by Claire Adams
I looked up at Marco and tried my best to look him in the eyes. Something had changed in him when he thought I was lying to him, though. He didn’t look at me as the friends we use to be. Instead, he looked at me like a man he wanted to destroy in order to save himself.
Perhaps, Jose thought that Marco had stolen the notebook?
If that was the case, then Marco was desperate to find the person who really took it. He probably didn’t care at all what he had to do to me or anyone else if it meant that he wouldn’t be killed by Jose.
I understood his dilemma. It was exactly the same reason that I had stolen the book in the first place. Protecting ourselves and our families was far more important than anyone else. I understood entirely, but I hoped he also did when I wouldn’t tell him any more information.
“Chase, you know we will come back and kill you if we find out you have the notebook,” Marco said as he stood over me.
“Yes, I know. Don’t you think I would have given it to you by now if I had it?”
“I don’t know if you have it or not. I’m just warning you that it will not end well if it turns out you have it, and I walked away from you.”
I knew very well that things were not going to end well for me if I didn’t come up with a better plan. Marco and Jose were certainly not going to settle for me just saying that I didn’t have the book. Sooner or later, they were going to start torturing me in order to get it from me. They were going to torture anyone and everyone who could possibly have come in contact with that book.
Marco looked so torn between who he wanted to be and who he needed to be at that moment. I never thought working for Escabar had been a choice he wanted to make; it was the first time I realized I was right. Marco looked scared. His face showed more fear than I had ever seen from him. He wasn’t just following some orders from Jose; Marco was stuck in his job and probably had no way of getting out.
Once Jose decided that he liked Marco, Marco was stuck working for him for the rest of his life. I hadn’t heard of anyone who ever stopped working for Jose Escabar. They either worked for him forever or they ended up having some sort of freak “accident.”
Marco didn’t like working for Jose any more than I liked borrowing money from him. But sometimes, circumstances took control of our lives and we had to do things we didn’t want to do. I knew if push came to shove, Marco would take me out to save himself. I just hoped things wouldn’t come to that.
Luckily, Marco and his two thugs finally left, and I closed my eyes for a minute as I tried to catch my breath.
My body was sweaty, and I couldn’t breathe. I also couldn’t get myself to move and get up off of the ground. I wanted to get myself pulled together before I opened the safe and had to talk to Jordan.
“Chase,” I heard her say from the safe room.
I took a couple deep breaths and tried to pull myself up so I could open the door. I knew I couldn’t tell her the whole story. She would run as fast as she could away from me. No woman would want to be with a man who had gotten himself into the kind of trouble I was in. I needed to just tell her as little as possible.
It was weird how connected to Jordan I already felt. I liked her a lot, and I didn’t want her to have to deal with all this stuff. I was going to have to keep the details of everything to myself if I wanted to keep trying to work on things with her.
She was probably so terrified in that safe during the attack. The gunshots at the front door. The yelling. Me screaming in pain as I had been kicked.
I had to figure out a way to explain things to her without freaking her out. It was going to be pretty hard, though, especially considering I couldn’t even move at that moment.
She hadn’t gotten herself into this mess on purpose. I knew she wasn’t the kind of girl who hung around thugs like these guys. It was more than she would want. I bet she was in the safe room crying and rocking in the corner. I felt so bad, yet I had to open the door and deal with her sadness. I had to wrap my arms around her and try to pretend like everything was fine and I wasn’t hurt at all.
Slowly, I opened the door and was prepared to find her crying in the corner. But instead, as I opened the door, about to say the word unicorn, Jordan swung at me and slapped me across the face. Then, she walked right past me to her room and started to pack her things up.
“Shit, Jordan. Why did you do that?” I said as I hobbled behind her.
“You took that man's book and now he wants it back. Why wouldn’t you give it to him?”
“It’s a long story, Jordan. It’s not as simple as it sounds.”
“You were willing to risk my life over some black book?”
“No. Not at all, that was why I had you go into the safe room. I was protecting you.”
She didn’t seem impressed at all by my statement that I was trying to protect her. Instead, she continued to pack her things into her suitcase.
“What were you protecting me from, Chase?”
I leaned up against the doorway and tried to decide how I should answer her question. I couldn’t exactly tell her the whole story; surely, she would leave me, then. But how much of the story could I tell her and have her still stay?
“I…uh…”
“Forget it. If you’re just going to make something up, I don’t want to hear it,” she said as she put her suitcase on the ground and started toward the door.
I wanted to follow her, but my legs were getting weak and I couldn’t get a breath in. I felt the sweat pouring from my face, and the room started to spin around more than I could handle. I tried to yell out for her, but the pain was so sharp and stabbing that I couldn’t catch my breath.
Slowly, I held onto the wall and made my way to the front room where I saw Jordan looking at the bullet holes in the front door.
I tried to talk, but the words just wouldn’t come. The room was spinning, and I finally closed my eyes to avoid getting sick from the dizziness.
