by Karen Renee
I dipped my head to her cheekbone for a brief kiss which strategically put me close to her ear. “We’re not done, Sunflower. No moving on, baby. I love you, and don’t you fuckin’ forget it,” I muttered as low as I could.
Her audible exhale said more than any of her words ever would, and that made me smile. Slightly.
I watched them wheel her away as my phone rang with Pop’s ring tone, and I knew it was going to be a long-ass night.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It's not a Dream
Cecilia
The entire time back to the exam room, I heard Brock’s words in my head. We’re not done, Sunflower. No moving on, baby. I love you, and don’t you fuckin’ forget it.
It was hard for me to say which was more concerning. But really, ‘no moving on’ —he couldn’t be serious? It was nothing to move on from the likes of me, and he damn well needed to so he could reach his goals. The problem would be making him see that. I well knew how stubborn Brock could be. And when he wasn’t being stubborn, then he became a protective alpha-male.
My nurse, Harold, wheeled me into a different room and relief flooded me as I figured Brock wouldn’t know about my new room. My relief was short-lived since Brock’s back was to us as he looked out the window with his cell to his ear.
“Yeah, listen, Pop... The nurse just brought her back, and I want to find out what’s going on. I’ll call you back, probably in an hour, hour-and-a-half at the most.”
He paused and watched Harold guide my wheelie bed into place and lock it. After he tucked his phone into his back pocket, Brock moved to my side.
Harold looked from Brock to me. “The doctor should be in soon. And my guess, you’ll spend the night for observation and then be released under the care of someone who can make sure your concussion symptoms do not worsen in any way.”
I took in a deep breath as anxiety filled me because I didn’t know where my cell phone was to call one of my roommates, but I nodded anyway.
“Thank you so much,” I murmured.
Harold smiled a huge and stunning smile as he squeezed my hand. “You’re more than welcome, Cecilia.”
Since he had my hand, I squeezed back a little harder than necessary while I widened my eyes to get his full attention. I lowered my voice, for all the good it did me, since I knew Brock could still hear me. “You wouldn’t know where my cell phone is, would you?”
Brock said, “Gabe has it, Sunflower. He saw your purse lying out in the open on the carseat and grabbed it for you. He and Clint should be here soon.”
His eyes turned to Harold. “I’ll be the person caring for her, so you can bring me the instructions on caring for her concussion. No way she’s leaving my sight with the bastards who did this to her still out there.”
I gasped hearing that the asshole who manhandled me was still free. Brock clenched his jaw immediately. The remorse on his face conveyed the magnitude of his regret at sharing that information.
He grabbed the bed railing and leaned his weight into it, bringing his blue eyes close to mine. “I’m sorry, honey. I should’ve been more... careful with how I shared that. But, yeah. Even with Clint and Gabe on their heels, those assholes got away. Bottom line, I’m stayin’ with you,” he ended abruptly.
Somehow I knew he just kept himself from saying ‘whether I liked it or not,’ because of Harold standing on the other side of my bed. As if to affirm my suspicions he looked up to Harold, who had a gleaming beam on his face.
“You gonna bring us those instructions or someone else?” Brock demanded.
To my surprise, Harold’s beam intensified as he chuckled. “Definitely gonna be me, man. Haven’t seen intensity like this in person...ever. And I used to give my sisters a hard time about watching The Bold and the Beautiful. Nope, you’re giving Ridge Forrester a run for his money.”
As a girl who spent summer vacation watching Y&R and The Bold and the Beautiful, I desperately wanted to laugh at Harold’s commentary, but since his comments revolved around me... I didn’t have it in me. After a blink, I glowered at Harold, but that only served to increase his chuckles.
“Good to know I amuse you,” I muttered.
Harold let go of my hand, and tipped his chin down at me. “Gotta find joy where you can in this life, Cecilia. I’ll be back.”
A scraping noise across the linoleum floor jerked my attention to Brock, who settled into a chair next to me. Before I could react, he grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it.
“How are you keeping me from achieving my goals, Sunflower? Tell me that, please,” he murmured against my hand. It tickled, but in a good way.
“Well,” I started, and stopped.
His brows arched. “You were never arrested for it. Right?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
“Never served time, right?” he persisted.
I sighed. “Right.”
He shook his head. “You’re not a reflection on me, honey.”
I felt nauseous and I had no idea if it was from the growing lump on my head or this conversation. I swallowed hard. “They’ll know.”
He squeezed my hand as he lowered it to the bed. “Who will know what, honey?”
“Anyone you work with will know about my past.”
His focus moved to the bed railing, then he lowered it down so he could scoot closer to me. “Honey, they won’t. Besides, that’s a goal. It’s not a dream. A job is a job. Dreams are more than jobs.”
I gazed into his unwavering eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
“My dream is to find the right woman for me, and live my life next to her. Building a family, raising that family, watching our children grow healthy and strong... that, Sunflower, is a dream.”
“That’s just living, Brock,” I whispered.
His head tilted ever so slightly. “No, Cecilia. My mother abandoned Pop with a kindergartner, a toddler and a baby. Having a family with a woman by my side is a dream for me because I’ve never known that. I just pray you’re willing to take on that dream with me, because I know you’re the one I want with me. Always.”
