Extreme Devotion

by Kay Manis

  I jerked my head, searching for her, my heart thumping so hard, I feared it would beat out of my chest. I sucked in a breath, my lungs burning like they were on fire.

  What would I find? What state would she be in? Would she recognize me? Would my presence send her back over the edge?

  The doctor glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, here she comes now. Good. I’ll be able to observe her before I leave.”

  Leave? Where the fuck was this guy going? My baby needed him. He couldn’t leave.

  My gaze followed his.

  A hospital bed rolled down the hallway, containing a small body that lay motionless under the sheets and blankets. It was Hindley.

  The only part of her visible was her beautiful face. Tears stung my eyes and my stomach plummeted. My Drunk Girl was suffering and there wasn’t shit I could do.

  Paul leaned into the doorway of the hospital room. “She’s here,” he said to someone.

  Caroline and Dana rushed out to the hallway, shrouding Hindley’s bed and gripping the railing as the attendant wheeled it toward the room. The grief and remorse on their faces told me they were blaming themselves for Hindley’s situation just as much as I was.

  The attendant shooed them away at the door and reluctantly they left Hindley’s side.

  Caroline turned toward me, her eyes red-rimmed and shadowed with worry. “Rory,” she sighed, making her way toward me. “Oh, thank God, you’re here.”

  Thank God?

  Was what Grandma Bear said true? Had they really wanted me here?

  Caroline threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me tight.

  “You’re really glad I’m here, Caroline?” I whispered, slipping my arms around her.

  She abruptly released me, stepping back to inspect me.

  “Of course we are. Hindley’s been asking for you non-stop.”

  “But I thought they said she was comatose.”

  “She’s been unconscious the entire time. Every time she asks for you, we all think she’s coming to, but she never does. The doctors don’t understand it. It’s like she’s stuck in a dream, or maybe a nightmare. I feel like you may be the only one who can reach her.”

  No words had ever brought me more relief. These past two weeks had been the worst of my life, second only to the death of my sister. I’d hurt Hindley, inflicting unimaginable pain when I’d promised to protect her. Now, her mother was telling me I may be her saving grace? I pulled Caroline back into my arms.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, as tears rolled down my face. “Thank you so much. I’m so sorry, I never meant to hurt her, I swear, Caroline, I love her so much.”

  “Rory, I know,” she soothed. “We’re the ones who are sorry. I’m so sorry for what Geneva did to you.” Her voice was controlled but her body was shaking. She broke our embrace but kept her hands firmly wrapped around my upper arms.

  Her words of apology were so surprising.

  “Rory, you have to know,” she said, shaking her head. “We had no idea what Geneva had did, not until last night, I swear.”

  I almost laughed out loud. I’d come here, expecting to be given the boot by her parents. Instead, Hindley’s mother was apologizing to me, and saying I might be the only one who could save her daughter.

  “Caroline, nothing matters anymore, only Hindley.”

  “Yes.” She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You’re right. Only Hindley.”

  Paul slipped in next to Caroline, wrapping her protectively against him like I’d done to Hindley so many times.

  “Thank you for coming,” Paul said, as if I’d done him the biggest favor of his life.

  “Thanks for letting me come,” I said.

  His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I fully expected to get my ass kicked then promptly thrown out of here when I showed up, so you thanking me for being here comes as quite a shock.”

  “I think it’s us who should be receiving the ass kicking from you,” Paul said.

  We both laughed and just like that, I knew Paul Barton was on my side.

  “There’ll be no ass kicking today,” Caroline said, patting Paul’s chest.

  I glanced over Caroline’s shoulder and noticed Dana wrapped in Leif’s arms. I was so glad she had him. They were good for each other.

  “She feels awful.” Paul nodded toward Dana. “I can’t seem to say anything to console her. She feels solely responsible for Hindley’s breakdown, and I can’t seem to reach her.”

  “If anyone can, Leif can,” I said. “Can we go in?” I asked the doctor.

  “Just give them a few more minutes to set up her IV bags and let me assess her, then you can,” he said.

  It wasn’t the answer I wanted, but I accepted it. There was absolutely no way I was giving anyone grief. Not today. But I was overwhelmed by all the questions flying through my head while waiting to see the woman I loved.

  What had happened? How had it happened? Had she done this during the time I had known her? When I thought my head might explode from all the questions racing through my mind, I approached the delicate subject apprehensively. “So, what happened?”

  Caroline shook her head and I knew there was no way she could relive the day, so I turned to Paul for answers.

  “Last night, Geneva came to our house with Stan and explained everything to us,” he said. “How she’d paid the waiter to drug you at the hotel so she could seduce you and try to get you to sleep with her.” Paul took in a calming breath.

  I realized that even though this was his daughter, he was furious with Geneva. What Leif said was right. Geneva had crossed a line and it may cost her everything—her stepmother, her father, maybe even her own husband. As far as I was concerned, that bitch deserved everything she got.

  “Rory, you have to know,” Paul said, “we had no idea what she’d done.” He repeated Caroline’s words.

  “I know, Paul, I’m not upset with either of you.”

  “But you should be. I was furious with you,” he said. “I would have killed you with my bare hands if I could have found you.”

