by Linzi Baxter
Alex and Bridget stopped by the emergency room to make sure Bridget and the baby were okay. Bridget’s right eye had started to blacken from when one of the men hit her.
My parents took Ant and Alex Jr. back to their house. The hospital waiting room was not a place for Ant to be, but it had been hard for me to release him.
I took a sip of the hospital coffee. It tasted more like motor oil. “Sophie, you and Zane can head home. I will call you as soon as I hear something.”
Sophie shifted in Zane’s lap and narrowed her eyes. “That is my sister back there.” She pointed toward the white double doors. “I’m not going anywhere until I see her.”
When I looked in CJ and Asher’s direction. CJ’s fingers were typing across the laptop. He hadn’t put it down since we had arrived. “Don’t even say it, Antonio. We are not leaving.”
“Nobody has eaten for the past few hours. We went from an OP to the emergency room. Why don’t you get something to eat?”
Nobody moved.
Asher leaned back in his chair. “Jacob is bringing everyone food.”
Next to Neal, Daisy continued to cry. I walked over to where they sat.
“Can I sit next to you, Daisy?”
She nodded a watery smile at me.
“You know, Kat would be proud of you for the shot you took earlier. I bet when she wakes up, it will be one of the first things she talks about. Sophie told me on the way over that she was amazed with your aim and poise.”
“Daisy was kidnapped for years. Now, Daisy goes to the shooting range once a week for target practice.” Neal’s jaw twitched at her admission. I raised my eyebrow, and he shook his head. I would ask him what his problem was later.
I reached over and grabbed Daisy’s chin, ignoring the growl from Neal’s direction. “Kat is a fighter. She will be fine. When she gets out, I bet she will go to the shooting range with you.”
“Daisy would like that.”
Jacob showed up with tacos for everyone in the waiting room. For the next half hour, we told stories about Kat. Women from the outreach center called and left messages on Kat’s phone. She received many texts from the women. I had left a message with the center saying Kat wouldn’t be in. I hadn’t anticipated the response we received. Kat was loved at the center. Everyone that met Kat couldn’t help but fall in love.
She had been in surgery for six hours. When I stood to stretch my back, the double white doors opened.
A doctor in his late fifties stood with a clipboard in his hand. Next to him stood a blond nurse. They both had serious looks on their face. I rushed toward them.
“Mr. Ross?” the male doctor asked.
“Yes. Can I see Kat?”
The doctor let out a sigh. “How about we go talk in a room?”
Kat’s family and friends were all around me. Anything the doctor had to say could be said in front of our family. “We can talk here. Is my wife okay.”
He eyed me for a second. “Kat is out of surgery and in recovery. Her recovery is going to be long and hard. We had to remove her gallbladder and part of her liver. The bullet hit her pelvic bone and traveled upward. It did a lot of damage on its path. She will be fine in a few months. Until then, she will need to rest.”
“I want to see her now.”
“Kat will be out for a while, maybe days. She hit her head hard. Go home, take a shower, and have a night’s rest.”
I thought the doctor had better let me see my wife or I would knock his ass down and look in every room until I found her.
“I don’t care. I want to see her now.”
He finally nodded at the nurse next to him. I grabbed Sophie’s hand and followed the nurse. I knew she wanted to see her sister as badly as I needed to see Kat.
The nurse opened the door to Kat’s room. The sight in front of me hit me like a freight train. Kat had a white gauze bandaged wrapped around her head. The machines made the only noise in the room. Sophie rushed to Kat’s side, grabbed her hand, and cried.
I took Kat’s other side and couldn’t hold back the tears. I had almost lost my wife a second time.
Kat
I had been in the hospital for four days. Antonio hadn’t left my room. The farthest he’d gone was to the bathroom. I loved my husband to death, but he needed to go home, shower, and have a good night’s sleep.
Juan and his men were in jail or dead. We didn’t have anything to worry about anymore. Antonio and I had talked about that night, and we each had different parts that scared us. My heart still pounded when I thought about someone breaking into our house with Ant home. He could have been hurt. Antonio had had to see my almost-lifeless body.
“Honey, go home tonight. Jacob will be right outside the door. No one will come after me.”
Antonio shifted in his chair. “I’m fine where I am.”
Jesus, I was married to the most stubborn man alive. “I need you to go home and grab me some clothes to wear out of the hospital tomorrow. While you’re there, take a shower and a nap.” When it looked like he was about to argue again, I begged. “Please. I’ve worn the plaid hospital nightgown long enough. I don’t want to wear any hospital clothes home.”
“Fine.” Antonio leaned down and brushed his lips against mine before he left the room.
I reached for my phone to work on my missed messages. Each day, they piled up. I had a missed text from Sophie. Attached to the message was a picture of FBI Director Westblack standing next to crates of military-grade weapons.
When I went to click on the link, my stomach growled.
I texted Jacob, who stood guard outside my room.
Can u get me something to eat?
I heard the ding on his phone, and his reply came back immediately.