I felt myself falling. It seemed like some sort of dream or nightmare, and I couldn’t feel anything anymore.
Chapter Twelve
Jordan
As I watched Chase collapse to the ground, I knew I needed to get him to a hospital as soon as possible. His breathing was shallow, and I was pretty sure he had broken a few ribs. The dangerous thing was that one of those ribs could have punctured his lung, which was why it was hard for him to breathe.
The pain had probably been what caused him to pass out, or the lack of oxygen; either way he needed an x-ray to see where those ribs were at. If they were just broken and not puncturing any organs, then he would just need to rest in order to heal. But if his lung was punctured, Chase was going to need emergency surgery. Instead of moving him, I just put a pillow under his head and another under his feet.
“Chase,” I said as I touched his face. “Chase, are you alright?”
“Ugh,” he moaned.
“I’m going to call for an ambulance. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“No, I’m fine. Don’t call anyone.”
“Chase, you need help. I don’t know if your ribs have punctured any organs. You could die if we don’t get you some help.”
He just looked up at me, and he seemed so vulnerable. He did not look like the confident and cocky man I had talked to over Skype just a few days before. But whatever was going on with him, I still needed to get him some help.
“I’m all right, just some bruised ribs, no big deal,” he said as he tried to stand up.
I watched as he winced in pain and then laid right back down.
“You need an x-ray.”
“You’re a nurse, Jordan. You can take care of me. We don’t need to involve the hospital in all of this.”
“Here’s the deal, Chase. One of those ribs could have punctured your lungs. I am a nurse, and I know enough to know you need an x-ray. Now, I can either call for an ambulance or I can drive you to the hospital. It’s your choice, but you’re going to get an x-ray.”
I knew the look in my
eye told him that I wasn’t messing around at all. With my training, I knew when something could be life threatening, and I wasn’t about to ignore the threat of his broken ribs to his health.
“Fine, you can take me. But just an x-ray, I’m not staying. I need to get to work.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his words. He couldn’t even get up off the floor, yet he wanted to go into work. He seemed way more dedicated to work than I thought he was.
“Let’s see what the doctor has to say.”
I grabbed his car keys off of the counter and went back to help him stand up. He seemed to be moving around a little better, but I could still tell it was hard to breathe. On a positive note, I didn’t hear gurgling when he breathed, so maybe his lungs weren’t punctured. It was entirely possible he had just cracked his ribs. They would still be causing him a lot of pain and could still contribute to him having a hard time breathing.
“Do you know how to drive a stick?” Chase asked me.
“Of course,” I said confidently.
The truth was, I was much more worried about figuring out how to navigate the streets of America than I was about the clutch of his car. I didn’t even like to drive in Liechtenstein, so I knew the traffic of Atlanta was not going to be something I liked at all.
I helped Chase into the car and then went around to the other side. His car was nicer than anything I had ever driven before, and I was instantly afraid that I would crash it or get into some sort of accident on our way. But there was no choice; he surely couldn’t drive and I wasn’t going to let him get out of going to the doctor.
He guided me along our route using the side roads since I was too afraid to get onto the freeway. It only took us about fifteen minutes and we arrived at the hospital. As I helped him into the sliding glass doors, a nurse came up to us almost instantly. I had to assume it was because he was dressed in such an expensive suit. Or perhaps, she thought he was shot by the way he grabbed his stomach and hunched over.
Whatever the reason was, the nurse took him and got him into a wheelchair and back into a room rather quickly. I followed right behind, but didn’t say much.
“What’s going on today, sir?” the nurse asked him.
“I need an x-ray. I think I have a broken rib.”
“Okay, can you tell me what happened?”
“I got punched.”
I waited for Chase to explain a little more about what happened, and it looked like the nurse was waiting, as well. But he didn’t continue on with his story at all. Instead, he was silent and just looked at the nurse.
“Okay, I’ll have the doctor come visit with you shortly. Are you having trouble breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let me get this oxygen on you for now.”
The nurse was efficient and had Chase out of his suit shirt and hooked up to oxygen in under two minutes. I just sat off to the side and waited patiently.
“I’m sorry, Jordan,” Chase said as he lay in the hospital bed.
“What for?”
“All of it. This isn’t how I wanted you to see me.”
“Well, if you want me to stick around, you are going to need to tell me exactly what is going on.”
“Okay.”
Chase closed his eyes for a minute and looked like he was just about to tell me everything when the doctor came in.
“Mr. Foster, I’m Doctor Jones. Tell me what happened.”
“I got punched.”
The doctor looked at Chase and then over at me as he waited for the rest of the story. When he was sure that Chase wasn’t going to elaborate, Dr. Jones moved on to examining his patient.
“Tell me where it hurts,” the doctor said as he started to press on Chase’s ribs.
“Fuck, yes, there…it hurts there,” he said at the first spot the doctor touched.
