by R B Hilliard
The next fifteen minutes were a flurry of activity. Doctors and nurses were in and out and tubes and catheters were removed. My parents were asked to come back in and one of the doctors explained the extent of my injuries.
“The bullet was lodged directly below your left shoulder blade. With a few centimeters difference, it could easily have nicked your heart. You are a very lucky lady.”
My mom let out a gasp and my dad hugged her. Gage squeezed my hand. All the while he kept a straight face so I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“The bullet wound to your calf was not nearly as bad. However, no running until the soft cast comes off.” He chuckled when he said this.
What cast? I pulled back the covers and, sure enough, there on my left leg sat a bright green cast.
“I’ll remove it before you leave the hospital,” he assured. “You lost a lot of blood and I want to keep you here for at least two to three more days.”
The entire time he spoke my eyes were glued on Gage. Endless questions rolled through my head but I was so tired. I don’t remember ever having felt exhaustion like this.
After the doctor left the room, my mom announced that she and my dad were going back to the hotel for a nap and to clean up. They would be back later. They had apparently been at my side for quite some time and really looked worn out.
Nurse Becky rolled in a few minutes later. “I’m going to give you something for the pain, Piper. It will probably make you sleepy but that’s a good thing. Sleep will help the healing process.” I watched her shoot a needle full of something into my IV before she scurried out of the room. My eyes floated back to Gage. He was watching me and I could tell he was concerned.
“What do you need?” he asked. Like a healing balm, his deep, sexy voice washed over me and I wanted to cry. I never thought I would hear that voice again.
“Water,” I rasped. I took two sips and my eyes started to droop. “You didn’t let go.”
I heard his breath catch and felt his lips against my head. “I meant it when I said that I wasn’t letting go, Princess. You’re stuck with me forever.” He then slipped something on my finger. My ring! He must have found it in my bra. I wanted to ask about Ellie, Reyn and Bobby, but the pain medicine was kicking in and I was having trouble thinking straight.
“You found it,” I whispered.
“Sleep, Princess. I’ll be right here when you wake.”
I barely managed to get Ellie’s name out.
“She’s fine, baby. Everyone is fine. Sleep.”
The next time I woke, Joss was sitting next to me. However, I could hear Gage’s voice somewhere in the room.
“He’s filling Dillon in on everything,” Joss explained. “God, Piper, we were so worried.”
“Is she awake?” Gage asked. Finally, my neck decided to obey and I turned my head in his direction and smiled. He headed my way with a grin on his face. “Your parents want some more time with you. Do you want that to happen now or later?” he asked.
“Later,” I whispered, because apparently that’s all my vocal chords would allow at the moment.
Joss glanced at Dillon. He nodded and they stood up. “We’ll leave you two to talk.”
“Don’t go,” I told them.
“You’re not getting rid of us for good. We’ll go join everyone else in the waiting room for a bit and come back later,” she said. I smiled at her and nodded. She smiled back. The tears in her eyes made mine well up. “I want to hug you but I don’t want to hurt you,” she sniffled. “I’m so glad you’re okay and before I make a complete ass of myself I am leaving.” She bolted for the door and I tried not to laugh.
Dillon leaned down and whispered, “Love you, baby cakes.” He planted a kiss on the side of my head.
“Quit telling my fiancé you love her,” Gage growled, taking the seat next to me. He threaded his fingers through mine and glared up at Dillon. Dillon smiled and flipped him the bird as he walked out of the room. Gage laughed. It was good to see them getting along again.
As soon as they were gone, I turned to Gage and asked, “Ellie?” A look rolled across his face that I couldn’t decipher.
“Before we get into all of that, I need to know something. I need to hear it from you.” He brushed his thumb back and forth over my ring. Then he swallowed deeply and nervously raked a hand through his hair. My stomach clinched in anticipation. What seemed like a year later, his eyes returned to mine. “Did Dooley touch you? Because, if he did, we will deal with it, but you have to tell me the truth.” His head dropped to the side of the bed. “Please, tell me he didn’t rape you, please,” he pleaded. My eyes welled up. I can’t imagine the hell that he must have gone through.