Hearing those words and his sincerity, my nose stung and tears welled up in my eyes before I could control them. I hadn’t thought of it like that. My hand reached out for his.
“That’s why you should keep your options open, honey.”
The air between us immediately changed. Brock’s nostrils flared and he jerked his head back from me. “You’re shitting me, right?”
My eyes widened. “Brock, I’ve never had a long-term relationship. How do we know I won’t run like your mother did?”
He exhaled sharply. “You’re grasping for reasons to push me away, Cecilia.”
He had me there, but no way would I admit to that. I turned away from him.
“Yeah, your facial expression says it all, honey. You’re grasping and you’re ashamed, but your pride won’t let you admit it.”
I turned back to him, but the nausea increased and it must have been written on my face.
“Shit,” Brock muttered and he moved around the bed, fast. Suddenly, he held a bedpan in front of me, but at the sight of it, the urge left me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t think that was going to be a false alarm at all.”
“Neither did I, honey. Never believed that people turn green, but hell if you didn’t do just that.”
“Just what every girl wants to hear,” I muttered.
He propped a hip on my bed and snaked an arm behind my shoulders. “You gonna stop tryin’ to push me away?”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
Brock
I NEVER THOUGHT A HOSPITAL bed could be comfortable, but holding my woman brought me more comfort than I imagined. As that thought crossed my mind, my cell rang in my back pocket. I pulled it out and rose from Cecilia’s bed.
Before I answered, I noticed Razor’s name on the display. “Yeah, Razor.”
Cecilia groaned from behind me, which put a sm
all smile on my face. I didn’t know why Razor rubbed her the wrong way, but it made me happy.
“I got Tennille and MeMaw with me. We’re hittin’ the I-4 corridor right now. If traffic’s good, we should be there in an hour. Any updates for us?”
My eyes widened. “Jesus, Razor. You must be doin’ ninety to be that close.”
“No. It’s been two and a half hours since we last heard from you. These two have been hankerin’ to call you since we got loaded up.”
With a glance at the wall, I realized it had been over two hours since we got here. “God, you’re right. Well, she just got back from a CT scan, and we’re waiting on the doctor to come back by. Then we’ll know if they’re keeping her overnight or if she can go home with me.”
“With you?” a female voice asked, and I realized I had been on speaker phone.
“Man, you coulda told me I was on speaker,” I grumbled.
Razor’s tone sounded like he was smiling. “Sorry, that slipped my mind.”
“I’ll bet,” I muttered.
“Hello? Brock, you’re taking her home with you?” Tennille asked.
“Yeah. The assholes who did this got away–”
“Tell me you are shittin’ me,” Razor growled.
If he weren’t committed to Tennille, I would wonder about the ferocity of his tone. “Unfortunately, I’m not.”
Movement at the doorway caught my eye, and a doctor sauntered in.
“Call you back, Razor. The doctor just came in,” I said, and ended the call.
The doctor settled on a wheeled stool next to Cecilia and aimed a penlight into her eyes. With a slight nod, he said, “No pupil dilation, that’s good. Are you feeling nauseous?”
She took in a deep breath and I could tell she might fib. “She nearly threw up fifteen minutes ago, doc,” I put in.
She shot me a glare, then said to the doctor, “That was because of the uncomfortable conversation we were having.”
I arched my brow at her. The doctor asked her more questions, so her focus shifted back to him. Before I could move back to the chair, I heard sneakers squeak behind me. Turning around, I saw Gabe and Clint in the doorway, Gabe holding Cecilia’s purse.
I walked to them and jerked my head so they would know I wanted to talk to them in the hall.
When we stopped, Gabe handed me Cecilia’s purse. “Have the cops come by here?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. I’m sure they’ll be by or we’ll have to go to them.”
“You even know who those assholes were?” Clint asked.
I shook my head. “No clue, but I got a hunch they have something to do with Cecilia’s past.”
Clint’s eyes narrowed. “Her past?”
I jerked my chin up. “Yeah, but her past doesn’t matter right now. Those fuckers aren’t getting to her. No damn way.”
Clint gave me a skeptical look. “You sure it wasn’t just a carjacking gone wrong?”
Gabe’s eyes shot to Clint. “Man, we both saw that asshole go after Brock. He was walking away from her. Why side-tackle my brother if they wanted his woman’s car? No way that was a carjacking gone wrong.”
Clint dipped his chin to concede the point. “They gonna keep her overnight?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. The doctor’s in with her now, give me a minute, I’ll be right back out.”
As I walked back in the room, the doctor hunched down to look into Cecilia’s ear. She saw me carrying her purse and her face lit up. Women and purses, I would never get it.
The doctor stood and looked at me hard. “Miss Lyons tells me you’re not actually her next of kin.”
I smiled. “She’s my woman. Which means I’m her man, and I’ll be taking care of her.”
“Got here just in time,” Harold said, walking up beside me.
I shot him a side-eye, but he ignored it.
