As I lay down my thoughts are still on Ash. I hope he makes it without any problems and that his dad is ok. I understand all too well the fear of not knowing if someone you love will survive or not. I remember all too vividly sitting in the waiting room with Jake while they worked on our parents after their accident. I hope Ash has a better outcome than we did.
Just before I fall asleep, I resolve to finish packing and move earlier than planned. I am already ready to see Ash. I have questions, and he is the only one who can give me the answers I need. Leaving early also gets me away from Josh early. I hate to leave Morgan; she is the only family I have left. Maybe I can convince her to come spend New Years in Atlanta. It can be a quick get-a-way for her and Chase. Since Ash will be there, it shouldn’t be too hard to convince Chase to come to Atlanta. If it all works out the way it is in my mind, it will be the four of us together.
Chapter 14
Ash
My thoughts are all over the place as I make my way to Atlanta to be with dad and Clara. I am worried about my dad, as well as how Clara will handle it if things take a turn for the worst. I know I will take care of her, I always have and I always will. The only difference is that this time I am financially set. My senior year at Vanderbilt I made a few investments that in turn paid out extremely well, I could never work again and still have plenty of money left over when I die. When I graduated, I had roughly five million in the bank, thanks to a reinvestment I make a couple of million dollars a year without lifting a finger. I also have my security firm that is very successful. I work now because I enjoy what I do not for the money. However, the money does make things easier to get things done. The best thing about my business is that I have an excessively reliable and competent staff that run things while I am away, they are all like family to me, and we would go out of our way to help each other.
Thoughts of work bring me back to Lana. One thing my company does is protect women from abusive bastards like Josh. I can see how someone could become so attached or obsessed with Lana. Hell, after one day I didn’t want to leave her. That thought reminds me I need to call Brad (my VP and right-hand man) at the office and have him run a background check on Josh. The more I can learn about Josh the easier it will be to figure out how to make him go away.
As soon as I end the call to Brad my phone starts ringing. My first thought is that it can’t be anything good at this time of night. When I look at the screen I recognize the number instantly; it’s Lana. When I answer, but I do not get a direct answer, but I hear her in the background. At first, I think something is wrong; then I hear her laugh lightly. When she starts talking it sounds like she is making a checklist; but her voice is slurred. It only takes me a minute to figure out that Lana has been drinking, from the sounds of it she has had quite a bit. It is also clear that she has no idea that she has called me. The right thing to do is to hang up, but yeah that’s not happening. People are never more honest and open than when they have had a little liquid courage, or maybe a lot of liquid courage it would seem in this case.
I stay on the phone listening to Lana make plans, well I listen to what I can understand. I wonder just how much she has had to drink. I can tell she is getting ready to pass out because her speech is slowing and words are getting further apart. Just before things go quiet, I hear the clearest thing she has said this entire phone call. “I miss you Blake, goodnight, wherever you are.”
What the fuck?!! Is she talking about me? I haven’t been called Blake since high school; hell, even dad and Clara call me Ash; they have since we moved. I never told Lana my first name is Blake, so who the fuck has she been talking to to know my name. I fight the urge to call her back and ask her the questions running through my mind. She probably wouldn’t answer anyway; she needs to sleep off the alcohol. I just hope she remembers why she called me Blake if she was event talking about me. But if not me, the who the hell is Blake? The thought alone of her talking about someone else makes my skin crawl and anger surge; not that I have exclusive rights to her. Not yet anyway, but I hope to have them soon enough.
The rest of the drive goes by in a blur of thoughts and questions. At one point I thought of calling Brad and having him run a background on Lana as well, but I don’t like the idea of anyone looking at her information but me so if anyone runs a check it will be me. It is probably not the best way to gain her trust because if she finds out she will be livid and any trust we have will be gone, but who says she has to find out. Yeah, famous last words…..so I will ask her first to give her a chance to tell me what I need to know before I do anything stupid.
