There was no fighting over details about the wedding and I was beyond pleased when Marie so graciously took a step back and let my mom shine. Then of course there was all the hoopla over my ring. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear the man had added a bigger stone but he was keeping mum about that and who am I to complain?
It was a nice seminar, though I’m not sure I would agree with everything that was said, and I was sure Wyatt would have a fit if he heard half the things she had to say. “Oh dear I’m not sure about all that, maybe we shouldn’t tell the guys about what we heard here tonight.” Marie seemed to be in agreement.
We clasped arms and headed outside the building in the throng of other excited women who were leaving at the same time. Jack was supposed to pick us up right out front. It was a nice starry night, though a bit brisk and everyone was bundled up.
I got a weird feeling as soon as we stepped out into the night. One I hadn’t had in a long time, not since Wyatt had all but shanghaied me and moved me in with him. It took my mind to a place I’d convinced myself was in the past, Carl.
Jace hadn’t been able to locate him yet and I knew Wyatt was still a little pissed, but I had pretty much pushed it aside. Who had time with all that I had on my plate? But now standing there in the falling darkness, I suddenly felt vulnerable, exposed.
“Are you okay?” Marie tugged on my arm as my mind had wandered off in the middle of her conversation. “Yes-yes I am do you see Jack?” The fear was sudden and unexplainable. I knew there was no need for it with all these people around, but it was there all the same.
“He’ll be here, probably a lot of traffic heading this way.” I tried to find some solace in the bright holiday lights that were strung along the street and in the windows of the various storefronts, anything to get my mind off the things that were now plaguing me.
Someone bumped into me on the crowded sidewalk and I felt a sting in my side. I didn’t think anything of it, after all there were about fifty other people milling around out here. But then my arm went numb and my vision blurred. Had I not been holding onto Marie or her to me I would’ve fallen flat on my face.
“Traci, Traci can you hear me?” I heard her voice as if through a void just before I felt arms around me lifting me. “Jack I don’t know what happened, one minute she was fine and then she was falling.” There was so much worry in her voice and I struggled to answer, but couldn’t move my lips.
“I’ve got her Marie let’s get her out of here.” He placed me in the car as my head swam and I went in and out of consciousness. I tried to speak but my tongue felt heavy and my limbs were suddenly lax. “Wyatt…” It felt like I was screaming but the sound was barely above a whisper.
“We’ve called him sweetheart, he’s going to meet us at the hospital.” Hospital, I don’t want to go to the hospital. I just want to go home. Before I could make that point everything went dark.
Chapter 10
Wyatt
***
“Get out of the fucking way.” I leaned on my horn and sped around the car ahead of me. The other drivers must’ve sensed the danger, that I would mow them all down, and moved out of the way. Ma had sounded scared as fuck, so I knew it was bad.
I pulled into the hospital parking lot and slammed out of the car on the run. Where was she again? I couldn’t think, couldn’t remember. My brother was waiting for me outside and saved me from having to hunt her down.
“How is she?”
“We don’t know yet they’re still running tests. Wyatt-“ The catch in his breath made my gut knot in fear. “Tell me.” I grabbed his collar when he took too long to answer.
“She’s not waking up.”
“What the fuck do you mean she’s not waking up? Ma said she fainted.”
“That’s what she thought it was but she went out in the car and hasn’t woken up since.”
“Take me to her.” I followed close on his heels as he led me down the hallway. My parents were standing outside the door looking like they’d been through hell and that shit only made my stress level go up another notch.
I barely acknowledged them before pushing through the doors where a team of white-coats were taking care of her. “You can’t come in here.”
“Get the fuck outta my way.” I barely restrained myself from tossing the nurse who came at me to get to her side.
“I’m right here baby.”
“Who are you?” One of the coats turned to me long enough to ask.
“Hers.” I leaned over her taking her hand in mine while they worked on her. Why were there so many of them? I didn’t see any blood, she didn’t look hurt in anyway other than for the fact that she was out cold.
I wanted to hurl questions at them but knew that would only slow them down. So instead I tried to stay out of their way but I wasn’t leaving her.
It was the longest night of my life. After they’d worked on her and left I’d stayed behind. I’d told my family they could leave even though I knew they wouldn’t. The coats had yet to tell me anything and every time someone came in to check on her vitals the only thing they’d tell me is that they were running tests.
I pulled the most uncomfortable chair in creation closer to the bed and sat with her hand clasped tightly in mine. She looked so small and alone there against those white sheets, made my heart ache.
I sometimes forget how tiny she is. Her mouth, her personality, are so bigger than life, and the way she’s always squaring off with me to get her way, makes it hard to remember that she barely reaches my chest and I can lift her with one arm.
“Why did I let you go there tonight? I should never have let you go. When we get home you’re not leaving the damn house without an armed guard.” I kissed her fingers and kept my eyes trained on her face for any sign of her rousing but there wasn’t so much as a flicker behind those lashes.
