“Slade,” she croaked, sounding like a stranger even to herself.
Chrissy placed a Styrofoam cup of cold water against her lips. With shaky hands Jessica sipped.
“Slade,” she repeated, more clearly this time.
Chrissy seemed to understand. She looked around, then asked Jack, “Where’s Slade?”
Jack shrugged. “Since he was supposed to testify later, I just assumed he was getting ready with the prosecutor or something.” Jack walked over to speak with one of the prosecutors.
“They’ve been calling him all morning. He didn’t show up,” Jack said worriedly as he came back over.
Jessica instantly saw on Chrissy’s face how concerned she was. And warning bells were going off in Jessica’s head too. There was no way in hell that Slade Martin would not testify. He was not a man who backed down. If he wasn’t here, it was because something had happened.
Just then the judge announced that, due to the circumstances, the defendant had agreed to a guilty plea, and therefore the trial was over. Next she addressed Jessica directly, telling her that she could follow one of the officers to the station to file a police report for the new charges.
She could leave? She could really leave now? Jessica pushed everyone aside and ran out the door.
She hadn’t even gotten to the courthouse steps before Chrissy, Jack, Francesca, Cain, and Travis burst out after her.
“Come on.” Jack grabbed her hand and led her and Chrissy to his police car. He turned on the siren and they headed off to find Slade.
“Are you okay? You haven’t said a single word,” Chrissy said, sitting in the back with Jessica and holding her hand as Jack drove.
“I’m okay. I’m just worried. Slade wouldn’t have missed this trial. He would not not be here.”
Chrissy released Jessica’s hand and pulled her cell phone out. “Yeah. I know.” After a few seconds, she hung up. “It just rings and rings.”
“I saw him after the fight last night, and he assured me he’d be at the trial this morning,” Jack said from the front.
“Fight?” Jessica asked.
Chrissy hesitated before answering. “I don’t want to make you feel bad. I don’t. But after you stormed off the way you did, Slade was so angry, he decided to enter a last-minute fight when someone cancelled. It was last night. He won. I was so mad at him for fighting. And at you for leaving. But maybe you never intended to leave?”
“No. I had to pretend to break things off and leave town. Dennis was threatening Slade—I did it to protect Slade. Jack can explain later. I hope Slade will understand.” Her lips trembled. “You should’ve stopped him. He shouldn’t have fought. Oh, God, I have a bad feeling.”
Chrissy glared at Jack. “You knew? You knew and you didn’t tell me?” She smacked his arm.
“Couldn’t tell you. It had to seem real. Dennis is a maniac, as you just saw. Had to keep Jessica and everyone else safe.”
“We’ll deal with your little omission later, Jack.” She turned back to Jessica. “I didn’t want Slade to fight. I did everything I could to stop him. I told you that Slade almost never gets angry, but when he does, he’s uncontrollable. Well, it happened this time. I pleaded, cried, begged. He did it anyway. He won. He’s fine.”
“He was sloppy,” Jack said.
“Yes, he was. But he was okay. The other guy barely touched him.”
When they arrived at Slade’s house, Jessica pulled the handle of the door, but of course it was a police car so the door wouldn’t open. As soon as Jack opened the door, she pushed himj out of the way.
His car and bike were parked in the driveway. She banged on the door. Chrissy and Jack also knocked, but there was no answer. “Go get the spare key, Chris,” Jack ordered. Chrissy ran next door to their house.
But before Chrissy returned, the doorknob turned, and slowly a pale-faced and confused-looking Slade opened the door.
“Slade!” Jessica was so relieved to see him she threw herself at him. He didn’t react. She pulled back. “Slade?”
His unfocused eyes looked at her and then at Jack. He stumbled forward and Jack caught him by the waist just as Chrissy returned.
“Bro. Are you wasted?” Jack asked.
“Oh, shit! He’s not drunk. Call an ambulance!” Chrissy yelled—right before the strongest, most resilient, most fearless man Jessica had ever met collapsed.