Once I reached the hospital and found a parking spot, which feels like it is a mile away from the actual hospital building, I text Clara to let her know I am here and to get specifics on where the waiting room she is in is located. I step into the waiting room and see Clara is curled up on one of the double seats, in the time that it took me to walk from the parking lot she has fallen asleep. I don’t want to wake her; she has had a stressful day and night; right now she needs all the rest she can get. The last thing she needs right now is to have her sleep interrupted just to know I made it to the waiting room; we will have plenty of time to catch up after she has a nap.
I’m only in the room for about half an hour before Clara wakes up. She doesn’t say a word; she simply moved over to me climbed into my lap and wrapped me in a tight hug. When we were kids, this is how I would get her back to sleep after a bad dream or console her during a bad thunderstorm. Before we left Louisiana, she would sit in JJ’s lap or snuggle up next to Ali, if she was with us, while I fixed her a grilled cheese sandwich. As Clara sits with me now, she lets her tears fall. I know she has been strong while I was away, but I am here now to take that burden for her.
This is such a crucial time in Clara’s life, and I hate that she is having to go through it. This is her first year away from home all on her own, and if things take a bad turn, I am afraid how it will affect her. She has worked so hard to get into John’s Hopkins, and I do not want anything to mess that up for her. I do not want her giving up on her dreams because she feels obligated to move back home.
After about ten minutes of crying Clara sits back and tells me again that she is happy that I am here. I give her a squeeze then let her go so she can get up. As soon as she is settled back into her own seat, she looks up at me and grins. “So who is she?” This throws me for a loop, ‘what are you talking about?’
“Come on Ash, even after you long drive I can still smell a faint scent of perfume. It's barely there, but enough for me to notice. It’s a good soft, sweet scent; it almost seems familiar.” I laugh because I cannot pass up the chance to tease Clara a little, ‘how come it has to be a woman, how do you know it’s not my new cologne or better yet my new laundry detergent?’ This earns me a smack on the arm from Clara. I smile at her and say, ‘her name is Lana, and before you ask yes she is someone special. We will have plenty of time for twenty questions later, but for now, you should try to get some more sleep. In fact, why don’t you go home to dads so you can actually sleep in a bed. I will be here, and I promise to call you right away if anything changes.’
Clara hesitates but eventually she caves. “The idea of an actual bed and a hot shower does sound really good, but I hate to leave you, it’s not like you haven’t had a long day as well. I also know it is pointless to argue with you, so if you promise to call me, no matter who small, and you agree to answer questions about this special girl later then I will go home.” I ask about dads girlfriend Judy; honestly, up until this point, I have forgotten all about her. Clara tells me that she has not made it to town yet. Judy had flown out to see her daughter and grandkids before they were scheduled to leave on the cruise. She doesn’t know about dad yet. Clara tried to call her, but it went to voicemail. Her flight is due to land in the morning. Clara suggested that we pick her up from the airport tomorrow. I give a nod of agreement and pull her to her feet. She gives me quick hug and kiss on the cheek. I walk her downstairs and make
sure a security guard walks her to her car. She will be back in the morning for the first visiting hours, so that leaves me all alone in the waiting room. When I first go to the waiting room there was another family here, but about half hour or so ago they were called to the back, but they never returned to the waiting room. It was a dad and two kids, and I cannot help but wonder if it was the mom lying in the back. If she didn’t make it I truly empathize with that family and hate knowing what trials and tribulations they will have to face. I remember all too well the problems we had when my mom passed away. It has been almost eight years now, and I still miss her every day. Her death caused everything in our lives to change. While I hate that we lost her, the changes that followed made us who we are today, and that I wouldn’t change.
As thoughts of my mom run through my head, I automatically think back to the time spent with JJ and Ali before we moved away. We were all so close and even being so young I knew I was in love with Ali. She was made to be mine, and if tragedy had torn my family apart, I have no doubt that Ali would still be mine today.