I stroked the top of his head. “He didn’t touch me, Cowboy. I swear. With all of the crazy shit that went down, he didn’t get the chance.” I let out a croaky laugh. He tilted his head and looked up at me. “I will fill you in on everything, but first you have to tell me about Ellie.”
He sat up and reached for my hand. When he had it secured in his, he said, “As I’m sure you probably know, by the time we got to you Ellie was in labor. At three this morning she gave birth to a six and a half pound screaming mad baby boy.” Tears rolled down my face. Thank Jesus. Wiping my tears, he continued. “They did not name him Bruiser.” The serious look on his face made me laugh. “They named him Mac Davis McLellan.” Mac McLellan, what a great name. “He and Ellie are both doing great. However, she is worried sick about you. In fact, Max told me that in the middle of labor, she wanted him to break into your room and make sure you were alive. She wanted him to take a picture of you. Until she saw it with her own eyes, she said she wasn’t going to believe it. Of course, he refused, but promised to do it once the baby was born.” That so sounds like Ellie.
“And Reyn?”
“Like you, she bled a lot. They had a hard time finding the bullet because it was lodged in her spleen. They ended up having to remove the spleen. Other damage was done but I’m not sure what. The last I heard, she was in critical condition. The doctors have put her into a medically induced coma to allow her time to heal.”
“I was so scared that she wasn’t going to make it. What about Bobby?”
He laughed and I gave him a questioning look. “According to Bobby, he came to right before Lester and Zeke loaded him into the van.”
“What!” My shout came out as a squeak. I tried to sit up, but the pain and Gage’s hand stopped me.
“Easy, Princess. I don’t want you hurting yourself or ripping stitches.”
“Explain.”
“Lester and Zeke jumped him with Tasers. He went down, but apparently they didn’t use enough juice because he came to right as they loaded him into the van. He said that the fucktards left him untied in the van while they took you three up to the main house. Get this. They took his gun away but not his phone. Figures. He waited until everyone was out of sight before taking off. Once he felt safe enough, he called Garrett and Cas and told them where you were.”
“The rat!” I squeaked.
“The what?”
I explained how Reyn sent the text to Max and that someone had called Dooley and told him that one of us had a phone. A sad look washed over his face and I could tell that he already knew. “Who?” I asked.
“Zippo.”
No!
“Are you sure?”
He was about to answer when we were interrupted by a commotion out in the hall. Then Max barged in.
“Stupid nurses,” he muttered. He took one look at me and let out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank fuck you are okay.”
Smiling, I whispered, “I hear Bruiser is beautiful.”
His eyes narrowed and I held back a laugh. “Mac is handsome. My wife, however, is being a giant pain in my ass. I need to get a picture of you and get back to my boy.” He pulled out his phone and asked, “Do you think you can make that happen?”
“Sure. Gage, get up here with me.”
“Why?”
; “For the picture, dummy.”
“This doesn’t have to be a production, sweetheart,” Max complained, “I can just snap a quick one of you and run.”
I gave him my best bitch stare and asked, “Do you want a picture or not?”
“You heard her! Get your ass up there,” he told Gage.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Princess.”
“I’m only hurt on one side,” I told him, patting my hand on the uninjured side of the bed.” He ditched his cowboy boots and crawled onto the bed. Then he wrapped his arm around me and we smiled for the camera.”
Max shot the picture, stalked over and kissed the side of my head. “It would have killed her if she had lost you,” he quietly said.
My eyes welled. “I know.”
His eyes studied my face. “She said you saved her life.”
“She was so brave, Max. For the record, we saved each other.” Gage pulled me in and hugged me to his chest.
“Thank you, beautiful girl. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Max whispered in my ear. Then he kissed the side of my head again, said he’d be back later and was gone.
