by Karly Morgan
“I’ve got her, but the perp who attacked her took off. I’ve got my deputies doin’ a grid search now, tryin’ ta hunt him down. Kolt—”
“Put her on the phone.”
“Kolt listen—”
“Put her on the damn phone…Now!” I shouted, gripping the steering wheel so tightly I could no longer feel my fingertips from lack of circulation reaching them.
“She’s unconscious, son. Son of a bitch snapped her ankle like a twig and was in the process of yankin’ her by it through the smashed in window when I came ‘round the corner. She musta passed out from the pain,” he explained, fury radiating from his voice. The sheriff’s biggest pet peeve was a man abusing a woman. “I got the ambulance on its way. Ya might just wanna meet her over at the hospital.”
“How long is it gonna take them to get there? Can’t ya put her in your car and drive her? That would probably be a lot faster,” I told him, seething mad that he was just sitting there with her instead of getting her immediate medical treatment. A raging bull had nothing on me at the moment.
“Ya gotta calm down, Kolt, or you’re not gonna do this girl a lick of good. She’s been terrorized enough already. She don’t need ya blowin’ your lid too,” he replied, not answering a single question I asked, nor had he acknowledged my suggestion. “Aww, great…”
“What?” I yelled, frustrated to not already be there by Carissa’s side.
“What in the Sam hell happened?” I heard my mother shout, escalating my already precariously balanced emotions. She didn’t need to deal with this on top of her illness.
I listened quietly as Sheriff Donovan tried his best to relay what information he knew while keeping her from exploding like a fireworks warehouse right before the Fourth of July. It wasn’t easy, but somehow he’d managed to accomplish the feat, easing a small part of the stress on my shoulders as I drove like a madman.
“The ambulance just pulled in. I’m gonna get off here and help them get Carissa settled inside. Head on over ta the hospital,” Sheriff Donovan ordered me, and I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from saying something I couldn’t take back. “I’ll bring your ma over ta meet ya while givin’ the ambulance a police escort. She’ll be okay.”
“I wanna see the scene of the crime,” I bit out, barely containing my rage over allowing her to be so vulnerable. Why hadn’t I sent one of the hands with them when they left as a precaution?
“Ya can’t do that. Ya need ta let us collect the evidence so we can build a case against this lowlife loser,” he told me. “My tech guy is on his way ta go over the scene. Carissa wakin’ up and givin’ us her statement will help too. I wanna nail this guy’s balls ta the wall, so don’t go stormin’ in here and messin’ shit up.”
“Gimme that phone,” Ma demanded in the background loud enough for me to hear her clearly over the line as if she were the one holding the phone. It only took a few seconds before she really was. “Now ya listen ta me and ya listen good. Change direction and get your ass ta the hospital and we’ll meet ya there. She’s gonna need ya more than any of the rest of us, so ya better get ya head on straight while you’re drivin’ ‘cause if ya come in there like the crazy-ass fool I know ya are right now, I’ll personally put ya in the bed right next ta her.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said, knowing she was right but still having extreme difficulty reining in the chaos of my emotions.
Something didn’t quite add up for me, and I wanted to interrogate the slime who’d harmed my wife. While her daddy had wanted her home and toeing the line he’d laid for her, I couldn’t picture him as the type of man to physically harm a woman. Carver, on the other hand, was exactly the type who would do whatever his twisted little heart, or lack thereof, desired, whether it was consensual or not. That man would beat and rape a woman without thinking twice, as long as it sated whatever deep-seated evil lived within him. Yet the man who’d been attempting to abduct her had told her he was taking her back to her daddy, I had no doubt his true employer was Carver.
I didn’t relay my thoughts, however, feeling that would only stress my mother out more. I needed to pull the sheriff aside and have a nice, private chat with him at the hospital about my suspicions.
“I don’t understand why she didn’t stay in the waitin’ room.” Despair and confusion filled Mama’s voice as she spoke to me, and I wished I could give her a hug. “Evan Sutton was sittin’ there waitin’ on his wife ta finish her appointment and said she’d taken off outta there like she was upset over somethin’ after readin’ some magazine. I didn’t bother ta check out whatever it had been she’d been readin’ figurin’ she’d tell me what’d upset her so much when I got ta the truck.”
