Alex lifting his fist once more was the last thing Carissa saw before her world went black.
***
Carissa didn’t want to talk to him.
Josh tried her cell all Monday afternoon, getting her voicemail over and over again. He’d left three messages, but she wasn’t calling him back and he couldn’t say he blamed her. He’d been a class A prick on Friday night.
But she could only avoid him for so long, because after the enlightening conversation with his father, he had to see her and he had to see her soon. They’d lost so much time already.
He didn’t mean to stalk her, but when she wasn’t at her apartment, he drove to the flip, hoping he’d catch her there. His heart jumped when he saw her car in the driveway.
Parking quickly behind her car, he hurried out of the truck, the hairs on the back of his neck instantly prickling with unease. The sun had just gone down and the house was completely dark. Unless she was on her way out the door, something wasn’t right.
He jogged up the porch steps, slowing when he saw the front door left open…and a blood smear on the stained glass inset.
“Carissa!” He stormed into the house, noting the demolished drywall and the broken glass before he saw her lying in a motionless pile on the hallway floor, a line of blood streaking down her cheek from a gash above her temple.
He had his phone out and dialed before he reached her, falling down onto his knees and wrapping his fingers around her slight wrist, endlessly thankful for the steady pulse that beat there. It was then that the dam in his chest broke and it was all he could do to speak to the emergency operator.
The next half hour went by in a blur. He vaguely registered talking to the police and paramedics and then following the ambulance to the hospital. Somehow, he’d also managed to call Maddie, and suddenly she and Dan were both there, beside him in the waiting room, what seemed like only moments later.
“What happened?” Maddie asked, panicked tears in her eyes, as she clung to his brother’s arm for support.
“I don’t know,” Josh said, his voice hoarse, as he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I found her lying unconscious in the hall at the flip. The place was trashed.” The last words came out strangled as he fought back emotion.
“Son of a bitch.” Dan jerked away from Maddie, clearly realizing what Josh had been too ashamed to admit out loud—he didn’t protect her.
Maddie choked back a sob as she dropped to a nearby chair and dug into her purse. “I have to call Cade. And her dad. God, I don’t think I have his number.”
“His number’s in her phone. I almost called, but I wasn’t sure…” He tossed the phone to her, as he stood and began to pace. How to explain to her father, of all people, that he’d done this to her? That he’d brought this nightmare to her doorstep and he’d failed to do the one thing he swore he would, no matter what happened between them?
Maddie thumbed around on the device and dialed her own phone before stepping to the side of the waiting room to talk. Fletcher nearly trampled her when he flew into the room like a bat out of hell.
“I just saw Mark downtown. How is she?” he asked, his eyes wild with nervous energy.
Josh’s hackles went up immediately. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with his friend’s “I care about her” bullshit. “They’re not saying anything yet,” he ground out.
Fletcher narrowed his eyes and marched over to the nurses’ window, as Dan stepped in front of Josh.
“This isn’t the time or the place for drama, and you won’t help Carissa by airing your dirty laundry right now. Keep it together,” his brother said, his hands on Josh’s shoulders for assurance.
“I don’t want him here,” Josh muttered, his jaw tight.
“What you want doesn’t matter right now. Get your head out of your ass.” Dan gave him a hard shake as Fletcher slumped into a nearby seat.
“She’s in and out of consciousness, but her vitals are good. Hopefully just a concussion and shock. They’re taking her for a CT scan shortly,” he said, blowing out a breath and hanging his head in his hands. Josh didn’t want to know how he’d managed to procure the information, but he was thankful for it. “So what happened?” Fletcher asked. “Did she fall?”
Josh swallowed hard. “No.”
The two men shared a silent stare.
“You lousy motherfucker.” His friend rose again, nostrils flaring. “Sure as hell doesn’t get any more personal than this, does it?”
Josh gripped the back of the chair he stood behind and used every bit of strength he had to contain himself. “Not now, Reed.”
“Why not? It’s as good a time as any, far as I can tell.” His hands drew into fists. “It’s the least you can do for her, don’t you think? Considering this is your goddamn fault.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw Maddie sidle up to Dan again, her expression furrowed.
“Who knew you were fucking her, huh? Seems like a good place to start,” Fletcher spat, craning his head from side to side like a fighter about the rumble.
Josh growled. “I’m not doing this right now.”
“Figures. You never had the balls to tell me, so I suppose it’s fitting you’d be selfish enough not to protect her either.”
Josh flung the chair in front of him out of the way, but Dan held him back with an arm around his waist. “Don’t you dare talk to me about selfish, Fletcher, or I swear to God, I’ll—”
“Don’t say it, Hudson, or I’ll have to cuff you.” Rage clouding his vision, Josh didn’t see Mark enter the room.
He moved to stand between the two men, his expression tight. “I’ve got bigger problems to deal with right now than the two of you beating the piss out of each other, so I’d really appreciate it if you two could keep it together enough to help me out.”
Josh wrenched himself away from Dan, his focus quickly prioritizing. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”
Mark turned to Josh and, in a semi-discreet voice, said, “You might not want to do this right here.”
Josh frowned. “I’ve got nothing to hide.” Not anymore, anyhow.