Instead of continuing, the doctor ordered the x-ray and then went to talk with the nurse. He seemed more concerned after he talked with her, and they looked at the chart that was in front of them. I really didn’t know what they were looking at that could have had them so concerned, but whatever it was seemed to get Chase into the x-ray rather quickly. Before we knew it, he was done and back to the room.
The doctor came in with the nurse about fifteen minutes later. He had a dire look on his face, and I had to hold back from trying to ask any questions.
“Do you want to tell me what really happened, Chase?” Dr. Jones asked.
“I think we can move forward. What’s the prognosis, Doc?”
“Well, you have two broken ribs and four fractured ribs. Luckily, none of them are loose or in danger of puncturing any of your organs. You will be really sore for a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months. But if you take it easy, everything should heal.”
I was relieved at the news, but shocked at how many fractured and broken ribs Chase had. It was amazing to me that he was even able to move.
“Thanks, Doc,” Chase said as he started to unhook himself and move to stand up.
“Just a minute, Chase. I’d really like you to stay here overnight just to make sure everything is all right. Your oxygen saturation is really low, and we need to get you some pain medications that won’t reduce your respirations.”
“You’re just trying to get me to stay because you know my father.”
“Yes, I know your dad, but that’s not why I think you should stay. You could stop breathing, with the combination of pain medication and your low oxygen rate. I can’t let you leave, Chase.”
“So, I won’t take pain medication. Problem solved.”
Chase continued to stand up and grabbed his shirt and started to put it back on.
“Is there any medication you would feel comfortable with him taking? I am a nurse, I could check his respirations if needed.”
“The problem will be when he is sleeping. So, no, I can’t give much for the pain. I could give some Toradol. That would be about it.”
“I’ll take it,” Chase said as he continued to get dressed.
“Toradol won’t have any side effects?” I asked the doctor.
“It’s safe, but it won’t take away much of the pain. You can also give him ibuprofen. But they are nothing like the pain relief he could get from narcotics.”
“I’ll be fine, let’s just get going.”
Chase had finished putting on his clothes and was standing and ready to go. There wasn’t anything that was going to convince him to stay in that hospital overnight. I could see it in his eyes.
“I’ll get you a prescription for the Toradol.”
My eyes stayed glued on Chase, as we sat and waited for the prescription so we could leave. I didn’t know what to do. He was obviously in over his head with whoever those men were, but he still hadn’t told me a single thing about what was going on.
As we drove home, I still needed Chase to tell me where to turn and how to get there. I did notice a grocery store close to his house, though, and I thought I could take his prescription there to get it filled.
“So, do you want to tell me what is going on?” I asked.
“Maybe after we get my pain medication?”
I could tell Chase was in a lot of pain, and I hoped the Toradol would be useful at least a little bit for him.
“I’ll drop you off and get you settled, then I can go get your medicine. Will they let me pick it up for you?”
“Yes, I’ll call the pharmacy. It’s that store we just passed.”
I felt Chase moan in pain as I walked with him into the house. I had never seen a man in so much pain before, and I couldn’t help but feel for him. Since my nursing school graduation, I had been relegated to taking blood vital signs mostly. He was a strong guy who didn’t look like much could make him wince, but broken ribs certainly did.
“Do you need anything else from the store?” I asked as I settled him into his bed.
“Ice cream and vodka.” He laughed.
“Deal.”
“Get in my wallet and grab some
cash,” he said as he pointed to his dresser.
His wallet was filled with money, so I just grabbed a couple of twenties and headed out to the store.
It was a huge building. Bigger than any grocery store I had ever seen, but I was prepared for what I was going to see. I had watched so many American television shows, it was hard not to know about the giant grocery stores that populated the country.
At least, I thought I was prepared, until I got inside the front door and saw over twenty aisles of food. It was amazing. My mouth literally dropped open as I looked at all the choices. Everything had several options. You could choose from eight different kinds of chicken soup!
I walked up and down the aisles for at least twenty minutes, looking at all the food and trying to make some decisions about what I should buy. I had never been faced with such a wide array of food choices – I instantly saw why Americans were overweight. I suspected I would be too in a very short time.
“You look overwhelmed,” a young woman said as she stood next to me in the ice cream aisle.
“I am.” I laughed. “I’ve never seen so much ice cream in my life.”
“You’re not from around here, are you?” she asked with a smile.
“No, I’m from Europe.”
It was easier to just say Europe than it was to try and describe exactly where it was that I was from. No one ever thought I was telling the truth when I said I was from a place called Liechtenstein.
“Hi, I’m Salina. My boyfriend Salvador is around here somewhere. We are pretty new in town ourselves.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jordan.”
“I’d go with the cookie dough if it was up to me. It’s my favorite.”
I reached in and grabbed the container of cookie dough ice cream. I had no idea which one to try, so her suggestion was just what I needed to make a decision.
“Thanks. My friend is sick and I’m just getting some stuff for him.”
“Oh, I know how that goes. I’m always taking care of my sick friends.”
“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” a man said from the end of the aisle.
“Sorry, Salvador. I got distracted by the ice cream,” Salina said.