by Elle Boon
Hal turned to look at the police woman. “It’s a promise, not a threat. I’ll see you at the hospital.” He nodded at the paramedic.
“How about if I give you a ride? To the hospital, not the station, scouts honor.”
With a jerk of his head, Hal picked up his bloody shirts from where they’d been under Felicity’s body. He shook them out and looked at them.
“Those are evidence, Mr. Aldridge.” One of the other officer’s tried to stop him from taking his clothes.
“I used them to prop her up so she wouldn’t choke on her own blood. Why would they beat her so severely?” Hal didn’t expect an answer.
The woman officer led the way to her car, speaking in low tones. “We’ve had a string of similar attacks in the area. Usually the vic is not so lucky, though.”
“Excuse me? Did you see her face, or what was left of it? There is probably not enough plastic surgery in the world to fix the damage done to her.” And that was the thing that bothered him the most. While she wasn’t beautiful in the classic sense, he felt a connection to her. Her green eyes had such trust and intelligence that even the camera couldn’t hide.
She waited for him to buckle up before pulling onto the road. “Oh, hun, this is Beverly Hills. Believe me, if she has money, she can get anything fixed, and be good as new.”
Hal looked at the woman driving with such surety. Her name tag said Coleman. He hoped he never became quite so jaded. Even if Felicity was able to get all the corrective surgery to heal the outward scars, he wondered if her inner wounds could be fixed as easily.
Hal slapped the dash, making the lady cop jump. “Shit, who will call her next of kin?”
Officer Coleman patted his thigh. “You really are one of the good guys aren’t you, Aldridge.”
He couldn’t imagine the phone call that was to come to her parents. Not even eight o’clock on a Sunday night, and you think your child is safe from the evils of the world, only to get a phone call saying just the opposite.
“Shit, one of them got away. A female. She said they made her do it, and then I got distracted when I realized Felicity wasn’t…well…I turned my back on the female and she ran off. There was something about her, though, that didn’t scream victim to me.”
Coleman nodded her head. “Since we have two of the others, who hopefully aren’t injured too badly.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye before continuing. “Maybe they’ll give her identity up.”
They followed the ambulance, with the sirens and lights flashing, all the way to the nearest hospital. Hal was pushed to the side while they wheeled Felicity in. The ER team seemed efficient and quickly called in a plastic surgeon. Hal listened and waited for Brax. He knew his captain could get a lot more information than he ever could, and for some reason it was immensely important that he knew everything about Felicity.
After a few hours, a couple walked in looking like they were worth millions of dollars. Hal ignored them, assuming they were there to see someone else.
“Excuse me, are you the young man who saved our girl?”
Hal’s head shot up at the cultured voice. He got to his feet. “Hello, ma’am. Are you Felicity’s parents?” The woman looked nothing like the woman he’d rescued. Neither did the man, but that didn’t mean they weren’t related.
“Yes, my name is Felicia, and this is my husband, Rand. We owe you so much for saving our baby.”
Rand and Felicia looked like supermodels.
Hal stuck his hand out and was surprised by the strong grip Rand had. Felicia looked at his hand and threw her arms around his waist. He looked over her head at Felicity’s dad and saw tears in the older man’s eyes. Both of the Evans clearly loved their daughter very much. Hal hugged Felicia and waited for her hiccupping cries to subside.
“Have you heard anything about her condition? They won’t tell me anything because I’m not family.”
“You’re family now, son,” Rand said firmly.
Hal wondered where they’d been, but didn’t question what had taken them so long to get there. He watched Felicia walk to the desk with her husband next to her. Both with their backs straight as pins. Felicity’s mother turned to Rand and murmured oh thank God, and then she broke down into tears again. He felt like a voyeur.
