by M. A. Foster
I drag my hands down my face. What the fuck did that piece of shit do to my girl?
“She has some minor swelling in the brain, but I feel confident there won’t be any permanent damage. Of course, we won’t know for sure until the swelling goes down and she wakes up. However, I am concerned by the deep bruising on her neck that there could be some long-term damage to her throat, mainly her vocal cords. Again, we won’t know for sure until the swelling goes down.”
She was choked.
This is all too much. I can’t.
Twisting myself out of my mother’s hold, I turn and storm out of the room.
I need a minute to pull myself together.
My girlfriend almost died today.
I need to punch something. Or cry.
Rounding the corner of an empty hallway, I clasp my hands behind my neck and pace before pressing my back against the wall and sliding to the floor. My chest heaves until I can no longer fight against ache buried deep in my soul and the reality that I could’ve lost her forever. With my arms crossed over the tops of my bent knees, I drop my head and let go.
WHEN I RETURN to Jay’s room everyone is gone except for Emerson, Bass, and Lisa. Emerson is hysterically crying in Bass’s arms. “He was on top of her… punching her… choking her.” She hiccups. “I thought if I could just get to her, she’d be okay. It was like a bad dream. The faster I ran, the farther away from me she got. And then she… she just stopped fighting, B… she just…went limp…I thought she was dead!”
Bass eyes me over the top of Emerson’s head. “Stop it, Em,” he growls.
Gripping his T-shirt, she cries into his chest. “I’ll never be able to erase the image of my baby lying there lifeless and bleeding. How could he do that to my beautiful little girl? Why? She didn’t deserve this.”
Nobody deserves this.
Especially Jay.
I’m wiping away my own tears when someone sniffs behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Cole walking out the door.
“Zach,” Emerson says as she moves forward, wrapping her arms around me. She seems so small and fragile. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you guys to hear that.” Leaning back to look up at me, she asks, “Are you okay?”
Shaking my head, my gaze moves to the broken girl lying just a foot away. My girl.
“It’s okay to be upset, Zach. What happened today was awful.”
The door opens again and Special Agent Avery walks in followed by Jay’s bodyguards, Troy and Levi.
“I’m gonna step out,” Lisa says, heading for the door.
“Patrick, I’m so glad you’re here,” Emerson says. “How’s Harper doing?”
“She’s in shock, mostly.” He runs a hand through his short hair.
“You have any idea why this happened?” Bass asks.
Agent Avery crosses his arms and leans against the wall with his foot propped up. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, I can only give you a brief summation. Two years ago, Kalista Rosewood—you know her as Kali Brooks—met Austin Boyd at a campaign fundraiser for Austin’s father, Congressman Callum Boyd. They dated for nearly a year. Austin was a bit older, but he treated her like a princess. Behind closed doors, Austin was a bad guy. In fact, he was involved in some pretty shady shit, which I’m not at liberty to discuss.
“Long story short, he terrorized Kalista with physical and verbal abuse. He made threats against her family, using his father’s political ties as a scare tactic and a way to manipulate her. After Kalista disappeared in the middle of the night, my team was hired by the Rosewood family to find their daughter. During our investigation, it was discovered that Kalista had disappeared to protect her family and most likely to save her life. She sought help from someone no one would suspect—Yolanda, the family’s house manager. She knew Kalista was in trouble, so with the help of Yolanda and Mrs. Rosewood—unbeknownst to Mr. Rosewood—they helped her get out.
“It all sounds a little crazy and far-fetched, but Mrs. Rosewood wasn’t sure how far Austin’s or Congressman Boyd’s political ties reached up the legal chain. Kali’s been living with Yolanda’s niece, Stephanie Brooks, for the last year or so. I’ve had my guys keeping an eye on Austin and his buddies for a while now.