“You shouldn’t lie to hospital staff, Mr. Sullivan. However, since this is not likely to happen again, I’ll leave it at that. Harold has the instructions on home care for concussions. I’ll get her discharge authorized and Harold will bring that by when she’s free to go. Remember, if her symptoms worsen, bring her back.”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
The doctor turned to Harold. “She needs to rest for two days, so I’ll include a note for work with her discharge papers.”
“Yes, sir,” Harold said.
The medical professionals left, and I sat down next to Cecilia again. She reached out for her purse, so I gave it to her. When she took it, her face fell.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“My phone’s not in my purse.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Gabe said from the doorway, as he strolled into the room. “I took that out in case Brock couldn’t reach your family. Here you go,” he said, handing Cecilia her phone.
“You are not calling your roommates, Sunflower.”
She gave me a petulant look. “I know that, mister. I remember missing a call while I was working out and I think it might have been about my audition.”
In all the commotion, I forgot about her audition. Her focus on her phone shifted when a knock sounded on the door.
“Cecilia Lyons,” a uniformed Orange County Sheriff’s officer called as he moved forward.
“Yes, sir,” she said, putting her phone in her lap.
“I’m Officer Donahue. I need to take your statement about what happened.”
Pushing my chair back, I asked, “Do you want privacy?”
“I’m gonna need your statement, too,” he said before he looked to Clint and Gabe. “But it would be nice if you two could give us some time.”
Clint jerked his chin up at the officer and let Gabe walk out of the room first. Clint closed the door when he left.
“Do you know who attacked you, ma’am?”
Cecilia shook her head. “No, but he said Marco had a message for me... no, that’s not right. He didn’t say message, he said he had a score to settle with me.”
The officer nodded. “And who is Marco? And do you have a last name for him?”
Cecilia tried to hide her grimace. “Um, he’s my former pimp. His last name is Crantz and I thought he was in jail.”
Officer Donahue’s head jerked, though he did his best to hide it. Cecilia missed it, but I did not. It was damn surprising to know a woman like her had once turned tricks.
“You had any contact with Mr. Crantz?”
She scoffed. “No, sir. I got out of Green Cove only to spend months in rehab, and no way do I want anything to do with him.”
He gave her a long look. “Then how does he know where you are?”
Cecilia looked like she was going to shrug, and I couldn’t keep myself from saying, “A former john saw her at Walt Disney World, where she works, a couple weeks back.”
He directed that long look at me, so I continued. “My brother and some of his friends helped her out of her bind with Marco nearly a year ago. Word on the street is Marco’s successor has been rounding up his talent, even if they don’t want to go back.”
He jotted that down in a small notebook as his lips pressed together. “I’ll verify this with the Clay County Sheriff’s office.”
I nodded. “If you give me a moment, I can get the name of the undercover officer who worked the case.”
He nodded to me while I pulled my phone from my back pocket. I texted Vamp and Razor for the undercover cop’s name. It occurred to me I should have called Vamp directly, but I felt Donahue’s eyes on me.
“The man who tried to tackle you, he say anything to you?”
I shook my head. “No. To be honest, I immediately fought back, and there wasn’t any time for either of us to say anything.”
He nodded. “Your brother and Ramsey say you got the upper hand on the man quickly.”
I nodded. “Yes, but before I could subdue him, his accomplice holding a gun to my woman’s head got my attention. He threatened to blow her brains out in front of me. I remember that
because there’s no amount of alcohol to make me ever forget it.”
Donahue sighed, then looked to Cecilia. “He pull the gun immediately on you?”
She looked like a deer-in-headlights. I put a hand on her forearm to soothe her, and she said, “I don’t know if it was immediate. He definitely covered my mouth because my first thought was to scream, but that didn’t work. And by the time he shoved me toward Brock, there was something by my temple. Unfortunately the last thing I remember is falling head first on a truck bumper.”
He nodded, looked to his notes, and then he pulled two business cards from his pocket. While he handed one to each of us, he spoke. “You think of anything else, do not hesitate to call. No matter what time.”
I nodded as Cecilia murmured her thanks.
He turned to leave, but looked at Cecilia one last time. “It’s good you got out of that life. Take care of yourself.”
After he cleared the room, Cecilia wouldn’t look at me, but before I could call her on it, her sister and MeMaw barged inside.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A Regular Episode of The Bold and The Beautiful
Cecilia
When MeMaw and Neil barged into the room, Brock heaved a loud and lengthy sigh which forced me to look at him and I couldn’t hold back my smirk. His eyes flared as he stood up and his hand curled around the back of my neck.
He bent his head to me, and I thought he would speak low, but I was wrong. “Gonna give you some time with your family since I gotta talk to Gabe and Clint anyway. You promised not to push me away. I’m holding you to that, Sunflower.”
He kissed me on the forehead, and the sly, deft man snagged my cell phone from my lap before I even realized it.
MeMaw caught all of his words and charged to me. “Cecilia! What was Brock talking about? You’re pushing him away?” Her voice was stern as could be.
I pressed my lips together and widened my eyes at her. When I heard the door click shut, I said, “I’m not good enough for him, and I never will be.”