Gage let me cry for a while. When it looked like I wasn’t going to be able to stop, he called the nurse in and she put something in my IV. Five minutes later, I was out.
A strange noise woke me. I was lying on my good side. Gage’s warmth was gone so I knew that he was no longer beside me. I opened my eyes and searched the room. Nothing. Then the strange noise happened again. Please don’t let it be anything bad.
“Gage,” I whispered.
“Piper? Are you awake?”
Ellie! I rolled to my back and tried not to yell as pain seared through my shoulder.
“Do you need the nurse?”
“No, I’m good. Just give me a second.”
“The nurse let me visit and the second I got in here, the little pig decided he wanted to eat again. I didn’t want him to wake you, so I gave in,” she complained. “Let me change his nasty diaper before I bring him over to you.” Reaching down beside me, I grabbed the remote and lifted the bed up to a sitting position. “They don’t want me to feed on command, but if I don’t, he throws a screaming fit,” she explained. “When that happens, Max flips out. “How dare you let my son cry,” she mocked.
One minute I was sitting there watching her change Mac’s diaper and the next I was sobbing into my hands.
“Piper? Oh god, are you in pain? You said you didn’t need the nurse!” I shook my head and continued to cry. Flipping the baby onto her shoulder she headed my way. “Lower the bed some,” she commanded and I lowered it a few inches. “Now, make an arm cradle, like this.” I followed her example and she set baby Mac into my makeshift cradle before lowering herself onto the bed beside me. Once Ellie was settled, she wrapped her arms around both of us and rested her head on my good shoulder. I stared down at the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.
“How bad was it?” I asked.
She snorted. “Let me put it this way, it would have been a hell of a lot worse had he made it to eleven pounds.”
“When I saw that your water broke, I…” I felt as if I had an elephant-sized lump in my throat.
“I know. It scared me too. They put Reyn in a coma,” she whispered.
“I know.” Mac let out a little baby yawn and I smiled. “He’s beautiful, Ellie.”
“I was so scared, Piper.”
“Me too…He has Max’s dark hair.”
“I thought you were going to die.”
“Me too…and his dark skin.”
“Zeke would have killed me had you not stopped him.” Right as she said that, Mac opened his eyes. They were brown but I bet in a few months they would be a glorious shade of blue, just like Max’s.
“I know…I bet he will also have Max’s blue eyes.” We sat there and stared down at Mac, who stared back at us in return.
“He doesn’t look anything like me does he?” she asked. She sounded so defeated by this that I couldn’t help but giggle.
“No,” I snorted. This made her giggle and soon we were both laughing so hard we were crying.
Proud Papa Bear would pick that moment to walk in on us. Trailing behind him were Gage, Cas, Garrett, Dillon, my dad, Ellie’s dad, Bobby and a police officer.
“Bobby!” Ellie and I both shouted. The sudden sound scared baby Mac and he broke into loud wails.
Max strutted over, plucked Mac from me and nestled him into the cradle of his arms. Mac immediately stopped crying. Ellie looked from Max to me and rolled her eyes.
“Just because you gave me my son doesn’t mean I won’t spank you,” he told her.
Her eyes shot to my dad and then to hers and widened in embarrassment. “Max!” she hissed.
Her dad shook his head and laughed.
Gage sat in the chair beside me and took my hand. “We need to hear what happened, Princess,” he said. We can wait if you need…”
“No,” we both said, cutting him off.
“I can only speak for myself, but once we have this discussion, I never want to talk about this again, okay?” I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy but for now it would have to be enough.
“Me either,” Ellie agreed. “It’s over, so let’s make it so.”
One by one, everyone nodded in agreement.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ellie, Piper, this is Officer Galvez. He would like to ask you some questions. Later, when you’re up to it, you can give him your full sworn statements,” Garrett said. Ellie scooted closer and tucked her arm through mine. Max pulled a chair over beside Ellie and sat. Mac was fast asleep and nestled in the safety of his daddy’s arms. I envied him. There were times that I wondered if I would ever feel safe again.
