“Yeah,” he replies simply.
“I come with so much baggage. I don’t even know why he’d want anything to do with that.” As soon as the words tumble out of my mouth, I feel like the biggest bitch. He never once made me feel like I was a burden of any kind to him. He wanted me from the beginning, even before I was willing to give us a chance.
He takes a pull from the beer sitting in front of him.
“I think we both know he wouldn’t agree with that.” He stands from the stool. “He’ll be at the station tomorrow at three. Go see him.”
Without another word, he walks away, and I’m left even more confused than before. I miss Caden so damn much, but would I ever be able to give him what he wants?
39
Caden
For the last week I’ve only just been surviving. I’ve tried to put on a front for Kenz, but she’s not dumb and saw right through my bullshit. I fortunately didn’t have to work the first couple days after leaving Sierra, but once I had to get back to the station, I at least had something to keep my mind busy. In my line of work, you can’t be thinking about anything other than the job at hand or you risk getting yourself or someone else killed.
“Hey, man,” Anthony greets me. I somehow lucked out and didn’t have to work Halloween, but I have a feeling that things won’t be uneventful tonight.
“Hey.” I haven’t felt much like talking to anyone lately, and he’s told me a time or two that I’m being a dick. I can’t really bring myself to care though. He likes messing around with a different woman every week, so he has no idea how I’m feeling.
Once I calmed myself down after leaving Sierra’s building, I realized that maybe I was too harsh on her. We’d only been together for a couple months. Was it fair for me to expect more from her already? Not that I was planning on proposing anytime soon, but if she didn’t want that from me, there was no reason to continue what we were doing. That would have only caused more pain down the road.
I make my way back to my desk and listen to the few voicemails that are waiting for me.
“I saw Sierra last night.” Anthony’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts as I hang up my phone. I hadn’t even heard him walk in. That’s how fucked up my mind has been lately.
“Why are you telling me that?” I mumble. “You know we aren’t together anymore.” I give him a pointed stare.
“She’s almost as miserable as you are,” he ignores my question. Asshole.
The thought of her feeling half as bad as I do sends a pang through my chest. But I could have given her the moon and the stars, but she didn’t want that from me.
I slam my hands on the hard wood.
“Damn it! The last week has been fucking hell. I don’t need to hear this.” I pull at my hair and a few heads turn from the other nearby desks.
He shakes his head at me, a smirk playing on his stupid face.
“Harris, we need to go. We just got a call.”
I look up to see Reynolds standing in the doorway and nod at him. I glower at Anthony and then shove past him. I can’t be thinking about her right now. Maybe I should see if there’s any extra shifts I can pick up. It seems to be the only thing that allows me a little bit of respite from any thoughts of her.
“What happened?” I ask Reynolds as I buckle myself into his car.
“A neighbor made a call saying he may have heard gunshots coming from next door. We were told that the wife has been seen with a man that isn’t her husband, and he may have just caught them in the act.”
“Shit,” I mumble.
A security guard lets us into the gated community, and we make our way to the mansion-like home. I’m sure this neighborhood will be in for a shock if there’s any kind of crime that takes place here tonight. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in an area like this.
He parks on the street and we jump out. Parker and Fallon pull in behind us as we make our way up to the porch. I knock but don’t get an answer, so I try the doorknob. Just as it turns, we hear gunshots on the other side of the door.
“Fuck,” I hear Reynolds from behind me as we reach for our guns and make our way inside.
“I’ll fucking kill you if you don’t get your hands off my wife!” a man’s voice roars from somewhere in the house. It sounds as if they’re upstairs, so we head for the stairway near the front door.
The wooden stairs creak under our feet as we bound to the top where all the action is taking place.
“Weapon down!” Reynolds yells at the twenty-something man who is currently pointing a gun at the guy in bed with his wife. Looks like the neighbor was exactly right.
“Come on, man. Put your gun down. You don’t want to do this,” I say from the door. He doesn’t seem to hear us as the anger rolls off him in waves.
He finally snaps out of it and points the gun our way, and his wife and asshole on the bed both breathe a sigh of relief. Me and Fallon make our way toward them to usher them out of the room, while Reynolds and Parker both point their guns at him.
“Don’t touch them!” he yells.
I grab a blanket for the woman as she’s completely naked and start for the door with her, so I can get her out of the line of fire, in case he decides to shoot again. My adrenaline is pumping, but it seems like everything is happening in slow-motion. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been in this position, every time it happens, I have to wonder if I’ll ever go home to my daughter again.
An ear-piercing snap sounds through the air, and I turn to see the boyfriend on the ground. The woman cries out, and I grab her to push her through the door, but in the next instant everything goes black. I hear noise all around me, but I’m unable to make out what’s being said as I slowly fall. A shooting pain goes through my head. My eyes close, but I don’t have to see to know there’s blood, and a lot of it, surrounding me. Thoughts of Kenzie, Sierra, and her boys flash through my mind. I’ll never get the chance to tell them that I love them again, but I just hope like hell they all know.