I can’t leave. I will have Antonio grab you something.
“No!” I yelled from my room. Jacob appeared in the doorway.
“Please run down to the café and get me a sandwich. Nobody will kidnap me in five minutes.”
He looked at his phone and typed out a message.
Someone approached Jacob from behind. He was so quick I didn’t have time to yell for Jacob to turn. The masked man drove a needle into Jacobs neck and pulled his limp body into my hospital room. With the door closed the intruder dropped Jacob to the ground and put a hand over my mouth before I could scream.
“Where is she?”
The intruder was dressed in blue scrubs and a white jacket to match. He had a mask over his face, but I recognized his voice and beady eyes. Greg stood above my bed. I moved my hand to the side to click the call button. Greg lurched and grabbed it before I could. He leaned into me and pressed his hand on my side where the stitches were still fresh.
The pain that shot through my body was enough to make my vision sway. But I wouldn’t let him win. He would never get to Lily. I scratched my arm to pull my IV out. When it ripped out of my skin, I held it in my hand. Greg was within arm’s reach. I used what energy I had to force my arm forward and jabbed the needle into his neck.
Greg’s scream hurt my ears. It was so loud that it could be heard from the nurses’ station. Greg ripped the needle out of his neck and held one hand to the hole that squirted blood. He balled up his other fist. I didn’t have anything else to protect myself with, so I covered my head and waited for the first blow to come.
It never came. Instead, I heard a grunt and a thud on the ground. Antonio stood over Greg, who lay on the floor in the fetal position. Hospital security came into the room.
“He tried to kill my wife and took out one of my agents. Call Detective Higgins at the police department. He knows this man has made a few attempts. This one should put him away for good.” When the officers turned for a second, Antonio kicked Greg in the side. The man started to cry.
A team of nurses rushed to Jacob’s side. A half hour later Doctor O’Malley let Antonio know Jacob would be okay. He was given a high dose of sedatives.
The hospital police escorted Greg out of the room. For the next hour, they
cleaned up the wound in my arm from where I pulled out my IV. Antonio was very quiet the whole time.
Once everyone had left, I patted the edge of my bed and scooted over to the side. Antonio didn’t waste a second before he climbed in next to me.
“I thought you were going home.”
“Jacob texted that you needed food. I grabbed you something and headed back up.”
For once, I was glad Antonio had been overprotective. The sedative Greg gave Jacob knocked him out for a few hours. When he woke up he was pissed and wanted to kill Greg. He also felt guilty for Greg’s attack. But with Greg and Juan both out of the picture, we could finally move on with our lives. I wasn’t upset with Jacob. For once I was happy he contacted Antonio and asked him to grab my food.
“Thanks for being my hero.”
“I would do anything for you.” Antonio wrapped an arm around me and kissed my forehead.
“I love you.”
Epilogue
Antonio
Ant’s birthday party was in full swing. Kat’s idea for a detective party was a hit. We came up with two cases. When they solved the first case, the kids received half of the gear for laser tag. The second case led them to the rest of the gear. For the past hour, Ant and his friends had run around the yard. Kat and I had rented equipment for the adults too. Once the kids went inside to watch a movie, the game would be on. We planned to play women against men.
Kat walked toward me, her white summer dress blowing in the Florida breeze. She still favored her right side, even though it had been two months since she was shot.
She wrapped her arms around me. “His birthday is perfect. Thank you, Antonio.”
I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I didn’t do anything. You put this all together. Have I told you how amazing a mom you are today?”
Kat giggled. “You tell me every five seconds, but I love to hear you say it.”
We sat in the chairs on the back porch, and I gazed across the backyard. I was lucky to have so many friends and family. With Kat by my side, my life was almost perfect. I laid my hand on her belly. This week we had made a quick trip to the doctor. Kat had suffered nausea for the past week.
The doctor confirmed our suspicion that Kat was seven weeks pregnant with twins. I wanted to shout the news from the rooftops, but Kat wanted us to wait for the three-month mark. I would do anything she asked.
Neal and Daisy took two open chairs. Neal leaned back in his chair and grabbed Daisy’s hand.
“My brother Aaron texted this morning to tell me he was on his way back from Los Angeles.”
Neal grumbled something under his breath. Daisy playfully tapped him on the shoulder. “Neal is going to take Daisy to Los Angeles in two weeks. Daisy hasn’t been back since she was kidnapped. Daisy is excited and worried.”
Neal pinched the bridge of his nose. “You don’t happen to have an extra bodyguard, do you?”
“Jacob can go with you.”
At that same moment, Jacob stepped onto the patio. “Go where?”
“Neal and Daisy need a bodyguard for their trip to Los Angeles in a couple weeks.”
Jacob nodded and took a swig of his beer.
Asher and CJ were the next to join us on the patio. “When is the due date?” Asher asked.
I looked at Kat. “You told him?”
Kat went to pull her hand away, but I gripped it harder so she couldn’t move. “No. How did you figure it out?”