  I laughed to myself, realizing that my decision to escape to Colorado after my incident in Miami may very well have saved my life.

  “It’s all in the past, Paul, okay? I just want to know what happened to Hindley, and how we can help her heal from this.”

  Caroline let out a sob, covering her mouth as she nodded her head in agreement.

  “Do you know about the videos?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I tried to remain unaffected, for their benefit, but it was hard not to punch something.

  “So you know what we’re dealing with?”

  I nodded, unable to say more.

  “Well, anyway,” he said, “we thought it best to tell Hindley about the videos in person, so we went to Dana’s to meet her. Hindley was so relieved to learn that you hadn’t slept with Geneva, she wanted to speak to you. She wanted to call you right then and there.”

  My gaze darted to Caroline.

  She smiled and nodded in agreement. “She did.”

  I couldn’t contain the smile inside me at the thought that my girl wanted to talk to me.

  “But we had to tell her about the videos first,” Paul said.

  “How did you find out about them?” I asked. “The videos, I mean.”

  “I have an investor who has a large computer systems company. They constantly troll the Internet for all sorts of things to help them service their clients, although I’m not sure how these videos qualify. Anyway, that’s how I first discovered them. By the time my client found the videos, they’d already gone viral.”

  “Fuck.” I scraped my fingers through my hair, pulling at the strands. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right.” Caroline smiled. “I said some pretty harsh words myself when I found out.”

  I couldn’t picture Caroline Hagen-Barton cussing, but I reminded myself, she was more like me than I’d realized in the beginning.

  I looked between t
he two of them. “Any idea who leaked them? I thought the police had all the tapes locked away.”

  “So you did know about them? All the videos?” Caroline asked me in a clipped tone. It was clear she was talking about the videos of Hindley being raped, not just the surveillance ones.

  “Yes.”

  “For how long?” she asked.

  The disappointment and hurt in her eyes at the realization her daughter had shared this news with someone other than her was palpable. I couldn’t say that I blamed her.

  “When she told me about the stripping, she also told me about the surveillance videos and being raped.”

  “Stripping?” Paul flinched.

  Oh, shit. Apparently they didn’t know about that one either.

  Dana scooted in beside me. “Paul, calm down.”

  “How the hell can I calm down? Rory just told me my daughter was a stripper.”

  I looked over at Caroline who wasn’t nearly as shocked as her husband. She knew.

  “Caroline, did you know about this?” Paul asked.

  Her eyes were wide, like a deer in the headlights and I knew she needed help.

  “She was never a stripper, Paul,” I said. “Not that that should matter.”

  “The hell it should matter,” he said with contained fury.

  “She only designed the outfits for the strippers,” Dana said.

  “You knew about this too?” He glared at Dana as if he was going to strangle her. “When did you find out, Caroline?” He narrowed his eyes, his lips pursed.

  There was no doubt in anyone’s mind, Paul Barton was pissed.

  “Didn’t you ever wonder how she paid for law school without your help?” Caroline asked with a mocking tone.

  I wasn’t sure that was safe, given Paul’s current state of mind.

  “I assumed it was grants, scholarships, and loans like she told us,” he said. “I never dreamed she paid for it by stripping.”

  “First of all,” I broke in defensively, “even if she had been a stripper, that would have been her choice, and it’s a legitimate profession. If men are dumb enough to pay for something they can see for free, then why should we blame the women who provide them that service? Hell, those girls are geniuses if you asked me.” Every head jerked, their eyes trained on me as they stood in stunned silence.

  “You can’t be serious?” Paul said through gritted teeth.

  “I’m completely serious.”

  “So, if Hindley had been a stripper, you would have been all right with that?” Paul asked in disgust.

  “It wouldn’t be my desired profession for her, but yes, if that’s how she had paid for school, I would eventually have come to terms with it. She’s a smart, bright, intelligent woman. She would never do anything that didn’t make sense.”

  Until now, I thought.

  The doctor stepped into the hallway. “All right, you can go in now. Only two at a time though, please.”

  “Is she awake?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck with worry.

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  I knew what the silent prognosis was. She was unconscious, and he didn’t know how long it would last.

  I stepped aside, making way for Paul and Caroline to enter, but instead they moved back and motioned for me.

  “It’s you she wants to see, Rory,” Caroline said softly.

  “But you’re her mother.” The words came out choked on my tears.

  “Yes, but it’s you she’s been asking for, sweetheart. It’s been you in her thoughts and dreams. And I’m willing to bet it will be you who brings her back.”

  I caught Caroline up in my arms and buried my face in her neck, bawling like a small child. I’m sure I looked like a complete pussy, but I couldn’t give a shit less. “I’m sorry, Caroline,” I whispered. “I never meant to hurt her, I swear.”

  “Rory,” she rubbed my back, “we know, sweetheart. We know.”

  I squeezed her tighter, absorbing her words.

  “You would never hurt her,” she whispered. “I should have known that from the start. I’m sorry Geneva did this to you. To Hindley.”

