fine. We’re all stressed out. Tired. Hungry.”

  Something like that.

  “So, she’s not awake and has a tube down her throat to help her breathe. They said it’ll help with her body healing itself.”

  “Did they say when she’s going to wake up?”

  “They think it’s best for now that her body to rest and heal. A few days, maybe a week to be on the safe side.”

  “Christ.”

  “This is good, Tapper.” The elevator dinged and the doors opened. “She’s going to be okay. I know we both want her awake, being sassy and dancing around the living room again.”

  We checked in at the nurses’ station; I glanced down the hallway and saw Gunner sitting in a chair at the end of it. My hands went to my wheels, and I was halfway down the hallway before Ki caught up with me.