“It wasn’t hard. You both have been glowing all day. Yesterday, Antonio was in a panic because you had been sick for too many days and he was worried about you.”
A smile spread across my wife’s face. She was more beautiful each day. “I’m seven weeks. We were going to wait to tell everyone until the three-month mark, but we are having twins.”
Our group of friends gave us hugs and well wishes.
My phone vibrated with an incoming text from Detective Higgins.
Greg’s case is scheduled for next week.
That would be something to worry about tomorrow. Today, I would enjoy the friends around me.
“I love you, Kitty Kat.”
THE END
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
White Hat Security Series
Hacker Exposed
Royal Hacker
Misunderstood Hacker
Undercover Hacker
Hacker Revelation
Montana Gold (Brotherhood Kindle World)
Grayson’s Angel
Noah - Oct 23, 2018
A Flipping Love Story (Badge of Honor World)
Unlocking Dreams - Nov 13, 2018
Unlocking Hope - 2019
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GRAYSON’S ANGEL
MONTANA GOLD
A life she thought she left behind…
Kara Davidson left Montana years ago. After her mother died, she decided to never step foot in the state again. Then she gets a call saying her father is in the hospital. Her trip home is supposed to be quick. She didn’t count on meeting a retired Navy SEAL who made her body come alive.
A retired Navy SEAL looking forward to vacation…
Grayson Steele was looking forward to a vacation with old friends. The vacation starts out perfect when he is seated next to a blond angel on the flight to Montana. He didn’t expect to see her again or for her to jump into his car wearing a bloody wedding dress.
Will Grayson be able to help Kara untangle the lies of her past before it’s too late? Or will an unexpected enemy take Kara from Grayson?
Grayson’s Angel - Chapter Preview
Kara Davidson clenched her teeth and considered ignoring the call. She glanced at the iPhone, wishing a different name had flashed across the screen. This was the seventh call in the same day. He wasn’t going stop until she answered. A mixture of remorse and anger churned in her gut. He was her last family member, and she should answer to find out what he wanted. The only reason he ever called was because he wanted something from her.
She took a few breaths to get her emotions under control. Then she gripped the steering wheel with one hand and clicked the hands-free button with the other. “Hello, Father.”
“Is this Ms. Davidson?” The voice on the other end was a woman with a scratchy voice, probably from too many years of smoking.
“Yes. May I ask why you have my dad’s phone?”
“This is Bozeman Health. We tried calling you from our main line many times, and you didn’t answer. Your father was admitted to the hospital this morning, and you are listed as next of kin.”
The only missed calls on her phone were from her dad’s number. This lady was mistaken if they called her from the hospital. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name. Can I speak to my father?”
“Mr. Davidson is in an induced coma. We feel it would be best if someone from his family came as soon as possible. The doctors are uncertain if he will make it.” There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before she continued. “When can I tell the doctor you’ll be here?”
“I will try to find a flight tomorrow.”
The hospital employee clicked the phone off before she could ask more questions regarding her father’s health. Kara would make it to Bozeman tomorrow to see her father. She would look at his chart herself and make up her own mind. Kara tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and screamed, letting out the frustrations of the past five years.
After her mother died, Frank, her father, turned to booze and gambling to deal with his depression. He started to hit her during his drunken stupors. When her father didn’t look like he would change his ways, Kara packed up her life and moved to Denver, Colorado. She had watched one of her parents die in front of her eyes. She would not watch her father kill himself.
“Fuck,” she muttered as she shoved op
en the door of her MINI Cooper. After that call, she would spend her nice, long, relaxing weekend in Bozeman, Montana. Kara had spent the last six days working fifteen-hour shifts, so she could enjoy a much-needed long weekend getting caught up on the latest romance novels. Her father always had issues at the most inopportune moments.
The last time her father had called, he’d needed five grand for bail. He had started a bar fight and put the other man in the hospital. That wasn't the first time he had been arrested for the same crime, and the judge had set a high bail because of his many charges. Kara had been saving up for a house. To get her father out of jail, she’d had to take the money out of the savings she was planning to use for the down payment. Kara had nearly replenished her savings, and her father was in trouble again.
A twinge of guilt pricked her conscience. The lady had said he was in a coma. He might not make it out of whatever problem he’d gotten himself into this time, and there was no doubt in Kara’s mind whatsoever that getting hospitalized was her father’s own fault.
She would be going home for the first time in five years. Kara didn’t like going home because everything in Montana reminded her of her mother. When she was home, not a day went by when a scent or an action wouldn’t trigger those memories. In fact, just thinking of home triggered them.
She replayed the memory of her mother demanding the doctors release her from the hospital, so she could attend her daughter’s college graduation. Her mom, whose name was Emma, had withered away to bones by that time, but she stood up to the doctors and demanded they figure out a way for her to attend. The smile that had spread across her face when Kara walked across the stage was worth it. A few weeks later, she passed away when a blood clot traveled to her brain and the doctors couldn’t fix it in time.