“Harris!” I hear before everything fades away.
40
Sierra
I’ve got an hour before Caden will be at the station, so I decide to make one stop on my way there. I’m tired of Glenna thinking that she can dictate my life, so I’m putting a stop to this now.
I walk up the porch and ring the doorbell, not sure what to expect when she finally answers.
“Oh, hello darling.” Glenna looks at me with surprise etched on her face. “Did you bring the box back?”
She’s an idiot. I clearly did not, considering there’s nothing in my hands.
I shake my hand. “No. I think it’s important that Auggie and Jayce have something to remember their father by.”
She scoffs. “Do you even care? You don’t even seem upset about his death.”
This lady is way too freaking much, but I’m done with her after this conversation. I want to move on with my life and having her around will never make that possible.
I take a deep calming breath.
“Glenna, I have spent the last five years grieving, but I think Miles would want me to move on.”
She stares at me with a blank look on her face.
“I’ve found someone who makes me and my boys extremely happy, and I plan on being with him for a long time. A very long time.”
She grabs her chest as if I’ve just offended her.
“He’s trying to replace their father.”
I rest my hands on my hips.
“No, he is not. But they do need a male role model, and he loves them as if they were his own. That doesn’t mean I will ever stop telling them about Miles.”
“Well, it seems you’ve already made up your mind.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Yes, I have.” I nod. “And I also came to tell you that you will no longer be welcome in my boys’ lives until you start respecting my decisions and learn to treat them better.”
Her mouth nearly hits the ground.
“I don’t know
what you mean.”
“Yes, you do. You will not talk to either of them until you realize that they lost their father that day. They are the two that have had to suffer the most from his absence.”
Without another word, I turn and walk off the porch. Suddenly feeling free. I can’t believe I just did that, but it’s about damn time.
* * *
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I take several calming breaths before pushing my door open and climbing out of the Explorer. What if this was a bad idea? What if he doesn’t even want to see me?
I spent the entire day trying to decide if I was going to come see Caden. My mind kept telling me that I needed to stay away from him. Let him move on without me. But my heart won. I’ve been aching for his touch and to hear the sound of his voice. I know I shouldn’t have expected it, but he never once reached out to me after walking out of my apartment. I don’t blame him, but it only made the already deep cut deeper.
I walk around to the passenger side to grab the German chocolate cupcakes I brought him and his co-workers. I know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But what am I even doing here? I’m scared to death, but I know that I’d regret it even more if I never tried to see where things could go between us. Chances are it’s too late now, and I’m wasting my time by coming here. I have a sinking feeling in my gut that I’m only going to get my heart crushed again when he tells me to leave and never come back.
It’s a miracle that my shaky legs can hold me as I walk the short distance to the entrance. A blast of cool air assaults me as I push the door open, and I immediately see the same lady from the last time I was here, sitting behind the front desk.
“Hi, can I help you?”
“Uh, yes. I’m here to see Officer Harris.” I’m having to focus on not dropping the cupcakes because I can’t control the trembling. Nerves are a bitch.
“Sierra?” I turn toward the sound of Anthony’s voice, and there’s something about the look he’s giving me that puts me on edge.
“Hey, Anthony. I came.” I try to give him a small smile but know I fail miserably.
“I’ll take it from here, Linda.” He walks toward me and grabs my arm and now I know that something is wrong. Very wrong.
I pull away from him. “What’s going on?” My heart nearly stops as I wait for him to respond. It seems like it takes forever for him to get the words out, but I’m sure only seconds tick by.
“We need to get to the hospital,” he tells me calmly, and I can feel the blood drain from my face.
“Wh-what?” I rasp out. “What happened?”
“I don’t know the details yet, but Caden was shot tonight while out on a call.”
The plastic container slips through my hands and my legs finally give out on me, but Anthony grabs me before I hit the floor.
“Linda, we need some water.” He walks me to the nearest chair. “Are you all right?”
I look up at him and see the concern all over his face.
“I’m fine, we need to go.” I try standing on my feet, but he lightly pushes me back down on the chair and shakes his head.
“No fucking way. If Caden found out I let you go anywhere in this condition, he’d kick my ass.”
If I wasn’t so worried about him right now, his words would make me smile.
I take a few sips of the water that the receptionist brings over and then really do feel better. But I know I won’t calm down until I know Caden is all right.
“I’m good.” I rub my sweaty palms on my pants. “Can we go now?”
“If you’re sure.” He grabs my hand and helps me stand.
The hospital is only about five minutes away from the station, but those five minutes seem to drag on forever. Of course, we hit every red light on the way there.
“I’ll drop you off at the doors. I’m sure Reynolds will be sitting right inside.”
As soon as Anthony pulls up to the Emergency Room entrance, I waste no time in swinging the door open and jumping out of the car. I have to push the automatic doors open because they don’t move fast enough for my liking.
