Commanding Casey

by Nicolina Martin

  “I’m ready,” I gasp as I come back out and pull on my boots. “Please.”

  In the stairs we meet more cops who stand to the side to let us pass.

  One cop sits in the driver’s seat. The cop leading me out helps me into the back seat and sits himself next to me. Then we’re off.

  “I need you to tell me what happened. Can you give me your name?”

  “Casey Keagan,” I stutter.

  “What is the name of the victim?”

  “Cole,” I sniffle. “Cole Hooper.”

  “How are you related to each other?”

  “He’s, uh... A friend.”

  There are so many questions I can’t answer. I don’t have his contact information. I don’t know anything. California.

  “Wrightwood! He’s from Wrightwood.”

  More questions. I answer the best I can. Suddenly I’m handed a phone. My dad is on the line. I cry, begging them to come.

  “Where are we going?” As I ask, we roll up outside the hospital, entering the ambulance entrance. “Halifax, Dad, please!”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No.”

  Yes, I’m hurt. I’m broken. I’ll never heal if Cole doesn’t live.

  I fight to get the door open as we stop but have to wait until the driver opens it from the outside, then I run. The cops stride to keep up my pace, flanking me.

  “Cole Hooper, gunshot wound to the chest, should have arrived a few minutes ago,” says one of the cops as we find the nurses’ station in the ER.

  The nurse clicks on a keyboard, looks at her screen; it seems like it takes forever. “We have an unknown male who arrived a few minutes ago, a wound in his chest.”

  “Is he alive?” I gasp.

  “Dark beard, brown hair? Dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans?” says the cop.

  “I couldn’t tell, sir, I didn’t see him. It doesn’t say here.”

  “Where is he?” I almost jump with anxiety.

  “They took him straight to surgery, miss.”

  I crumble. Coughing, froth filling my mouth, I fold over and crouch, clutching my chest. I don’t know how to breathe and the room spins.

  When I come to, I’m in a room, in a bed. I don’t recognize anything.

  “Honey?”

  I turn my head and look at my mom, then I touch the cord that blows a steady stream of air into my nose. “What happened?” Glancing around me, I realize I’m in a hospital bed. I sit straight up. “What time is it? Where is he?”

  “Your friend?”

  “Cole.”

  Behind Mom, there’s a clock on the wall. I fight to make sense out of it, and finally realize it says 2:15. Judging from the darkness outside the window I assume 2:15 a.m. It’s been close to four hours since Cole showed up in my bathroom. Four hours!

  “I’ll find out for you, sweetie.” She stands.

  “Mom, why am I admitted?”

  Mom frowns and strokes my forehead. “You were covered in blood. You fainted in the ER. When they examined you, they found you were seriously low on oxygen and that your lungs were filled with water.”

  I put my hand over my mouth. “Oh, my God,” I whisper. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I wasn’t feeling well. I fought for Cole. I didn’t feel anything else.

  “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

  My eyes fill with tears. “It was him, Mom. Trey.”

  She clenches her jaw and nods. “I’ll go find the nurse.”

  She’s gone for an eternity. I’ve never felt so alone in my life before. Finally, the door opens and Mom comes back with a nurse in tow. She looks at a drip I hadn’t even noticed, fiddles with a machine. “How are you feeling?”

  “Good, I’m good. How is Cole? Please.”

  She nods slowly, seems to weigh her words. “Your friend is out of surgery. He’s in critical condition.”

  I only hear bits and pieces of what she says after that. ICU. Coma.

  He’s alive.

  He’s fucking alive!

  “You need to call his family.”

  The thought comes out of nowhere. It just strikes me. I’m not alone in wanting Cole to live. Or... to see him one last time.

  “We don’t have any—”

  “Hooper,” I say. “Sandra Hooper. LA. His ex-wife. His children are called Sage and Alicia. You have to find them. She’s an actress. It can’t be that hard.”