Mark hesitated. “Reed’s right. Who besides myself and Alex Kelly knew you were seeing Carissa?”
“You knew, too?” Fletcher scoffed behind Mark. “Un-friggin’-believable.”
Mark held up a hand. “I suggest you shut up or I’ll cuff you for the hell of it, Fletcher.”
Josh shrugged. “Tony and Dan.” The shocked look on Maddie’s face ruled her out on Carissa’s end.
“I think we’re dealing with the vandal here, if the shape of the house is any indication.” He paused to clear his throat. “I happened to have a few words with Tony before I came over here and he said he saw Carissa hauling stuff into the house this afternoon. Talked to her a few minutes right around six o’clock.”
Josh pulsed the muscle at the juncture of his jaw. “So she didn’t walk in on anything.”
“Sounds like someone walked in on her and I think that someone is Kelly. Tony passed him on the road right after he left Carissa’s. I don’t know if there’s bad blood between you two, but it’s no secret that Kelly’s got one helluva temper,” Mark said. “I drove by his place, but he’s not there. I’ve put an APB out on his truck, because if it was him and Carissa saw him, he’d be smart to get the hell out of town.”
Aside from picking up his slack after Carissa had fired him and then the scuffle the other day, Josh couldn’t think of anything he’d done to piss Kelly off. They were competitors in the same field, but it had never been personal—
“The Henry mansion. The senator narrowed the bids down to mine and Kelly’s and obviously I ended up with the job.” If Kelly was still pissed about it, the ordeal with Carissa would have only compounded his anger. “But the first vandalism happened before Carissa even let him go.”
Mark nodded. “Right, but if the first incident was at Henry’s, maybe he decided to sabotage you before Carissa was even in the picture.”
And she was just fuel for his fury.
Feeling like a caged animal, Josh snarled, “I’ll kill him with my bare hands!”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Mark said as the door leading to the examination rooms in the emergency department slid open.
A nurse in blue scrubs came forward with a clipboard and a smile. “Ms. Brandt is awake, and she’s asking for Josh.”
Needing to hear no more, he darted across the room and followed after the older woman, ignoring Fletcher’s vocal uproar as the glass doors closed behind him. He and Fletcher would have it out yet. But right now the only thing he wanted to do was hold the woman he loved and hope she could forgive him for letting this happen to her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
So much for being out of her apartment early to avoid the wrath of the wrecking ball. Carissa’s head felt like it had been slammed between two gigantic balls of iron and then rolled beneath one for good measure.
She didn’t remember Alex hitting her, but from what the nurse told her, she had a bruise on the left side of her face and a gash requiring ten stitches on the right. Given the corner wall Alex pushed her into, it was easy to figure out what happened. She’d never been so thankful to be a light-weight in all her life. If she hadn’t passed out immediately, Lord knows what else he might have done.
“Can I get you anything while we wait for your room upstairs, honey?” the nurse, a round, grandma-like woman, asked, poking her head into the room.
“Water? And could I, uh, if there’s anyone…” She paused, biting at her lip. “Is Josh here?”
The nurse smiled. “I believe he’s the handsome young man who came in with you. I’ll show him back.”
Butterflies whirled in her stomach. Had he found her? Had he seen Alex?
Probably not, she realized, otherwise he would have been in jail and not the hospital waiting room.
She closed her eyes while she waited. What if Josh didn’t want to see her? What if he was only there because he felt obligated? What if her father had been wrong?
She swallowed hard. She just survived a gigantic clobber upside the head. She’d survive another rejection.
“Here you are, Mr. Hudson. Only a few minutes though—Sheriff Dunn needs to take a statement before we get Ms. Brandt settled in for the night.” The nurse held open the door and a second later Josh stepped in looking like absolute hell. His hair stood on end and there were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.
Neither he nor Carissa moved or said a word until the door closed and they were alone. Even then, Josh stood by the door, motionless, just staring down at her, his face showing a mess of chaotic emotion.
“I know I’m not exactly pageant material right now, but it isn’t that bad, is it?” Carissa asked, her hand self-consciously touching the bandage on the side of her head.
“You’re beautiful,” he replied, his voice scratchy and low. “You’re always beautiful.”
“Then stop standing there like I’ve grown two heads. I mean, it feels like I have, but—”
“I did this to you. It’s my fault.”
“I’m the one who fired him.” She shook her head, wincing at the pain.
“He was after me before that.” His throat work as he swallowed. “He came after you because he knows I care about you.”
Well, they weren’t the three words she’d hoped to hear from him, but paired with his dire appearance, she’d take it. “Come sit by me. Hold my hand.”
He opened his mouth, but closed it again. “I came looking for you tonight. To talk.”
A lump lodged in her throat. Had she been wrong? Had he come to end it once and for all? She clenched her eyes shut. “Just say it, Josh. Don’t feel like you have to be go easy on me because I’m lying in this bed.”
“I love you.”
“What?”
“I love you. And if I come over there, I’m gonna embarrass myself.”
Carissa laughed through tears. “Get over here.”