The wait for them to return was the longest three minutes of his life, but he made himself stand still instead of going to them and demanding information. Rand tilted his wife’s face up and brushed her tears away with his thumbs, and then he nodded in Hal’s direction. Luckily, he’d been given a shirt from Officer Coleman’s workout bag. The woman kept a spare change of clothes, and liked men’s T-shirts instead of women’s. Why he was worried about being shirtless in front of these people, he had no clue, but there was something that made him want to impress them.
“They have her in a medically induced coma and stopped the bleeding. The doctors don’t believe there’s any brain damage, but won’t know until all the swelling goes down. There’s extensive damage to her…fa…face. She’s going to need a lot of surgeries, and even then they don’t know…oh my poor baby.” Felicia buried her face in Rand’s chest again.
Rand held Felicia closer. “They didn’t rape her. There’s no evidence of that atrocity. Now, we will just go one day at a time. She will have the best that money can buy.”
Hal nodded, but knew all the money in the world couldn’t blot out the physical and mental pain that she’d already suffered, and what was sure to come. He breathed a relieved sigh that at least he’d gotten there before they’d been able to rape her.
“How long will they keep her in the coma?” Hal asked.
“A couple weeks probably.” Rand soothed his wife as she cried at his words.
“It will give her body a chance to heal.” Hal wasn’t sure who he was reassuring, them or himself. He was in California on vacation, and hadn’t planned to stay for more than a couple extra days of sun and surfing with his buddies. Looks like he would be staying a little longer.
“Give us your information,” Rand said.
Hal pulled out his card, handing it over without hesitation. A commotion down the hall had them all turning to see Brax coming their way.
“That’s my buddy, Brax. I called him when I wasn’t sure what was going on. He’s my captain.”
Mr. Evans studied the card. “SmokeJumper huh?”
With a nod, Hal waited for Brax. He made the introductions, and saw Brax’s eyebrows rise. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the obvious wealth or because of the too small T-shirt he had on.
“I’ve spoken with the Chief of Police. Your leather jacket, along with your shirts, are being released since they aren’t considered evidence any longer. The one man who was killed, pardon my frank talk ma’am, has a rap sheet longer than my leg, and his fingerprints match those on one of the other victims. The other two are going to live, although I’m not sure how much they’ll be good to society. They keep murmuring and rocking back and forth, or so I’m told. I think their brains are scrambled. Again, their fingerprints are all over several other victims, and they are running other bodily fluids to see if they match as well.” Brax coughed and looked away.
“Its okay, Felicity wasn’t raped.” Hal slapped him on the back, making him stagger forward.
“Easy, boy. Remember your strength.” Brax grimaced.
“Oofta, sorry.” Hal ran his hand over his face. He hadn’t realized how worried he was, or how much he depended on Brax.
Chapter Two
Everything hurt. That was the first thing to register in Felicity’s fogged mind. She must not be dead then. God, she wasn’t sure if it was good, or bad, to be alive. The constant beeping hurt her ears, but at least she knew she wasn’t deaf. Lights seemed to swirl behind her closed eyelids, but it felt like heavy weights weighed them down. She tried to reach up and touch her face. Oh, sweet agony, pain shot through her entire body. As she tried to scream, she realized she couldn’t. Her mouth wouldn’t move.
T
he thought she was being held in some torture chamber made her thrash about, searing pain coursing through every fiber of her being. The beeping machines began sounding off alarms. She thought the attackers must’ve set up some sort of security system to keep her locked up. Felicity started crying behind the blindfold. The noises she made were one of a wounded animal, but she wanted out. If she could just get up.
She heard the door swoosh open.
“Ma petite, calm down. You’re safe.”
Hearing the deep baritone voice made her heart slow down. She wanted to ask him to help her escape, and then the sound of running feet interrupted her thoughts.
“Mr. Aldridge, we need you to let us settle her back down. She’s knocked out one of her IV’s and some leads from her monitors.” Felicity jerked at the female voice coming from her side.
“Why wasn’t someone in here with her?” He growled.