  It’s not hard. I might have been stalking the media updates on Sandra Hooper since I got back home, both hoping and fearing that I’ll catch sight of Cole. Yes, I’ve been sick with jealousy, trying to fight it, trying not to feel it. She is so beautiful. I look like a dishrag next to her. If that is Cole’s taste in women, then he was just really fucking desperate up there, sex-deprived and lonely.

  But...

  He came here. He came for me.

  Cole Hooper saved my life tonight.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cole

  My mouth is dry. That’s the first thing I feel. There’s a dull ache in my chest, as if something is pushing at me hard, squeezing my chest bone. To my left there’s a low regular clicking, almost like a clock. Something tickles my nose, and I try to scratch it, only to find my arm entangled in cords. I assess the situation, but come up with nothing. Opening my eyes, I take in the room. The lights are low, the walls a pale green. By my feet stands a woman in pink scrubs, her fingers moving over a tablet. Her face lit by the blue light from the screen.

  A hand on my arm makes me twitch and when I turn my head I stare into the faces of Casey and Sandra, sitting side by side. I have to be dreaming. They look like the queens in a game of chess, Casey with her dark hair, Sandra white-blonde. Both eerily still and quiet.

  Casey has an oxygen cord across her nostrils and looks like she’s barely able to sit straight. I narrow my eyes, trying to see clearer and realize she’s in a wheelchair. She’s pale and serious, and as our eyes meet, hers fill with tears.

  “Hi,” she whispers.

  “Cole, you dick! You promised Sage and Alicia you weren’t leaving again. You scared the shit out of us.” Sandra’s voice is shaky, and she doesn’t sound half as tough as the words that come out.

  I hold Casey’s gaze as the memories trickle in. The assault. Fight. Gun. I was shot. I thought I was done for. “I had—” I lick my dry lips, “something I needed to take care of.”

  Sandra looks between me and Casey and sighs, gesturing vaguely in the air. “Everyone’s on their way.”

  “What do you mean ‘everyone’?”

  She tightens her lips. “Your parents, your brothers.”

  I groan. “Oh, no, you didn’t.”

  She throws up her hands. “You were dying, Cole. They didn’t think you’d make it. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Call them off! Where’s Alicia and Sage?”

  “They’re with their nanny at the hotel. They’ve been here. I’ll call Amber, but I hope they’re sleeping. I’ll get them here in the morning.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Two days. They called me, cops. Fuck, you scared the shit out of me! I got here as soon as I could. But...” She licks her lips, raising an eyebrow. “You haven’t been alone. Someone’s been glued to your side.”

  Two days. Touching my chest, I stroke my fingertips along the bandages, then I look at Casey. She’s uncharacteristically silent, clutching one hand in the other. Sandra goes quiet, then she stands.

  “I’ll leave the two of you. Good to see you on the mend. Keep at it. I’ll be back with the kids in the morning.”

  I nod, keeping Casey’s shy gaze.

  Sandra clears her throat. “Right. Get some rest. Both of you.” She pats Casey’s shoulder and slides out the door.

  Casey chews on her lip, her dark eyes pained.

  “I’m glad to see that you’re awake, Mr. Hooper.”

  Both Casey and I jerk and look up at the nurse. I’d forgotten she was in the room.

  “Your stats look good, a
nd you should be through the worst. I’ll let the doctor know.” She looks between us and nods before she leaves.

  I pat the bed, trying to find Casey’s hands. “Stop fiddling. You make me nervous.” Her cool fingers find mine, and I grab them, pulling her closer. “This didn’t go as I had planned.”

  She laughs faintly before her mouth settles back into that painfully serious tight line. “What did you plan, then?”

  “I expected some groveling, some persuasion, maybe some force...”

  “You? Grovel?”

  “Well. Some. A little.”

  Casey is silent, holds my gaze.

  “Okay, no groveling. Firm persuasion?”

  Finally, one corner of her mouth pulls up. “I think you’re out of the woods. You scared me like fuck.”

  “You look a little worse for the wear too. What’s up?”

  Casey pulls one of her hands out of my grip and fiddles with the oxygen cord. “They said I was... dry drowning. I dunno... I don’t understand. I was fine, and then I wasn’t. I fainted in the ER.”