“Can you tell me where Caden Harris is?” I ask the blonde girl behind the counter as I try to catch my breath.
“Sierra?” I hear a man’s voice behind me, and I’m assuming it’s Officer Reynolds who Anthony just told me about it.
“Yeah, that’s me. Do you know how Caden is?”
The concern on his face has me feeling like I’m about to pass out, but I need to know. I need to know that he’s going to be fine. I can’t lose him. I can’t go through this again. This is the exact thing I was worried about. This is why I said I couldn’t give him what he wanted, but now it may be happening anyway. The fact that we aren’t together anymore doesn’t make this any less shitty. I still love him so damn much.
“He’s in surgery right now, so we still haven’t heard anything.”
“Surgery?” I choke out. “Why did he need surgery?” Of course, it makes sense because he was shot, but the news still makes me sick to my stomach. I grab for the closest chair before I collapse again.
“How is he?” Anthony rushes into the waiting room in a panic. I know that this is affecting him too because he and Caden are like brothers. But right now, I can’t think about that. The man I love more than life itself is currently possibly lying on his death bed. I want nothing more than to burst through the doors to see him, but I know that wouldn’t do any of us good.
“I was telling Sierra that they have him back in surgery right now. He was hit in the shoulder, but it sounds like any major organs were missed. He got lucky as it could have ended a lot worse.”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“So, they just have to remove the bullet?” I stammer out.
Officer Reynolds nods. “That’s what it sounds like, but a doctor will be out as soon as they are finished with him.”
Anthony tries calling Caden’s parents but doesn’t get an answer. I have Kenzie’s number, but I don’t think I should be the one to tell her. I sit with all the officers for what feels like hours, and Anthony forces me to eat a vending machine turkey sandwich while I sip on a bottle of water. Eating is the absolute last thing I want to be doing right now, but at least it keeps me somewhat busy while we wait.
“Are you the family of Officer Harris?” a doctor in a white lab coat asks as he walks through the waiting room doors.
“This is his wife.” Anthony points at me as he jumps from his chair, and the doctor takes the seat across from us. His words surprisingly don’t bother me but instead make me want to be with Caden even more.
“Is- is he okay?” I ask as the middle-aged man rests his elbows on his knees before he starts talking.
He nods. “He got very lucky tonight.” He pauses as he straightens up in his seat. “The bullet hit his shoulder, but it doesn’t look like any permanent damage was done. The bad news is he was hit in the brachial plexus, so there is a good chance he’ll need surgery later on, but he is going to be just fine.”
I’ve never been so relieved in all my life.
“He also has a minor concussion from hitting his head pretty hard when he fell, but he’ll most likely just have a bad headache for awhile to go along with the bump on his head. We did a CT scan, and that showed that there is no bleeding on his brain.”
When I don’t say anything, Anthony and Officer Reynolds thank the doctor and that’s when I finally let my tears fall. He’s going to be okay and I’m getting him back. I can’t live another day without that man, and I’m not waiting until he faces another near-death experience before I admit that I need him more than the air I breathe.
41
Caden
The obnoxious sound of beeping pulls me out of sleep, but my eyes have a hard time focusing when I open them. Where the hell am I?
I try turning so I can look beside me, but I’m halted when a horrid pain shoots through the back of my head.
“He’s awake.”
I hear the sweet voice from across the room, and I really have to wonder if I’ve died and gone to heaven.
I blink a few times and then I see her. She’s so beautiful, even with the worry that is currently masking her face.
“Welcome back, man.” Anthony stands next to her, a grateful smile on his face. “You scared the hell out of us.”
“What happened?” It hurts to talk because my throat is dry as hell.
I see a tear slide down Sierra’s face, and I wish that I wasn’t stuck to this god-awful bed so I could gather her into my arms and reassure her that I’m fine.
“You were shot in the shoulder tonight.” Anthony looks everywhere but at me, and that’s when I finally remember. God, that guy was a complete psycho.
I close my eyes, trying not to let the images haunt my mind. My gorgeous girl is here, and that’s all I want to focus on right now.
I feel the bed dip beside me, and when I open my eyes back up, she’s by my side with a cup of water. She sticks the straw in my mouth, and I don’t think the cool liquid has ever felt so good going down before.
“I’m gonna go let the doctor know you’re awake.” The door clicks shut behind him, and now I’m alone with her. I don’t care what she says. She is mine and always will be. She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t feel the same way.
She sets the cup on the table beside us, and I carefully grab her hand with mine that isn’t attached to an IV, and we sit in silence for several minutes. I rub circles on her soft skin with my thumb.
“I’m-I’m so glad you’re all right.” Her voice cracks as a stream of tears flow freely down her face. The pain in my chest is worse than the pain from the hole in my shoulder. I hate seeing her upset because of me.
“Hey.” I carefully lift my hand to her face and rub her soft cheek. “I’m okay. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Reawakened: The Unexpected Series Page 18