“Her nurse just stepped out to go to the ladies room.”
A large warm hand smoothed down her arm, completely contrasting to the anger in the male voice. “She’s supposed to have round the clock care. That means someone is in here with her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I do believe that is what her parents set up, correct? Had I not come in when I did, she’d have been face first on the floor. Do you know the damage she could have done to herself?”
Felicity shivered. He sounded like he cared about her well-being. She didn’t think he was one of the attackers.
Blackness began to take her away, and she almost wanted to fight it, just to stay with the man they called Mr. Aldridge. The pain became too much and she welcomed the medication as it coursed through her system. Letting it take her back to where she didn’t feel, didn’t hear, or didn’t see anything. She prayed the next time she woke there was no pain, and that the man with the delicious voice was there.
* * * *
Hal was ready to rip the hospital and its staff apart. For fucksake, they couldn’t even keep watch on one patient. Felicity had just woken from a medically induced coma less than twenty-four hours ago, and already she was fighting to get free. He pulled his phone out, dialing Mr. Evans cell number.
“Hal, how are you doing?” Mr. Evans answered, clearly happy to hear from him. He hated to give the older man bad news.
Running his hand over his bristled jaw, Hal took a deep breath. “I’ve been better, sir. You need to move Felicity to a private facility, or hire a private nurse. I’m sorry to say, had I not shown up when I did, your daughter would be face down on the tile floor, undoing all the surgery she’s gone through.”
“What the hell are you talking about, son?” He asked angrily.
He explained what had happened. The pitiful sounds she’d made still rang in his ears. Mr. Evans assured him he’d have it taken care of, and Hal knew Rand was a man of his word.
It had been two weeks since he’d found her beaten, and he still shuddered, remembering the image of what her face had looked like. Covered in blood and having no true shape anymore, thanks to the bastard Hal had killed, she had been minutes from dying, Hal was sure. From what he’d read from the other victims reports, the monsters would have continued with their torture of her body.
He walked back into Felicity’s room after disconnecting the call. She was hooked up to half a dozen monitors and had more tubes running out of her than he cared to count, but what bothered him the most was the bandages. Her entire head was wrapped in white gauze. Even her eyes had been covered, keeping the light from filtering into her newly made eyelids while she was sleeping.
They estimated she’d been hit no less than six times on each side of her face, shattering her jaws, her cheekbones and her right eye socket along with her nose. The attacker had worn a ring with spikes that tore into her flesh as he’d pummeled her.
“I didn’t think she’d wake up, and especially didn’t think she’d try to get out of bed. I’m so very sorry, sir.”
Hal looked down at a small, young nurse. He concluded she was the one who’d gone off to use the ladies room, leaving Felicity alone. She stood wringing her hands, and he could tell she was truly remorseful, and he felt like a dick, but this was his…his what?
“It’s very important she not be left alone. First of all, one of her attackers is still at large. Second, she could have been seriously injured. If you need to leave you call for backup. We clear?” He looked her in the eye and watched her swallow and nod.
“Absolutely. We aren’t in danger though, are we? I mean by the people responsible for doing this to her?” She waved toward Felicity.
He shook his head. “The doctors don’t believe she will have any memory, and even if she did, I couldn’t tell you what they looked like, so I can’t imagine she could either. Why don’t you take your lunch break? I’m going to be here for a couple hours.”
His vacation was officially over due to a wildfire in Texas. His team had been called in, leaving him no other choice but to fly out. Sitting next to the bed, he placed his hand over her much smaller one. The difference in their sizes were stark in the white room. Her nails had been broken and bloody when she’d been brought into the hospital. In the last two weeks someone had come in and painted them a soft pink, probably her mother. He rubbed his callused fingers over the tips and marveled at the blue veins running up her arms from each hand. Hal didn’t know how she’d survived such a beating with such delicate fingers.