—
“Oh my God! Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?”
Jessica closed the door to her house and walked down to the curb, where a taxicab had just dropped off her parents.
“We’ve been calling you from Europe but you didn’t answer. We were worried and decided to take a detour on our way back from the airport before heading back home.”
“It’s not a good time,” she told them. “I have to go.” It had been forty-eight long hours since Slade collapsed. This was the first time she’d left his side, and it was only for a quick shower and change of clothes. Now she had on sweatpants, a T-shirt, and sneakers, with her hair in a ponytail and no makeup.
Her mother, in a Chanel suit and sensible heels, looked her up and down.
“Go? Where could you possibly be going dressed that way?”
“Mom, I don’t have time to argue. I just came to take a quick shower. I have to go back to the hospital.”
“Hospital?” her father asked.
“Look, I’ll explain later. Here.” Jessica reached into her purse. “Take my keys and make yourselves at home. I’ll see you later.”
“How about we go with you and you explain on the way over there?” her dad said in a stern voice.
Jessica let out a big breath. “Fine. Come on, let’s go.”
After a period of silence while Jessica drove, her mother finally spoke. “This town is so…”
“Quaint?” Jessica said.
“No. Backward. I don’t like it.”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
“I don’t like you living here all alone,” her father added.
Jessica said nothing as her parents continued to criticize the town.
When she arrived at the hospital she parked and led her parents into the building and up to the intensive care unit’s waiting area, which was basically just a small group of chairs near the nurses’ station. The ICU beds, for easy access in case of emergency, were not in discrete rooms but just separated from one another and from the nurses’ station by curtains for privacy.
Seated in one of the chairs, they found Chrissy looking at something on her phone.
“How’s he doing?” Jessica asked.
“Same,” Chrissy said. “The doctor emailed me his chart. I’m reviewing it.”
“Christine Martin, meet my parents. Thomas and Shannon Cross.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. and Mrs. Cross.”
“Likewise. My daughter’s told me about you. You’re her new little friend, aren’t you?” Mrs. Cross said. Chrissy nodded politely and then went back to her phone.
“Honey, you still haven’t told us what’s going on. Who’s hurt?” her father said.
“Slade Martin. Chrissy’s brother.”
“Okay…,” her mother said, clearly waiting for more information.
“He’s—he’s someone very special. Someone…” Her chin quivered and her throat closed up. “He’s in a coma.”
“How did he end up like that?” her father asked.
But before she could answer, a nurse came out and called to Chrissy. “He’s waking up. Come on.”
Chrissy gave Jessica an anxious smile and followed the nurse back to Slade’s bed.
It was the longest thirty minutes of Jessica’s life before Chrissy walked back out looking relieved.
“He’s awake,” she told Jessica. “He’s confused, but he’s awake and talking a little.”
“Can I see him?” Jessica asked.
Chrissy grabbed hold of Jessica’s hand. “Sweetie, I’m going to have to say no. I’m sorry, but he’s been through a l
ot. I don’t want to upset him, and the way you two left things, he doesn’t know the whole story yet. So give me some time to explain it to him, and if he wants to see you, I’ll let you know.”
As Chrissy was talking, Francesca came in, followed by Travis, Jamie Lynn, Cain, and Tony, who all gave Jessica a hug. Except for Francesca and Cain, the rest of the group were all tattooed and pierced. When her parents saw the group, they gasped.
“Jessica Ann Cross, who are these people and what kind of hoodlums are you associating with these days?”
“Mom, please! Keep your voice down. The patients can probably hear you, and you are being disrespectful. These are my friends.” Her chin quivered. “Well, they were.”
“No, darlin’, we are your friends. Jack explained what you did for Slade, and we really do appreciate it,” Travis said.
Jamie Lynn came forward and gave Jessica a big hug, “I knew it!” she squealed. “You came back. I just knew you would.”
Tony and Cain both nodded at Jessica. She knew that, coming from them, a nod meant as much as a hug.