I drift off into a light sleep as those thoughts bounce around in my mind. I dream that I am walking into the hospital waiting room and there waiting for me is Ali, but when I am half way to her an older version of the girl I once knew. I stop mid-stride, seeing the two of them next to each other makes me feel like I am standing in quicksand. I am so shocked, I knew Ali would grow up to be beautiful, and the woman standing next to her proves that. As I try to figure out how they are both here, I start walking toward them again. The closer I get their image starts to fuse together into one person and by the time I get to them the person standing in front of me is Lana. As soon as I realize that Ali has turned into Lana, I jolt awake. I must be more exhausted than I thought, I do not usually have crazy vivid dreams like that. I have a feeling that this dream will be one that is hard for me to shake. I was already making comparisons between the two girls before the dream; this is just going to make it worse. Clara would have a field day with this piece of information. I try to shake off those thoughts and get up to get a cup of coffee. I still have a couple of hours before I will be allowed to see my dad and after that dream I know I am not going back to sleep, so I may as well get some work done.
I start to make my way through my email and review some reports for approval, yet my mind continues to drift back to Lana. I am fully aware that right now dad and Clara should be first in my thoughts; however, I know that at this point nothing I do can make a difference, it all depends on how my dad responds to treatments. Even though my hands are tied with helping my dad right now, I can learn everything possible about Lana’s ex-boyfriend Josh. I need to do that, so I can figure out a way to keep her safe; especially since I am not there with her now.
I open my encrypted file transfer folder, which only Brad and I have access to, and find that Brad has already sent me a preliminary report on Josh. I’m ready to dig into this bastards’ life so I can see how to get him away from my girl, permanently. The report starts off when he was a kid. He seems to have been raised in a stable home with both parents and one brother. He got into a little trouble as a teenager but nothing major that would throw a red flag. There also is no evidence of progression in criminal activities. Everything looks somewhat normal. According to the paperwork, he was very family oriented and maintained a close relationship with his brother. Everything is good up until about a year ago; from that point, things start getting a little dicey. His brother apparently got into some legal trouble and went to jail. I need to pull that report and see what happened and what charges were brought against him. Whatever happened it seems Josh didn’t handle it well and started making trouble for himself. He quickly received trespassing and harassment charges. I am missing so much information. I know this is just a preliminary report but damn, I need this information, and it pisses me off that I have to wait for it. When I finish going through what information is in the report, I notice a note from Brad. The note says he is having to go through multiple alternative routes to get the information because the files were sealed and he didn’t want to raise any red flags just yet. He will get me the information as soon as he has it available. The fact that the files were sealed raise flags on my end, but I will have to wait for the rest of the information to know my next step.
Before I realize it the waiting room is starting to fill up, which lets me know it is close to time for visiting hours. I shoot a quick email to the office with explicit instructions for the next report on Josh and his brother. Just as I hit send I catch sight of Clara in the hallway. I pack up everything and stand to greet her with a hug and kiss on the cheek. She gives me a small smile and says good morning as she drops down into one of the seats. We still have about ten minutes until time to go in and see dad and Clara suggests that I go down to the cafeteria for some fresh coffee and to stretch my legs. I hesitate to leave her, but then she adds, “or we can talk about that someone special.” On second thought, a fresh cup of coffee sounds great. I stand back up and head out the door, just before I am out of the room I turn back and see Clara with a big grin on her face. I know I am only delaying the inevitable, but I am just not quite ready to talk about Lana yet.
After getting a cup of coffee, I head back up to the ICU waiting room. I am mentally trying to prepare myself to see dad, so I am not really paying attention to people around me until I get on the elevator and hear my name. When I look up, I am looking at Andrew Young, a clients ex-husband that I helped put in jail. This man was pure evil, so I don’t know how he is out already. Just as the elevator doors are closing, he smiles and says “It’s a shame what happened to your dad; make sure you tell your pretty little sister I said hi.”
I do not have time to stop the doors from closing so that I can get my hands on him to find out how he knows about dad, and what he knows about Clara. When the doors open on the ICU floor, there are a thousand thoughts rolling through my mind, and the more I think, the more livid I become. Before I realize I am standing at the waiting room door, Clara is up and striding toward me. “Ash, what’s wrong? What happened?” Her voice brings me back to the present, knowing I need to act normal for her. I smile down at her and tell her that everything is fine. Thankfully, before she can argue the nurse walks in and announces that visitation is now open. I throw my arm around Clara’s shoulder and pull her around and into the back to see dad.