“A couple of weeks ago, photos of Kalista and a young man by the name of Lucas Wild showed up on social media. Austin followed the breadcrumbs and hopped on the first flight to Florida. They were already parked outside Kalista’s place when Emerson picked her up this morning. Austin and Tripp followed the girls to the mall. The girls parked in the garage outside Nordstrom. Austin, the clever little fucker, parked in the adjacent garage and entered the mall. My guys parked a few spaces down and followed them. Somehow Austin and Tripp managed to lose my guys and snuck into the Nordstrom garage. They were waiting for them when they came out of the mall.”
“Persistent fucker,” I mumble.
“So, what now?” Em asks.
“The Rosewoods are on their way. Austin Boyd and Tripp Daniels are in custody facing assault and battery and attempted murder charges. I’m sure Congressman and Mrs. Boyd as well as the Daniels’ will be raising hell, but not even Congressman Boyd can make this go away. We have a solid case against both men. Along with the security cameras, we have statements from the Martinez boys, Lexi, Harper, Mrs. Mackenzie, and yours,” he says to Emerson. “I have to ask. Who taught that her how to fight?”
“Why?” Bass asks and I laugh to myself. Jay’s big teddy bear has turned into a grizzly bear.
Agent Avery shrugs. “Because she kicked Tripp Daniels’ ass. Broke his nose.”
Pride surges to the forefront. That’s my girl.
“I’m sorry this happened to your family, Emerson. I’ve been assured she’ll make a full recovery.” He drops his foot to the floor and pushes off the wall. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on my daughter.” He shakes his head. “That sounds crazy coming out of my mouth.” He gives us a small wave on his way out the door and calls over his shoulder. “I’ll be around if you need anything.”
“Who’s his daughter?” I ask.
“Harper,” Cole answers from the doorway.
Well, I didn’t see that one coming.
NEWS OF THE attack spread like wildfire across the globe and I swear the entire town of Heritage Bay is down in the waiting room. Because of the delicate situation, Emerson won’t allow anyone to see Jay except for her closest friends and family. I still haven’t seen Harper yet. Kali’s room is on lockdown until her parents arrive, so none of us have seen her either.
Evan and Grayson stopped by and filled me in on what they could. I never thought the day would come that I’d be thanking Grayson Martinez. According to Grayson and Evan, they were at the mall and ran into Lexi and were walking with her, Emerson and Mimi, to the parking garage. Then all hell broke loose when they saw a frightened Harper through the glass doors, running toward them, screaming for help and dragging Zoe and Willow by the arms. Grayson tackled Austin, beating the shit out of him while Evan went after Tripp. They held them until Troy and Levi showed up. Emerson had given them the day off, but luckily, Troy and Levi followed their instincts and stayed close by, parking in the adjacent garage.
Although Kali was the target, it’s still not safe for Jay to be out in public without protection. Especially now that the public knows who Jaybird is. Troy and Levi were smart to follow their instincts.
Jay’s family and friends have been in and out of her room all day. My parents brought me a change of clothes and a toothbrush, hung around for a few hours and then headed home. I managed to go over to see Zoe before Logan took her home. Her legs were a little scraped and she was crying for Jay. Broke my heart in two.
Emerson and Bass are meeting with their security team and the detectives. So now it’s just Alex, Eva, and me sitting here silently, staring into space, willing Jay to wake up and be her sassy self again.
The muffled sound of voices coming from the hallway has us all turning our heads toward
the door just as it swings open and Lucas walks in. His red swollen eyes scan the room before landing on me. “Hey, dude,” he says, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans as he makes his way into the room.
“Lucas,” Eva cries out as she pushes herself up from the sofa and rushes toward Lucas, throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder.
The door swings open again Andrew Wild walks in, followed by Tommy Stone and Chaz Vargas from Royal Mayhem and Eva’s parents. Eva pulls away from Lucas and flings herself into her father’s arms.
If Jay were awake right now, she’d be rolling her eyes at her best friend and calling her a drama queen.
Lucas turns to them. “There’s too many of us. We’re gonna get kicked out.”
“Nah,” Andrew says as he makes his way over to Jay’s bedside and perches himself on the edge. “Mac Daddy knows we’re a package deal.” He gently takes her hand in his. “My God, sweet girl. What the hell happened to you?” He leans over and kisses her bruised cheek.