“First of all, I want to say that you two ladies were very brave,” Officer Galvez said as he pulled out a notebook and pen. “I know this might be difficult, but I need you both to think back to the point in time you were kidnapped and walk me through everything that happened that day? Do you think you could do that for me?”
We both nodded. Ellie began by telling him about the grocery store and pickle picking. Anytime one of us paused in telling the story, the other picked it up. The hardest part was telling it in front of Gage and Max. At one point, Gage stood up and started pacing around the room. At another, Max handed Ellie the baby before punching the wall. Finally, after an hour and a half of describing the events and answering questions, we came to the end and Ellie posed the question we both dreaded. “How long until we have to testify?” The whole room tensed.
Officer Galvez’s eyes darted to Max and Gage. “You didn’t tell them?”
“We were told not to,” Max said.
“Oh, well, okay.” He glanced back at the two of us. “There will be no trial because there are no suspects,” he told us.
“What!” Ellie screeched. Baby Mac, who had been fast asleep in her arms, jerked awake and started wailing. Max grabbed him and he immediately settled down.
“What do you mean there are no suspects?” I asked.
“They’re all dead,” Cas said. Leave it up to Cas to tell it like it is.
“Zeke and Selina may be dead, but Dooley and Lester are very much alive and out there somewhere!” I rubbed my hand across my chest to calm the panic.
Gage reached for my hand. When he had it secured in his, he explained, “Dooley and Lester were cornered and fired on the police, Princess. In return, they were killed.”
“They’re dead?” Ellie asked.
“They are,” Officer Galvez assured.
“What about Zippo?” I asked.
“And Gary?” Ellie added.
Gage cleared his throat before answering. I knew that this had to be incredibly hard for him. After all, Zippo was his friend. “A week or so before the shower, Zippo and I were talking and he said something about Buck that didn’t jive with what he had told Garrett. I sat on it for a day before calling Buck to see if he was thinking about taking the job.” His e
yes lifted from our joined hands to my face. “Zip never called Buck.” Ellie gasped beside me. “Buck did go back to Texas but it was only to finish the two jobs he had already started,” he continued. “Then he quit for good and went home to take care of his dying mother.”
“I’m confused. Did he or did he not keep tabs on Reyn? I asked.
“Buck was in Texas to collect a paycheck, but Dooley wouldn’t give it to him unless he agreed to watch Reyn until Dooley returned from Mexico.”
“So Dooley was in Mexico?” Ellie asked.
“He was, briefly,” Cas responded.
“Gage came to me with his concerns,” Max said, “and we took them straight to Garrett, Cas, and Bobby.”
“Is that what the meeting at our house was about?” Ellie asked and he nodded. Sneaky boys.
“The guys wanted us to keep Zip in the loop but only feed him partial truths,” Gage said.
“We suspected that Dooley might not be in Mexico the morning of the shower,” Cas said, “but we didn’t have enough time or information to act on it.”
“Is that why you stayed and Bobby took protection detail that day?” I asked.
“Yes and no. I was monitoring the computers while Garrett tracked Zippo’s every move,” he answered.
“Cas was working on locating Selina, Lester, and Dooley. He needed to stay on that, so I took his detail,” Bobby explained. “I am really sorry that I let them get the jump on me.”
“Selina or Zeke could have killed you. I’m glad it happened the way it did.” Ellie said in attempt to comfort him. I nodded my head in agreement.
“Hiding the ring and nail file in your bra was a smart move.” Bobby told me with a laugh.
“When did you figure out that Zip was playing you?” I asked.
“Zip was in the room when Max got the text from Reyn,” Garrett answered. “I had been monitoring all calls in and out of the garage and, not two minutes after that text came in, Zippo claimed he had to meet with a supplier about some parts. Not a minute later he was dialing out to an unknown number. That’s when Cas and I questioned him.”