“Mr. Hunter?” One of the coats and a couple of nurses hustled back into the room what seemed like hours later. “You’ll need to step out of the way while we work here.” Like hell! I’d read somewhere that comatose patients could hear what was going on around them. I would give them space to do what needed doing but no fucking way was I leaving.
“I’m right here baby.” Their look, the way they sprung into action had me on edge. “What’s going on?” They were inserting some kind of tube into her mouth and my heart dropped to my toes.
“We rushed the tests since nothing was showing in preemptive testing to justify her condition so to be on the safe side we thought it prudent to put a rush on. Does your fiancée have any enemies?”
“What are you talking about?” What the fuck was up with this guy?
“Well, the EMTs that brought her in said that she fainted on the sidewalk. There was no sign of dehydration, or any of the normal things that might’ve caused that so we did a blanket test where we search for pretty much anything. The last test we ran showed succinylcholine in her blood.”
“The fuck is that?” I’d never heard of it but the shit did not sound good.
“It’s a lot of things but a long story short, it can cause malignant hyperthermia. It’s a rare Life-threatening condition that is usually triggered by the exposure to certain drugs used for general anesthesia.”
“She doesn’t do drugs you fuck.” I’ll chuck his ass through the window no fucking joke. He backed up and away from the kill glare in my eyes with his hands up in the universal sign of surrender.
“I’m not accusing her of anything Mr. Hunter, that’s why I asked if she had any enemies. We found a tiny needle prick in the skin just above her hip. Because of the sequence of events that led to her being brought here, we surmise that this had to have happened just before she passed out.”
“What do we have to do? Can this thing be reversed what?”
“The primary treatment is respiratory support until she stabilizes that’s why she has the breathing tube. We’re not sure of the dosage she received, but we think she got here in time for us to do some good. She’s very l
ucky.”
“Thanks for telling me.” I waited until the room was clear before calling my family in. “Chad I need Jace.” I would call him myself but I didn’t want to leave her long enough to do it. My brother left to make the call while I gave my parents an update.
“I’m so sorry son, traffic was backed up and I was a few minutes late.”
“This is not your doing dad.” But I’m sure I know whose it is. He’d gone from stalker to attempted murderer, maybe now the cops would get off their ass and catch this fuck because if they didn’t before I did, he would be one dead fuck.
Jace was there twenty minutes later and by then I was ready to knock holes in the wall. “He did this shit.” There was no need for me to expound he knew what I was saying. “We don’t know that yet tell me what’s going on what’re they saying?”
“You wanna catch some of this heat you keep talking like an ass. This isn’t a TV show, this is real life and we both know the only one who’d stick a fucking needle in her in the middle of a busy sidewalk is him.”
“Okay Champ calm down, I’ll have my tech guys look at the footage from the security cameras on that strip. I’m not questioning your reasoning bro, but you and I both know if we don’t handle this shit by the book it can go south real fast. You don’t want this fucker walking on a technicality and trust me, I go after this guy without evidence some slicked up asshole lawyer will be all over the fact that we’re brothers in everything but blood.”
I knew he was right, his words rang true, but that did nothing to calm the rage that was building inside.” I won’t keep you then, I’ll let you get to it.” I went back to her side and took up my vigil again.
They were in and out all night checking on her and giving me progress reports. I didn’t breathe easy until they told me her statistics were improving, but still she hadn’t opened her eyes, instead she laid there like a little porcelain doll.
It was hours before I heard from Jace. Ma and dad were sitting in the little sitting area in her room fighting sleep. They refused to go home no matter how many times I told them. I hadn’t called her parents until she was out of danger. I felt like a failure when I explained to her dad that I had let her down. I’d promised him in one of our private conversations that I would protect his little girl.
“I’m so sorry baby.” Beneath the rage was the hurt that this had been done to her, that I hadn’t been there when I should’ve been. “Wyatt…” Her voice sounded like a choking frog but it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. I jumped out of my chair and sat on the edge of her bed as she fought to open her eyes.
“I’m right here sweetheart open your eyes.” They fluttered open bloodshot and drooping but she was in there, my girl was back. I pulled her up and into my arms for a hug while ma rushed into the room with dad on her heels. One of them pressed the button for the nurse but they were already coming through the door. Apparently some kind of alarm had gone off when she woke up.
I moved out of the way while they removed the tube and checked her over for the one-hundredth time but I was fine with that. They explained that she was out of danger but still very sick and they wanted to keep her for observation.
She slept off and on into the next morning while I sat there with my eyes glued to her. I wasn’t scared shitless anymore thank fuck, and her color was looking better. Of course every bad B-movie I’d ever seen played through my head and I envisioned all manner of things that led me to contemplate hiring those armed guards after all.
“Wyatt.”
“Yeah babygirl I’m here.” Her eyes looked a lot better this time when she turned them on me. “How’re you feeling?”
“What happened?”
“You got hurt but you’re going to be okay. The docs said you’re out of danger, you need some water?” She shook her head no but I held the straw up to her lips anyway. The nurse had said she might have dry mouth from the breathing tube.