Lucas stands frozen at the foot of the bed and stares down at Jay. He doesn’t hold back the tears. “She’s gonna be okay, son,” Andrew reassures him.
Andrew turns to Alex and asks, “How are you holding up, son?”
Running his hands over his face, Alex shakes his head and averts his gaze.
What the hell was that about?
“What about you?” Andrew asks me.
“I don’t know.” I rub the back of my neck and look over at Jay. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this.”
Liam Mackenzie storms into the room, his gaze immediately lands on Jay and he jerks to a stop. “Fucking hell.” He blows out a breath, as he makes his way over to Jay’s bedside and bends to kiss her on the top of her head. “Where’s my mom and my sister?” he chokes out.
“Em and Bass are with the detectives,” Alex answers. “Your dad took your mom home to rest. She was pretty shaken up today.”
“And they got the guy who did this?”
“Yes,” Alex replies.
Without another word, Liam turns and storms out of the room.
The door clicks open again and I’m starting to get irritated by all the in and out, until I see it’s Kali being wheeled in by a nurse, followed by an older man and a woman, I assume are her parents. Kali’s face is bruised and swollen and her lip is busted.
Lucas sucks in a breath and steps forward. “Oh, we’ve a got a full house tonight,” the nurse says. “I’ll give you a few minutes.” The nurse squeezes Kali’s hand and leaves the room.
“I’m sorry for interrupting, but I needed to see her,” Kali says. “These are my parents.” She nods to the couple beside her. “These people are Jayla’s family.”
Andrew stands and walks over and introduces himself, extending his hand to Kali’s father, then her mother, before dropping a kiss on the top of Kali’s head. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“I’m obviously doing better than she is,” she cries, gesturing to Jay.
Lucas shakes hands with Kali’s parents then moves to crouch down in front of Kali, with a pained expression. “Kali,” he says quietly. “Jesus. I had no idea you were involved.”
Kali shakes her head as a tear runs down her cheek. “This is all my fault,” she cries. “She’s here because of me.”
“No,” everyone says at once.
Kali turns to me. “Zach, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he’d ever find me.”
What?
“Austin did this?” Lucas asks incredulously. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I was on a plane and then we came straight here.”
Kali nods. “He did.” She points to Jay. “And he did that to her.”
“Can you tell us what happened?” Andrew asks.
Kali looks up at her parents. Her father nods, giving her the okay, so she takes a deep breath and begins.
“Austin and Tripp were waiting for us in the parking garage. It all happened so fast. Tripp grabbed Jay by the hair and put her in some kind of choke hold. Austin punched me in the face several times and when I fell to the ground, he kicked me. I curled into a ball and played possum.” She looks back up at her dad and smiles sadly. “That’s what my dad used to say to us when we were kids and pretended to be asleep. I knew Austin was going to hurt her, but there was nothing I could do to stop him.” She closes her eyes and lowers her head. “She was scared and crying. They were touching her and saying things.”
Andrews lifts his brows. “Like what?”
“Touching her where?” Lucas and I snap at the same time.
Taking a deep breath, Kali looks over at me with regret. “Touching her… between her legs and her breasts. Austin grabbed her face and kissed her.” There’s a collective chorus of whimpers and growls around the room. “Then Harper walked up with Zoe and Willow. Willow called for JJ and Zoe started crying. Austin said something about it being his lucky day and that set Jay off. She told Harper to run and then she went apeshit. She kicked Austin in the balls and did some crazy move that I’ve only ever seen in movies.”
I smile. That’s my girl.
Lucas and Eva both laugh out loud. “What did she do?” Eva asks.
Kali snorts. “She stomped on Tripp’s foot with her heel, threw her head back, and head-butted that fucker in the face. Then she popped with her elbow, like bam, bam, bam,” she demonstrates.
Laughter fills the room and once again, my heart fills with pride.