“Chrissy, please go tend to Slade. I understand why you wouldn’t want me around. I am sorry. Really sorry. Please tell him that.”
“Does that man inside look anything like these people? I certainly did not raise you to consort with the likes of them,” her mother sniffed.
“Mother! I will not have you speaking to my friends this way.”
“Dennis would never have allowed you to associate with people like this,” Mrs. Cross scolded. “You’ve been out of control since he left you. Honestly, Jessica, if you were parading around town with these people”—she spat the word—“no wonder Dennis dumped you.”
Her mother had always been judgmental, but those were the most hurtful words Jessica had ever heard from her.
“Mother! Stop it this instant! You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Her father gave her a look. “Don’t raise your voice at your mother, Jessica. And don’t use foul language.”
“I am a grown-ass woman, Daddy, and I have had enough. These people”—she pointed at her friends—“helped me when I needed it most. That man—the man you have yet to meet but are already judging, the man that I love—saved my life twice.” She held out two fingers. “His name is Slade Martin, and he’s wonderful and perfect and has the biggest tattoo you have ever seen. And guess what—it doesn’t fucking matter!” Her voice cracked and tears ran down her face, but she continued to yell at her parents. “For your information, your beloved Dennis beat me to within an inch of my life. Look at this!” She pointed to the scar on her jaw. “It’s my daily reminder of what that monster did to me. I was in the hospital for over a week. Remember when I emailed you and told you I was going on a last-minute getaway? It wasn’t a getaway. I was in the hospital recovering from broken ribs, a broken arm, a collapsed lung, a busted lip…you name it, he broke it. He broke me.” She patted her chest hard. “That man in there—the ‘hoodlum,’ as you call him—took me to physical therapy, stayed by my side, loved me. He never once judged me for making the stupid decision to stay with Dennis even after he became abusive. He doesn’t care that I order a big ol’ bloody steak for dinner and drink whiskey and can’t walk in heels,” she sobbed. “And you know how I repaid him? I hurt him and pushed him away. Your precious Dennis threatened me while he was out on bail. Told me he would destroy Slade. Kill him. So I lied to Slade in order to protect him. Well, I thought I was protecting him. I had to disappear for a week in order to keep up the charade that I wasn’t testifying against Dennis. I was holed up in a motel, scared and alone, waiting for the trial to start so I could testify, all the while knowing that I stood to lose everything I had built here if I came back and was not forgiven. But as you can see, this town, these people, they can be very forgiving.”
She took a deep breath.
“And by the way, Dennis will be serving a lot of time in prison, seeing as he tried to kill me at his own trial when he saw I was about to get on the stand and testify against him.” She turned to Francesca. “Thank God you were there. I’m so sorry for the way I treated you. You were always around, and you’re so beautiful, and…and I was jealous and insecure and just so stupid. I’m sorry.”
“No problem,” Francesca said with a smile. “We women, we gotta stick together.”
“Still, I owe you a huge apology and an even bigger thank-you.”
“How ’bout I get invited to your next girls’ night and we’ll call it even?”
Jessica snorted a laugh, even though her tears were still flowing. “You got it. Friends?”
“Absolutely, honey.”
Jessica closed the gap and gave Francesca a hug.
Minutes later, after the rest of Slade’s friends had gone back to see him, Jessica’s father turned to her. “Why didn’t you tell us?” he asked, his voice laced with hurt.
“Why do you think? Look how you treated my friends. I don’t want to leave Tarpon Springs, and I know this town doesn’t look like what you wanted for me. But Mom, Dad, I’m not what you wanted, either. I don’t do teatime. I don’t want to marry a doctor or a politician or whatever so-called perfect guy you two handpick for me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t want to hear it. Plus I was embarrassed. I never thought of myself as a victim. And it felt like you loved Dennis more than you loved me sometimes.”
“Oh, sweetie, we’re so sorry. We love you first and foremost. We want you to be happy,” her father said warmly.