“Did he say what magazine she’d been readin’?” Sheriff Donovan asked in the background, obviously still paying attention to our conversation.
“Nah. Just that it was the one on the top of the pile,” she said. “You’ll have ta go inside and check for yourself. I’m not goin’ back in there.”
“And I’m not leavin’ ya alone,” the sheriff argued.
“I’ll be fine if ya hurry. Go get the magazine and get back out here ‘fore the ambulance leaves,” she ordered, and I pictured her shooing him away like she was prone to do.
I heard voices exchange words I didn’t understand in the background while Mama stayed quiet. I had nothing to say, just millions of thoughts rattling around in my brain.
“Now that he’s outta the way for a minute, I saw the cover of the magazine but not the title. Carissa’s daddy was on the cover of it,” she informed me, and I saw red.
How in the hell did that timing work out? Did they find out Ma’s next appointment and plant the magazine for her to find and read? What had the article said that had upset Carissa so much she’d thoughtlessly left the protection of the doctor’s office waiting room?
“Get the name of that magazine. I need ta read that article,” I demanded, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling at the odd coincidence.
“I’ll see what I can do. Sheriff’s on his way back out, and the paramedic’s ready ta go. See ya at the hospital,” Ma said, and I wished I could keep her on the line to give me updates on their current location, but if I wanted her to find out about the magazine, she needed to be able to talk to Sheriff Donovan, not me.
“See ya there. Love you, Ma,” I told her, suddenly scared I didn’t say the words to her enough.
“I love ya too, Kolt,” she said, her voice softening in that way it did just for me. She disconnected the call, and I did everything in my power to calm myself down. She wasn’t in danger of dying, that I knew of. The dickhead had only broken her ankle which would heal with time. What truly worried me was the fact she hadn’t woken up yet. Maybe that was a blessing, but it still terrified the shit out of me.
“Get it together, Kolton. Your woman needs ya,” I ordered myself in the empty cab of the truck. After changing directions when my mom had ordered me to, I hadn’t bothered keeping track of where I was. After taking a few deep breaths, I took in my current location and estimated how far I was from reaching Carissa’s side.
“Another twenty minutes or so. Hold on, baby. I’m comin’,” I spoke to Carissa, even knowing she couldn’t hear me. It helped soothe the madness trying to take over my mind. Part of me was still demanding to go to the crime scene and track down the fool who dared lay a finger on my beautiful woman and the rest of me, the most rational side, kept me going toward the hospital—toward being by her side and protecting her from anything that tried to come her way.
It took just a hair less than the twenty minutes I’d estimated to come to a screeching halt in the parking lot to the emergency room and throw my truck into park before jumping out and racing over to the ambulance that had pulled in just ahead of me with Sheriff Donovan and my ma right behind it.
“How is she?” I demanded as soon as the rear doors opened.
The startled EMT widened her eyes, startled to find me there, but once she took a good look at m
e, a seductive smile curved her lips.
“She’ll be fine. Now me on the other hand…” she said, lowering her voice to almost a purr, and I itched to push her out of my way to get to Carissa.
“Georgina, get ya butt movin’,” her partner called out as he climbed from the driver’s seat and rounded the vehicle. “Don’t make me have ta report ya yet again.”
“Whatever,” she huffed, climbing back inside. Her partner gave me an apologetic look before climbing in behind her and helping to release the stretcher from its locks.
Together they maneuvered it out, set it on the ground, and elevated it to waist-high. Relief flooded through me when I saw Carissa’s eyes open, looking around her frantically.
“I’m here, darlin’,” I told her, moving in by her side and gripping her slender hand in my own. I watched her relax as much as she could as they wheeled her inside with me keeping pace next to her.
“Did they catch him?” she asked, and I hated the tremor in her voice.