Rage threatened to consume him, his berserker closer to the surface anytime he thought of her attack. He took a deep breath and then let it out. Time passed by while he concentrated on soothing his inner beast, and holding onto Felicity. He swore he felt her in his mind, calming him as well. Wishful thinking, but it seemed to bring him back down unlike anything else. He’d never felt as out of control as he’d been since the night she’d been attacked. His sleep had been in small increments, waking from a nightmare he swore wasn’t his own. The need to check on Felicity rode him so hard after one of the dreams, he would jump in the shower and be at the hospital before visiting hours. The Evans money was the only reason he’d been allowed to come and go as he pleased. Now, he didn’t know how he’d function, being unable to visit her daily. Maybe the distance would be good for him.
“I’m leaving today, ma petite. I have to go back to work. There’s a huge fire down in Texas. My team’s been called in since they couldn’t contain it. We have a special set of skills,” Hal said and then looked up when her monitor beeped as if something happened.
The door swooshed open, its sound one he’d gotten used to. Hal didn’t turn from looking down at the hand he held.
“Hi, Hal. I heard my baby gave you quite the scare today.” Mrs. Evans kissed the top of his head.
Hal smiled at Felicity’s mother. “That’s putting it a bit mildly. How are you, Mrs. Evans?”
She straightened her designer jacket. “Well, now that I’m aware there are deficiencies here, I will be making plans to move my daughter to a better facility. We’d had plans to do so, but wanted to wait until she’d woken from the coma. Clearly, she’s out of the danger zone. My husband and I are looking at options.”
He watched her walk to the other side of the bed and wince at the prone form of her daughter. Mrs. Evans picked up Felicity’s hand and bent to place a gentle kiss on the only uninjured part she could find. He was amazed the woman didn’t seem to mind touching her less than perfect daughter.
“I got called out on a fire. I’m leaving for Texas in less than six hours. My cell will be with me except when I’m in the middle of a hotspot or the zone. I’ll check my messages when I get back to base and call you when I can for an update on her status.”
Mrs. Evans shook her head. “Hal, while I appreciate what you did for my daughter, and my family, we knew you had to leave at some point. I’m glad you were here as long as you were, but please don’t feel it’s necessary. You don’t even know Fliss. You don’t know that is her nickname, or that her favorite color is rainbow. Such a silly thing for a girl to say
. But there you have it. That’s my Fliss.” She wiped away a tear and smiled across at him. “I’ll tell her about the big blond Viking who saved her life, and therefore mine. If she wants to contact you, I’ll give her your information.”
Hal felt like someone stabbed him in the heart and was twisting the knife. If Felicity wanted to contact him her mother would give her his information. He was to leave and hope and pray to get a phone call someday. He didn’t even know what the sound of her voice was like.
He didn’t trust himself to say anything, wasn’t sure his own voice wouldn’t crack, so he nodded. Hal realized he still held Felicity’s hand. It seemed like her fingers had tightened around his, but the doctors had said the nerves twitched and that was a normal phenomenon. He didn’t think to question the fact she was no longer in a coma, and that her nerves were no longer trying to come back on board because they were already awake. He gave the delicate fingers another squeeze and bent his head, his blond hair blocking his view of her mother. He kissed her bruised knuckles, a tear he fought to keep back dropped onto her hand. Hal rubbed the moisture into her skin, careful his salty tear didn’t touch any of her wounds.
“Goodbye, ma petite. I will see you again.” Hal released her hand and walked out the door, hearing the swooshing sound of the door close behind him seemed like the finale to a movie. He wanted to punch a hole in the wall, go back and break the door down so he didn’t have to hear that sound again. Hal didn’t do either of those. He put one foot in front of the other and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Brax, I need you man. I feel like I’m dying here. You need to do that mind bending shit you do so I won’t remember her.”
“Slow down, Hal. What’s going on?” The sound of fabric shifting could be heard.
Hal explained how Mrs. Evans told him to leave and not come back.