  I understand, and a shiver runs through me. If she hadn’t gotten care in time... “You had enough water in your lungs to... Your blood didn’t oxygenate enough.”

  “In English?”

  “In plain English, I’m gonna spank your ass as soon as I can stand for scaring the shit out of me!”

  Casey squirms, raising an eyebrow, as if taking on the challenge. My cock swells from the thought of what I want to do with her, and all that we have done. I glance down at the sheet and Casey’s eyes follow my gaze.

  “Oh. I see. Well, now that I know you’ll live,” she says, nodding toward the happy bulge, “I can move on to telling you how fucking mad I am at you. Lying in that bed, sitting here, staring at you breathing, gave me a lot of time to think and—”

  “I’m sorry. I was a dick.”

  She purses her lips and manages to look adorable at the same time. “Did you really think I’d plant a fucking bomb?”

  I wince. “No. Fuck no. I... wasn’t thinking. I wanted someone, something to blame. You got in the way and...”

  Her mouth is back to the tense, tight line.

  “It was too late,” I add. “I said that shit, and then I just didn’t know how to take it back.”

  Casey sighs and twists her face into a grimace. “I get it... in a way. Why you’d think—with what we’d talked about and—”

  I shake my head. “Don’t go making any excuses for me, girl. This is on me. They booked Dover, by the way. For blowing up the site.”

  “Yeah, I know. I heard. The cops called me. I freaked out. Thought they were gonna pull my ass up to Alaska for an interrogation, but they just took my statement over the phone.”

  “Did they have you report the assault?”

  “They tried. I refused. I sure as hell don’t wanna go back for that crap. It’s pretty minor in comparison—”

  “Not so minor. Especially not if it was what triggered him.”

  “If that dick was triggered by anything I said, or did, or didn’t do, then it’s on him. I’m not taking any blame for his sick mind.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Down, boy. That’s not how I took it. I meant related to what the cops think. From what I heard they’ve got enough to put him away anyway.”

  “How... are things with the other one?”

  Casey frowns. “Alex? He... didn’t make it.”

  Everything goes still. For a moment I’m horrified. I killed a man. Then I remember Casey, half-drenched, terrified, and my heart blackens in fury. I wouldn’t change a thing. “Good!” I exhale, suddenly exhausted, tension I hadn’t even been aware I felt, leaving me. “I think... I need to sleep,” I mumble.

  Her touch is light as she strokes the tips of her fingers across my temple. “Sleep, Cole. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I’m pulled under, mercilessly, but my heart jolts from her words. She better not.

  * * *

  Casey

  “I’m taking him home.” Sandra Hooper pushes at her already perfectly manicured cuticles and then looks up at me, as if gauging my response.

  It hits me like a bolt of lightning. We’re having a coffee in the hospital entrance. She’s awaiting the arrival of the nanny and the kids. I’ve met them briefly, but we take turns and I don’t want to barge into their life, so when they come, I go. I was released from the hospital a few days ago and am trying to pick up the ragged pieces of my life. Mom cleaned my home after the cops were done. Dad replaced the front door.

  “Home? What?” It feels as if the world disappears around me. I always knew I was just some distraction from his real life. I’ve hoped against hope that I was wrong.

  “To LA. I’ve arranged for a plane, a transport. He’s gotta be closer to his family.”

  “What... does Cole say about this?” And why hasn’t he told me?

  “Sage and Alicia have school, Casey. They can’t stay here. Funny how he looked like you when I told him, with that silent scream of horror written all over your face, but he agrees.”

  “Oh.” I fight the sinking feeling in my chest as I look at my hands and fiddle with the cup.

  “Casey. He’s not coming home with me. We’re not getting back together. Ever. He’s got eyes for one woman only, and he never looked at me the way he looks at you.”

  My brain just doesn’t compute. I think it shut down the moment she said she’s taking him.

  “There’s room for one next of kin on the plane,” she adds.

  I don’t understand what she’s saying, but when I meet her gaze my heart jolts. “Okay?”