“Not yet,” I told her regretfully. “He took off when he saw Sheriff Donovan’s squad car come around the corner. He’s got deputies out lookin’, but so far they haven’t found hide nor hair of him.”
“I can’t believe my father would do something like this…” she said, letting her words trail off when the sob she’d been holding back forced its way out.
I hated the tears streaking down her cheeks in rivers to land on the pillow cradling her head.
“Sir, ya have ta wait out here. Ya can’t come back ta the exam room with her,” a nurse told me, stepping aggressively in my path as they moved to take her through a pair of swinging doors.
“She’s my wife. There’s no way in hell she’s goin’ anywhere without me again,” I informed her angrily.
“The doctor needs ta examine her without distractions. Ya need ta wait right over there with the rest of your party until he comes out with an update,” she told me, arms crossed over her chest, nodding her head toward the seating area I hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge.
I’d sat there entirely too many times already with Mama being the one on the other side of those doors. It had killed me not knowing what was going on those times; this time the thought of just sitting there was unimaginable.
“Please,” I practically begged her, but she stood her ground, giving me a look I’d thought only my mother had mastered.
“I’ll be all right,” Carissa tried reassuring me, but it did no good whatsoever. I heard her stomach rumble, though, and looked at her in disbelief.
“Why don’t you go find me some food while you wait? It’s been a while since breakfast.” She gave me a soft smile as she gazed at me with eyes full of both love and pain.
I knew that by being stubborn, I was keeping them from actually helping her, so I leaned down, gave her a kiss I hoped conveyed all of my turbulent emotions and backed away, reluctantly releasing her hand as they pushed her gurney through the doors.
As I reached the waiting area where the sheriff was seated with my mama, she took the need for a private conversation with Sheriff Donovan and threw it right out of the window.
“This wasn’t the work of her daddy. That lowdown, dirty rat her daddy wanted ta marry her ta was behind this,” she ground out, more pissed off than I’d ever seen her before.
“What makes ya say that?” Sheriff Donovan asked as I took the seat on my mother’s other side.
“I was thinkin’ the same thing,” I told him before she answered, and he shot me a look telling me to shut up for the moment.
“Her daddy’s mean for sure, but that Carver is just evil. Ya shoulda saw the way he eyed that girl while they were trespassin’ on our property. Of which ya did squat about,” she informed him, staring him down as she continued. “Maybe if ya had gone through with pressin’ charges like I’d wanted ya ta do, this wouldn’t have happened ta her.”
“Now, Bonnie—”
“Nuh-uh. Don’tcha go givin’ me that shit. Ya know damned well ya had both of ‘em and ya let ‘em just walk away with not even a slap on the hands,” she steamrolled on, fury blazing from her eyes, and I worried she was working herself up way too much for her heart to handle. “We warned ya that things would escalate if ya didn’t do somethin’ ta stop it then. These two are nothin’ like my lyin’, cheatin, abusive, son of a bitch, ex-husband. These are two men used ta gettin’ away with whatever they wanna do ta whoever they wanna do it ta.”
“I want that bastard found and his ass handed to him on a silver platter. If ya can’t make that happen, let me know and I’ll get right on it for ya,” I told him, barely reining in my temper.
“No, Kolt,” the sheriff said, finally acknowledging my presence beyond a look. “Ya won’t. Y’all need ta do this right or it’ll bite ya all in the asses and they’ll walk scot free.”
“Not if they’re—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, boy, and I’ll pretend ya didn’t start it,” he warned me with a sharp glare.
I pressed my lips together, fighting back what I really wanted to say. I watched as he got to his feet and headed over to the nurses’ station, probably to ask about how soon he could get Carissa’s statement.
“Success Weekly is the title of the magazine,” Mama told me quietly once Sheriff Donovan was out of earshot. “Go get Carissa some food and a couple copies of that magazine ‘cause I wanna read it too. Somethin’ upset our girl, and I just ain’t havin’ it. That dumbass sheriff is nothin’ but useless when it comes ta somethin’ like this.”