A choked sob escaped her mother. “Jessica, honey, you should have told me.” Even though she was not a public-display-of-affection kind of woman, she enveloped Jessica in a tight hug. “We love you so much, and we just want what’s best for you. And if we’ve overstepped or misjudged, we are so sorry. I am so sorry.”
Mrs. Cross pulled back a little to look at Jessica. “So this Slade person. Why is he in the hospital? Is he going to be all right?”
Jessica sobbed even more in her mother’s arms. “Oh, Mom. I love him so much. He’s given me more in a few months than Dennis gave me in five years. He is—actually he was—but because he was so mad at me, he began again….”
“Honey, take a deep breath,” her father said. “You’re rambling. We don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
Jessica took a few deep breaths, then started over.
“He’s a professional cage fighter. It’s called mixed martial arts. He also owns his own academy. He’s had too many head traumas throughout the years and wasn’t supposed to fight anymore. But he did. He fought. And that too was my fault. But he won. He always wins. Apparently there was a small blow to the head but because he was already suffering from too many concussions, he had some hemorrhaging. He had to have emergency surgery yesterday and they drained out some blood. He has been in an induced coma while his head healed and the swelling subsided. Now he’s awake but the last thing he remembered was me fighting with him in public and leaving him. I hurt him so much, he may never forgive me. But it’s okay. I did it to avoid him fighting Dennis for me. Because he would have. He would have fought Dennis had he known Dennis was threatening me. It’s okay—I may have lost, but Slade didn’t. He—”
Jessica was interrupted by a loud ruckus coming from the back of the ICU. Suddenly a curtain was ripped down from its ceiling track, and she looked over to see Slade trying to sit up, his hand still grasping the curtain, as Chrissy murmured something to him and tried to get him to lie back down. Behind the bed were the rest of their friends.
“Jessica!” the familiar rumbly voice yelled.
She ran toward him, not knowing what he was going to say but simply glad to see him again.
When she reached him, she stopped short, looking to see what emotion she saw in his blue eyes. She thought he was incensed.
“Closer,” he said. She inched closer.
“You know, these curtains aren’t very soundproof.” She looked at the floor. Had he heard everything? Her mother’s judgm
ental rant included? “I’m still so damn mad at you,” he went on, “I don’t know what to do. You think you’re the only one who stood to lose in this?”
Her lips trembled as she tried to contain her sobs. He continued to yell, his skin pale, his head wrapped in gauze, monitors and IVs attached to him. “You don’t get to make decisions about us on your own. You don’t get to leave me out of things when you’re scared, especially when they concern your safety. You don’t get to make those fucking decisions on your own, Jessica.”
“Please, Slade, calm down. Your head,” Jessica whispered tearfully.
“Come here.” He reached for her hand and pulled her face down next to his. “And you certainly don’t get to leave me again. You will not leave me again, Jessica. Do you understand?”
She nodded. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
“Now, you said some things in that conversation with your parents that I don’t want to hear again. Ever. ’Cause if I hear Dennis’s name again or what he did to you, I’ll be forced to do something stupid. I don’t care so much about doing something stupid, but that something stupid will land me in jail, and I can’t go to jail because you’re here and I need to be here with you. So that’s the bad shit I don’t want to hear about. But you said some good shit too. I want to hear that good shit here in front of me. Say it again.”
Jessica smiled through her streaming tears. “Slade, I’m so sorry I said that I didn’t love you, because I do. I love you so much, I—”
“Mouth.”
She grinned and, and in front of the ICU staff, the other patients, her friends, and her parents, and a mere one day after Slade’s emergency brain surgery, Jessica kissed Slade with every single fiber of her being.
“Baby, I love you too,” he said when they finally broke apart.
Jessica heard a sniffle, and looked up to see a misty-eyed Chrissy looking on. Francesca and Jamie Lynn had tears in their eyes as well.
“Does that mean I can’t ask you out, darlin’?” Travis joked.
“Go do some work, Texas,” Slade barked.
Jessica laughed as she wiped away the tears with a tissue.
Full Contact (Worth the Fight #2) Page 24