He did as she told him, burying his face in her neck and all but crawling onto bed beside her. “I should have protected you. I should have been there. I should have—”
“Stop.” She interrupted him with a kiss. “And all that matters is you’re here now.”
Looking up at her, she saw determination bloom anew in his eyes. “I’m never going to leave you again.”
“Counting on it, hot shot.”
***
Maddie sat at the edge of Carissa’s hospital bed the next morning, reading the card from the flowers Josh brought the night before. He’d come back after she talked to Mark and settled into her room, since she needed at least twelve hours of observation before the doctor would release her. True to his word, Josh had slept in the chair beside her bed all night long.
“I’m disappointed you didn’t think you could tell me,” Maddie said, tapping the card against her fingertips. “You know the only reason I give him so much shit is because he’s Dan’s brother.”
“It happened so fast…” Carissa started, then stopped, ran a hand back through her hair, careful not to touch her stitches. “Okay, so that’s a bunch of crap. I knew he was the one the first time you introduced us at McCauley’s.”
Maddie listened patiently as Carissa told her the whole story, from start to finish. Glancing down at her lap, she wrung her hands together. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t understand the enormity of how I felt until this week.” She sighed. “God, Mads, I’ve made so many bad decisions. I’ve gone about this all wrong. I wish I could go back—”
“Do you really?” Maddie interrupted, taking Carissa’s hand. “Because the way I see it, this is exactly what you and Josh needed. And as I’ve told you before, sometimes love can be a real bitch, but all that pain and misery is what makes it so much sweeter in the end.”
Carissa felt a tear roll down her cheek. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t even have a place to live, because from what Mark told me last night, the house is a mess.”
“You’ve gotta take it one day at a time. Besides, Dan and I have already talked about it and we think we can manage to keep the noise down for a while. The guest bedroom is yours as long as you need it.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
Maddie nodded earnestly. “Of course. I’ve actually become quite fond of being gagged anyhow.”
Carissa laughed so hard, her head hurt all over again.
“So, are you signed out of this joint yet? I’d be happy to give you a ride.”
“Thank you, but Josh is taking me over to get the rest of the stuff from my apartment and then I need to get some clothes from the house.”
Maddie frowned. “You sure that’s a good idea? To see the flip right now?
“I’m not afraid of it.” She’d have Josh with her, after all. “And the insurance assessor is coming by to assess the damage. I’d like to get moving on the repairs right away, because it just so happens I already have an interested buyer.” She smiled and told Maddie about Tony.
“Shut up,” her best friend gushed. “Well, you’re still welcome to stay with us for as long as you need.”
“Thanks, Mads. I promise it won’t be long. I refuse to be within ten miles of that house when you consummate your marriage.”
Maddie laughed. “So, it’s probably safe to say you won’t need that hotel reservation for the wedding. I assume you’ll be sharing a bed with the best man.”
“That’s a likely possibility, yes.”
Maddie scrunched up her face, belated realization hitting her. “Oh, my God, you’ve seen my future brother-in-law naked! That’s so weird.”
“Mmm, I happen to think it’s pretty hot.”
Maddie collapsed against her in wild laughter as the hospital room door opened and Josh poked his head in. “Oh, man, girl moment. I’ll come back.”
Pushing upright, Maddie shook her head and pressed her lips together to contain her amusement. “Get your fool ass in here. I�
�ve gotta get going anyhow.”
Carissa’s heart fluttered as Josh strolled in, hands in his pockets, looking a little nervous, which she understood, given Maddie’s penchant for big sister-like harassment.
“Nice flowers, by the way,” Maddie said, slugging him in the shoulder. “Might have to enlist your help decorating for the wedding.”
“Not a chance in hell of that happening.”
Eyebrow lifted, Maddie appraised him for a long moment before cocking her head to the side and issuing her warning. “You break her heart and I’ll turn into the sister-in-law from hell.” Then, with a bat of her eyes and an innocent bitch smirk, she grabbed her purse and left.
Carissa smiled. “Gotta love that woman.”
“Yeah, I guess we do, don’t we? How many weeks until the wedding?”
“Five.” Slipping off the bed, she met him in the middle of the room and wrapped her arms around his waist. Nose stuck in his chest, she took a deep breath and her nerves dissipated immediately. He smelled of clean cotton, stormy nights, and everything she’d ever wanted in a man. “Did you talk to Mark this morning?”
He kissed the top of her head and nodded. “They found Alex at a motel in Grand Island. He denied everything, but the cuts on his hands say otherwise. So much for putting this behind us and moving on. Looks like we’ll be in court before it’s over.”
She’d expected as much, because it wasn’t Alex’s style to go down without a fight. “I’ll do whatever it takes to see he gets what he deserves.”
“You know, you’re a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for.” He pushed the hair from her face and brushed his thumb across her lips.
She nodded, because she was, wasn’t she? And with him by her side, she’d be even stronger.
***
Josh swept his fingers down Carissa’s cheek as she slept, her arms curled around his comforter and her hair spread out over his pillow, later that afternoon. She’d been a trooper when he’d brought her to the house and she’d held her own while he and the insurance assessor compiled a list of the damages. But as soon as they were alone, she crumbled, he guessed mostly out of physical exhaustion.
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