“Ma…ya don’t need to be dealin’ with this. Let me handle it,” I pleaded with her, knowing she’d ignore me but trying anyway.
“I may not have given birth ta that girl, but she’s as much my daughter as you’re my son. Nobody messes with my family and gets away with it, so get off ya ass and go do what I told ya ta. I’ll handle him,” she told me, and I wanted to either strangle her or lock her away in a room somewhere before she did something that pushed her too far.
“I’ll grab somethin’ from the cafeteria and see if the gift shop has that magazine and be back in a few. Call me if there’s any news before I get back,” I requested before placing a kiss on her temple and getting to my feet. I sent the sheriff a dirty look as I passed him that he completely ignored as he turned around to go retake his seat in the waiting room. I was beginning to wonder how he’d gotten elected in the first place with how helpful he’d been to us lately.
It was on his watch that Carissa had gotten hurt. It was on mine as well, and I knew I’d never forgive myself for dropping the ball in keeping her safe after vowing to do just that. I’d failed her and I knew it. Maybe she’d been right to want to keep running instead of marrying me and trusting me to protect her. I’d already let them get close to her twice, one of which had landed her here in the hospital.
A few minutes later, I found myself in the gift shop, not having remembered how I got there with how lost in my thoughts I’d been. Without hesitation, I went straight to the magazine and book rack and searched for the one I’d been told to find. It took me several passes before I found a copy hidden behind some chick magazine with headlines about makeup tips and some airbrushed model on the cover.
Not waiting to pay for it, I flipped it open and began reading the article, seething with each word my eyes absorbed.
“That no good piece of shit,” I muttered under my breath. Not finishing reading, I closed it, paid and left the store. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what had upset my wife so much she’d risked her safety without thought after reading just the small portion I had.
Deciding to postpone my trip to the cafeteria for a little while, I headed to my truck to finish reading it and plan my next move. She’d been right: her father played dirty. What she didn’t realize was I’d learned how to play dirty too. After all, I was my mother’s son and Karlene’s ex.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Carissa
Apparently, broken bones were a thing today be
cause there was a backup to get in to get an X-ray done to find out how much damage that asshole had done to my ankle and foot when he’d twisted it. All I knew was it was swollen and throbbing, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t get comfortable enough to ease the pain. Being in a wheelchair outside of the X-ray room with an orderly who seemed more interested in flirting with every female near him—me included but quickly shot down with a flash of my wedding bands—than actually helping to refocus my attention from my ankle.
“How much longer is this going to take?” I asked irritably when the orderly was shot down yet again by a stunning woman about twice his age. Hell, even I had to be older than this kid by the looks of him. Unfortunately for him, his mother hadn’t gifted him with attractiveness, but he didn’t seem to let that bother him any.
“As long as it takes, sweet cheeks,” he replied, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance. If he called me one more term of endearment, I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions. This day had already been shitty enough as it was. Dealing with this tool was just too much to ask of anyone.
“Don’t. Call. Me. Sweet. Cheeks,” I bit out angrily. He just grinned at me in return, further sparking my temper.
“What would ya like me ta call ya then? You’ve shot down sweet cheeks, darlin’, honey bun, honey, angel, and muffin already,” he taunted me, and if I could’ve reached far enough, I would’ve slapped the bejeezus out of him for being such a smartass while I was in so much pain. It was as if he didn’t have a compassionate bone in his body.
“What you can do is call your supervisor here to speak to Mrs. Reed,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at the pompous ass who suddenly looked terrified.
“I don’t think we need ta go that far. I’m sorry if I offended ya,” he quickly rushed out, his eyes widening as he apologized. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it.”
“It’s called sexual harassment. I’m sure you’ve been through training on how to avoid that but obviously didn’t pay attention, so please, call your supervisor for me. I’d like to speak to him or her now,” I said, refusing to back down. My pain tolerance threshold was at its limit, and he’d pushed it entirely too far. “I’ve not only endured your insensitivity for my pain and degrading nicknames, but I’ve watched you treat multiple women with the same disregard you’ve treated me.”