  We stood in the hallway, surrounded by family and friends, unaffected by their presence. I felt safe in Caroline’s arms, like I did in Kara’s. I knew if I was going to get through this, if we were going to get through this, we’d need to rely on one another’s strength and love.

  She pulled back from my embrace and cupped my jaw. “Go,” she said, wiping away tears with her thumbs. “Bring my baby back home.” She pulled me down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Please, Rory.”

  I stared into her beautiful emerald eyes, unable to believe that she needed me, that anyone would need me. I nodded once, vowing that this time I wouldn’t let them down.

  She gently released me and I turned to Paul. He wore the same pleading look in his dark blue eyes. I needed to be strong for them.

  I turned to Dana. If I was going to be in Hindley’s life again, I needed her by my side to guide me. There was no other way. I had to gain her forgiveness.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Rory,” she said as if reading my thoughts. “Hindley knows that.”

  “It wasn’t yours either, Dana,” I said.

  Her eyes welled with tears as she stepped closer.

  Gazing down at her petite body, knowing full well she could kick my ass, I flinched. Was she gonna punch me in the gut or kick me in the nuts like I deserved?

  Instead, she grabbed my face with her petite hands and yanked me down to meet her gaze. Bringing her mouth close to my ear, she pulled me in even further. “Fuck this up and I will kill you though. I’m Italian and I know how to hide bodies. Got it, One Nighter?” She released my face and took a step back, a perfectly manicured brow raised high over one blue eye.

  I stared at her for several seconds before we both burst out in laughter. And just like that, I was back in her good graces.

  I pulled her in tight, holding her close as her body sagged against me and began to shake, her tears flowing freely. In many ways, Dana reminded me of my sister Shelly, and I was happy to have her with me, to guide me and encourage me as we worked together to bring Hindley back.

  “I promise not to fuck this up again,” I said quietly. “But if I do,” I leaned back and stared down at her, “I give you permission to kill me.”

  “Good.” She smiled, knocking my arm with her fist as she wiped at her eyes.

  “Just make it quick and painless.”

  She smiled, two huge dimples emerging on each cheek. “Not on your life.”

  I walked toward Hindley’s room but glanced over my shoulder just before I entered. These people loved Hindley as much as I did. They were counting on me to bring her back. I nodded once in silent acknowledgment.

  I would bring my Drunk Girl home.

  Chapter 40

  -RORY-

  As I entered Hindley’s room, I saw her sleeping peacefully. The only reminder she was in a hospital were the railings on either side of her bed and two IV bags hanging from a stand next to her.

  “One’s an antibiotic so her wounds won’t become infected,” the nurse said as I investigated the bags. “The other is for fluids.”

  “Can she hear me?”

  “Some people don’t think so, but I believe she can. If there’s something you want to tell her, it’s all right. Even if she doesn’t remember as soon as she wakes up, your words will always be tucked away somewhere in the back of her mind.”

  “How long will she be like this?” I waved my hand up and down her body.

  “Unconscious, you mean?”

  I nodded.

  “It’s hard to say. Part of it’s the anesthesia, but most of it is her trying to keep her mind out of harm’s way.”

  “From what?”

  “Herself,” she said.

  I surveyed Hindley’s motionless body and flinched at the thought of her hurting herself. I glanced up at the nurse and saw an expression that conveyed a wealth of empathy. She
was connected personally in some way. As soon as the look came, it retreated, and her expression turned professional again as she continued to work around Hindley’s body. She plugged in machines and took her temperature before checking her blood pressure.

  “When Hindley feels safe again, safe enough to handle the trauma she’s endured, she’ll wake up.” She paused in her efforts and came to stand in front of me. “But when she does wake up, you need to make sure you’re here for the right reasons. If you can’t handle this, her emotional trauma and the road she will have to travel to recover, then you need to leave. Now. Before she wakes up. She can’t afford more stress or turmoil, like you leaving her, not in the state she’s in.”

  I nodded. “I’m here for the long haul.”

  “I figured as much.” She nodded once then busied herself again, taking care of Hindley’s needs. “I saw your interview.”

  I looked up and saw her tending to Hindley’s IV bags. I wasn’t surprised she’d seen the show. It was on national television. And it had been broadcast over the Internet for the world to watch.

  “Do you know if she saw it?” I asked.

  “No, I don’t know. Sorry.”

  My heart sank.

  “It would be a shame if she didn’t see it though.”

  “Why?”

  “Because anyone who saw it knows how much you love her.”

  “Really?” Hope surged through me. If this stranger saw it, maybe Hindley had too.

  “That’s the only reason Pam let you up here.”

  “Who?”

  “Pam, down at the front desk.”

  Grandma Bear.

  “She’s the gate-keeper of the fourth floor. She only lets up the good ones.” She turned toward me and winked. “Take care of her, Rory.” She stared at Hindley’s motionless body.

  “It’s my mission in life,” I whispered, my eyes glued to the woman I loved.

  “Good. Press the red button there on the bed if you need anything.”

  I sat down in the chair next to the bed. “Can I touch her?”

  The nurse came around and withdrew Hindley’s left arm from the sheets.

  I gasped when I saw it was wrapped in gauze and an Ace bandage from her wrist just past her elbow. Fuck. What had she done to herself?