We walk into Room 2, and I am careful to school my expression. I need to be calm and strong for Clara and dad right now. He is not conscious and has wires and tubes connected everywhere. Clara walks up to the bedside and takes dad’s hand. She starts talking to him as tears start to slowly stream down her face. After we are there for about five minutes, a nurse comes in closely followed by a man who introduces himself to me as Dr. Hunter Brantley. Clara smiles shyly up at him as he gives us an update on dad’s status and current treatment plans. The nurse documents vital signs and leaves the room. Dr. Brantley walks over to Clara grabs her hand and pulls her into a hug, telling her that he is going to do everything he can for dad. Clara returns the hug saying, “I know you will take good care of him Hunter; I wouldn’t want anyone else, thank you. He kisses her forehead then lets her go. He nods his head at me and leaves the room. It’s not until the door slides closed, that it registers that he hugged my sister and she called him Hunter, not Dr. Brantley. I guess the look on my face shows my thoughts because she says, “what’s that look for, I’m a big girl now.” She turns back to face dad. I walk over to her kiss her on the top of her head and tell her I will give her a few minutes alone with dad; then we can go to breakfast and talk about Hunter, seems I’m not the only one who has some explaining to do. I grin at her and leave the room.
I do intend on talking to her about Dr. Brantley or Hunter as she calls him, but really I want a few minutes to call Brad at the office and get some information on the asshole I saw downstairs. I want to know how he got out and I really want to know what he knows about my family. His appearance has just adde
d more problems to an already tense situation.
As I am talking to Brad about the information, I need, and what happened with the report on Josh, I look down the hallway and see Clara talking to Dr. Brantley again. Only their posture does not say professional relationship. When I see him lean down and lay a quick kiss on her lips, I tell Brad to add one Dr. Hunter Bradley to the list of reports.
Brad asks what the doctor has to do with any of this and I tell him about the kiss, and the bastard starts to laugh. He knows to be very well; he knows how protective I am of Clara; so I remind him that if the good doctor knows Clara, then he probably knows Nicole (Brad’s baby sister) by association. He stops laughing and starts cussing immediately; it’s my turn to laugh now, I know he is just as protective of his little sister; who also happens to be best friends with Clara. I laugh and tell him thanks for the help and end the call to a steady stream of expletives, just as Clara makes her way to me.
When Clara is within reach, I throw an arm around her shoulder and walk us toward the elevator. I grin down at her “So tell me about Dr. Brantley, or should I call him Hunter.” She looks up at me and blushes “not a word Ash, not one word.” I chuckle at her, and we step onto the elevator together. She knows how protective I am, after all, I ran a background check on all of her high school friends, boyfriends, and even her neighbors when she moved to go to school. I wanted to make sure she was going to a good area. I do try to give her room to grow up and be an adult, but it is hard at times.
We make our way to a little restaurant for breakfast. While we wait to be seated, I see a look of confusion pass over Clara. When I ask her what is wrong, she points to a car in the parking lot and says she thought it was the same car from the hospital. That the guy who got into it smiled and winked at her; said he looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Just as the car is leaving the parking lot, the hostess called us to be seated. I can tell Clara is still trying to place the guy in the car, but she shakes herself out of it when the waitress asks us for our drink order. As soon as the waitress leaves, Clara grins at me “so big brother, start talking, I want to know everything about this new lady friend of yours and when can I meet her.” All I can do is smile at the excitement beaming from Clara, well that and the mention of Lana. I take a drink to stall and figure out what I want to tell Clara. When I say nothing, she says “ok, just give me her name, and I will have Nicole’s brother get me the information I want.” I laugh at that and remind her that Brad works for me and there is no way she would get that report. That earns me a nasty look and a warning to start talking. I know my sister well enough to know that if I don’t give her something she will go around me and I can’t be too sure that Brad wouldn’t cave to his little sister if she asked for a report; even if that report was on my girl. I chuckle and ask my sister if she is sure she doesn’t want to leave school and just come work for my security company, he would be great at it. This puts a smile back on her face for just a second, before she tells me again to spill the beans, so this time I tell her, a little.
His To Protect (Four Seasons Security Book 1) Page 6