  “I’m flying with the kids. A regular flight...”

  Is she saying what I think she’s sa—

  “God, you’re slow, girl. Come with. If you can.” Sandra gives me a grin full of mischief.

  Her words kick my mind into overdrive and my thoughts run a hundred miles per hour. Work? No, it’s good. My place? I can just lock the door and leave. I need some clothes, some... God, I can pack in an hour and be on my way.

  “Okay. When? Shit. I need to book a hotel. Which hospital? I want to be close and—” My heart suddenly races. I can come with!

  “I’ll set you up with a place to stay. A friend of mine is in New Zealand for a production. She’ll be gone for months. It’s downtown LA, and pretty close to the hospital. A little too touristy for my taste, but it’s the best I can do with such short notice.”

  “It’s... not necessary. I don’t want to be any trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble. Go home and pack. The plane leaves at eight tonight. You can tag along the whole way.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me?” Sandra Hooper is only a couple of years older than I am, but I feel like a child in her presence. She makes things happen, takes command, doesn’t take any shit. I used to be a little more like that, but lately I’ve been worn thin.

  She frowns. “Because—what did Cole actually tell you about me?”

  “He, ehm...” What did he tell me? My cheeks turn hot. Why did I think his ex was such a bitch? “He just said it had all gone to shit. He said he’d been an ass, but... I think I assumed...” I swallow. “He didn’t trash talk you at all, actually.”

  “He was a dick. It got really ugly. But I wasn’t the one for him. I wasn’t nice either. He has changed so much, Casey. Something happened to him.” She holds my gaze. “Someone.”

  My heart pounds wildly.

  Someone.

  Me?

  “Mom!” Sage and Alicia come running across the cafeteria. Behind them, their nanny, a cute girl in her early twenties.

  Sandra stands. “Time to go see Dad.”

  The kids throw me curious gazes and I smile. “Hi there.” I stand too and look at Sandra. “I’ll go pack.”

  She gives me a wide grin. “Brilliant. Do you have my phone number?”

  I shake my head and while we put our phones next to each other on the table, exchanging numbers, I’m
struck by the absurdity of the situation. The ragged mechanic and the movie star. Two people couldn’t be more different, but here we are.

  I give her an awkward wave as I hurry through the lobby, toward the car park. I’m a mess. I need to call my parents. I have to leave my car at home and...

  * * *

  Cole looks me over as I walk into the room. He’s still a bit pale, hooked up to surveillance and drips. I can’t wait to see him on his feet. We leave in an hour and I hope that coming home will speed up that healing.

  “I never figured you’d have such a punky style,” he says. “I only ever saw you in jeans and work clothes.”

  I pull off my cap and push a hand through my hair, no doubt making it stand in all different directions. Gesturing to my haphazardly put together outfit, I grin. “Not exactly movie star material.”

  “I beg to differ. Do you even know how fucking beautiful you are?”

  I shrug. “I know I don’t scare little kids, but—”

  “Kids, huh? Come here.” He grabs my hand and pulls me closer until he can sneak an arm around my waist. “I didn’t think it would be so easy to get you back home with me.”

  I inhale, my breath stuttering on the exhale. “Was that... the plan?”

  “Plan A was to tell you I’m sorry and not let you go again.”

  “And plan B?”

  “Plan B was to toss you over my shoulder and take you with me no matter what you said.”

  My heart nearly bursts and warmth spread from my stomach down to between my legs. “How long... until they let you go? Until you’re on your feet?” I swallow hard, my cheeks scorching hot.

  Cole grins, and he’s clearly on the mend, because that wicked expression tells me everything he wants to do with me, and that he wants to do it really soon.

  “Not soon enough, girl.”

  “LA, huh?”

  “The valley of a million broken dreams.”

  “That’s gloomy.”

  “I hated it there.”

  “And now?”

  “I have a feeling I’ll see it in a different light.”

  I smile and lean in, aiming to plant a kiss on his cheek, but he’s quick to cup my cheeks and then his soft, warm lips are on mine. Tender, demanding, promising more.