LUCAS WAITS FOR everyone to leave the room before turning to me. “Listen, dude, I’m glad you and Jay worked things out, but don’t ever make her feel guilty about who she is. She’s been struggling with it for a long time. She doesn’t think I know, but I do. She doesn’t want this life. She’s doing what she thinks Uncle Marcus wants. The man wouldn’t care if she was a server at Denny’s because she’d be the best damn server Denny’s ever had. She just needs to stop fighting it and do what she feels is right. She’s beautiful, smart and loyal as they come. She’s forgiving.” He narrows his eyes. “It might take a year or so.” He smirks and I shake my head. “Don’t get me wrong. She’s a stubborn pain in the ass and she’s got a fiery temper.”
“Yes, I’ve seen it many times,” I tell him. “I think it’s kinda hot,” I admit.
Lucas rolls his eyes. “Oh, yeah, until she swings on you.” He snorts. “That shit hurts.” He pauses to mull something over before he says, “Is it fucked up to say I wish I’d been there to see her head-butt that guy and break his nose?”
I shake my head. “I would have paid to see that.”
“Bet you didn’t know she could fight like that, huh?”
I shrug. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I figured with that sassy mouth of hers, she had to know how to back it up. She took on three girls at school with a fractured hand and a broken finger.”
Lucas grins. “Years ago, Uncle Marcus hired these two guys—former MMA fighters—to teach her self-defense.” He shakes his head. “That man was all about protecting his girl. Even with all that training, I don’t think she expected that she’d ever need it. Not with all the security she’s got. I can honestly say for the first time that I’m glad Marcus isn’t around. Seeing her like this would break his heart.”
I’m sure if he were still around she wouldn’t be in the hospital. Or Heritage Bay.
Lucas stands up and stretches his arms over his head. “It’s been a long day. I’m gonna go talk to Kali before I head over to King Manor. You staying here?”
“Yeah. I’m not leaving her side until she wakes up.”
“Good to know. I’ll be back in the morning.” He starts for the door but turns to me with an afterthought. “Dad and I are going to hang around for a while. Even after she wakes up, she’s got a long recovery ahead of her. I wish I could tell you this is going to be easy, but I know her and I’ve seen what she’s capable of putting herself through.”
“I know. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to help her get through this. I love her.”
I smirk. “So, I’ve been told.”
THE NEXT DAY is more of the same with Jay’s family and friends coming and going. Jay’s nurses, Mia and Holly, have been taking good care of us. Mia even brought me one of those flavored iced coffees from Starbucks. Turns out in this small world, Holly knows Harper and she’s Olivia’s older sister.
My phone has been blowing up with phone calls and texts from classmates. Chelsea called after she got the call from Justin. She and Jay had been talking a lot over the last week and have become friends. Reagan even sent a text telling me that she was sorry to hear about Jayla and that she hopes she makes a full recovery. It’s tragic events like this that gives us all a reality check.
Emerson is with my dad and Brick Manning, dealing with the media shitshow and Bass is organizing more security.
My mom has already been here with food and another change of clothes. Then she left to watch Zoe so Logan could come by.
Kali was released this morning. She and her parents are staying at the Heritage Bay Hotel. Kali refuses to go back with her parents until Jay wakes up.
Evan came by with Lexi, who is struggling. I’ve never seen her so quiet and withdrawn. Evan said she’s hardly eaten or slept more than a few hours. And every time she does fall asleep she wakes up in tears.
Harper finally stopped by with Cole. She cried. A lot.
Cole thinks she’s still in shock.
Jay told me Harper’s sister died in a car crash and that they were very close. I can’t imagine going through that all alone. I’m sure this stirs up a lot of bad memories for her.
I’m kicking back in the recliner, flipping through the channels looking for ESPN when the door opens and a woman walks in, dressed in a high-waisted black skirt, cream-colored blouse, and heels with the red soles. Her black hair is cut into a short bob, she has one of those beauty marks over her lip like Cindy Crawford, and her eyes are a bluish purple. She’s stunning.