I didn’t share my suspicions about the stalking fuck with her. I didn’t want her any more afraid than she already had to be, waking up in the hospital with tubes and shit sticking out of her. Instead I tried to take her mind off of it by talking about any and everything else.
By the time I was allowed to take her home, I was dragging ass. Jace had tried calling but I texted him to hold on until I had her safely tucked away at home. I planned to clean up a little and then go on the hunt myself. Nothing against cops, but they got too many leashes on their ass.
I had to carry her out to the car because she still wasn’t steady on her feet. I’d looked up the stuff the doc had said they’d found in her system and gave thanks that she was fine, it could’ve been worse, she could’ve fucking died.
I paid close attention on the ride home making sure no one was following. Obviously, he had eyes on her if he knew where to find her last night. He was way too fucking good at this shit for this to be the first time, and I was thinking it was maybe time to get a PI in the game.
I hope I do see the fuck lurking around my home, there’re a lot of places to hide a body there. I’m not a violent man, given my profession some may find that hard to believe, but that’s just not the way I’m made. This motherfucker had brought me to the point that I had not only contemplated his murder, but was actually plotting that shit in my head.
“Babe, there’re some things on this list that I know we don’t have in the house. So after I get you squared away I’m gonna make a run to the store.” Ma busted into my room while I was running her a bath and started fussing.
I’d stopped trying to assuage her guilt since that shit wasn’t working. I figured I’d just let it run its course until she got it our of her system. Why the fuck shouldn’t they be able to go out for a night without being harmed? Fuck that. If Jace and his cohorts couldn’t ensure her safety I was gonna do that shit myself.
“Ma, go get some sleep will ya? I’m putting her to bed and then I’m going to the store.”
“Your father and I can take care of that, you stay here with her son.”
That wasn’t gonna work because I needed to get with Jace so I put her off without tipping either of them off.
I finally got rid of ma after haggling with her for five minutes. “Come here baby.” I hugged her close and kissed her lips longingly for the first time since she got hurt. For the first time since I got the call I felt whole again, like my world was back on track. “Let’s get you into the tub baby you’ll feel better.”
She wasn’t talking much but that was understandable, her throat probably hurt from that shit they’d had shoved down there all night. I pulled off her clothes and my eyes went to the mark on her hip where the needle had gone in. That simmering rage went to slow boil but I held it in.
Life is funny. That was the thought I had as I took her in my arms and headed for the bathroom. Under any other circumstances the sight of her naked form would have me hard as a fucking pike. Don’t get me wrong, I felt that stirring I always get whenever she’s around, but it was contained by the need to protect.
I placed her in the bubbly water and knelt beside the tub to take care of her. Her limbs were still a bit listless but not as much as they had been earlier, which was a good sign. I spoke to her softly as she rested back and let me do my thing.
When the water was getting too cold I lifted her out and got her ready for bed. My mind was already out there somewhere thinking of all the things I had to do. Ma with her hardheaded ass had made her some soup and there was a tray on the night table with some other shit.
“I fed her as much of the broth as she could stand, dosed her up with the shit that she fought me not to take and bundled her under the covers. “Stay with me until I fall asleep.” I climbed in with her and pulled her onto my chest. “You scared?” If she said yes I would lose my shit. She wasn’t supposed to be afraid here, this place at least was supposed to be her safe haven. “No, I just want you to hold me I missed you.”
“I missed you more.” I held her a little closer stroking her soot
hingly through the covers until her breathing evened out in sleep. Her face had gone soft in repose and there was no look of discomfort when I finally slipped out from under her and left the bed.
By the time I made it out to my car the mask was back in place. I didn’t feel like I’d wasted time but I knew we’d lost some, that motherfucker could be anywhere by now, just waiting to strike again.
Jace was still at the station so I headed there instead of his place. “Oh great, I just got the video perfect timing.” We headed back to his office where he had set up to watch. Nothing was said as he hit play and we watched. I saw her come through the doors with ma and a horde of other women.
They were gabbing away at each other, most likely about whatever it was they’d just seen or heard at the seminar. I have to remember to ask what was up with their faces, neither of them seemed as spirited as the other women around them.
My eyes were peeled to the screen as I watched everyone around her and for some fucked up reason my heart started to pound in my chest. “There.” We watched the figure slightly bump into her and keep going, and then we saw her reaction not long after.
“Fuck his face is hidden.”
“It might be here, but now we know what he’s wearing, he might not have been that careful the whole time, that’s why we have different shots from other cameras. I started with this one because I figured he’d pull this stunt and I needed to know what he was wearing so we could pick him up in the crowd. Now we’ll go back a little before he struck and a little after if we have to. Somebody had to catch him on camera.”
Jace changed the disc and we watched from a different angle. For the next ten minutes or so we watched footage of people going about their night. We saw him a few times but he was always hidden. “Don’t show that shit again.” We’d reached the part where she got stuck but once was enough for me.
The Champ: Bad Boys Book 5 (The Bad Boys) Page 15