Gripped (Prescott #2)

by Joanne Schwehm

  CHAPTER 33

  ~ Dane ~

  Seeing my name at the top of a professional tournament’s leaderboard the following weekend was what I’d always dreamed of, especially here in my home state of Virginia. I scanned the area around the green and caught the eyes of my siblings, thrilled to see each one of them beaming. Well, except for Gretchen; she was biting the side of her thumb. She looked as nervous as I felt.

  Blood raced through my veins as my brain instructed my body to calm the fuck down so I wouldn’t blow this shot, the most important one of my career so far. There was one person who could calm me down, but she wasn’t here yet.

  When I looked up once more, my dad was staring at his phone, his face pale and his eyes wide, and my heart stopped. It was when his tortured gaze met mine that I knew something was wrong. The others huddled around him as he said something, and Gretchen covered her mouth with her hand after letting out a gasp. She looked at me with tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Nothing else mattered at that moment. Was it Beverly? Did something happen?

  Drake rushed toward me, not caring that a tournament was going on, and truth be told, neither did I. When he reached me, he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Beverly is in the hospital.”

  Just five words, that was all it took to make my world stop turning. My lungs seized and my heartbeat thundered in my ears.

  Nothing else needed to be said.

  Nothing else mattered.

  Nothing meant anything without Beverly.

  • • •

  “Where’s Beverly Whitfield?” I shouted, and the woman in the blue coat with a volunteer patch started typing in the computer. Come on! Come on! I could barely breathe. “Please hurry.”

  The elderly woman peered over her reading glasses. “She’s being admitted to room 703, but you’ll need this visitor’s badge.”

  I snatched the sticker from her hand and slapped it on my chest as I took off toward the elevator. I think I might have thrown a thank-you over my shoulder as I frantically pressed the UP button. Once inside, I tried to pace in the small space until it reached the seventh floor. When the double doors slid open, I scanned the signs and ran to her room.

  A nurse carrying a clipboard was coming out of 703 as I hurried in that direction. She looked at me curiously as I rushed up to her.

  “Are you here to see Ms. Whitfield?”

  “Yes, I need to see her. Is she okay?” I tried to peer around him and look in the narrow rectangular window in the door, but couldn’t see anything.

  “Are you family?”

  “Her fiancé, Dane Prescott.”

  That lie rolled easily off my tongue. But I knew if I said I was her boyfriend, I wouldn’t get anywhere. Shit. I need to call her parents. My head spun.

  “Mr. Prescott, Beverly has sustained multiple injuries. She’s in surgery to repair internal bleeding.”

  Oh my God! She’s bleeding? “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I can.”

  A woman’s voice came from behind me. When I turned, Rose was standing a few feet away with a police officer.

  “This happened at the shelter? But she was supposed to be at the course today, at my tournament.” Before she could answer, I looked back at the nurse. “How bad is it?”

  The nurse ignored my question, saying only, “The doctor will be able to tell you more. I’ll let them know you’re here.”

  Stunned, I turned to Rose. “What the hell happened to her?”

  Rose’s eyes were red-rimmed, and when she didn’t speak, the police officer said in a soothing tone, “Sir, try to calm down. Is there someone we can call for you?”

  “No. I’ll handle it as soon as someone tells me what happened,” I said as I turned my pleading gaze back on Rose.

  “Fiona d-died today.” Her voice hitched, but she continued. “Katie was so upset, and all she wanted was Beverly. The director of the shelter gave me her number, so I called and naturally, she got there as soon as she could.”

  She paused, her eyes full of tears, and when I silently begged her to continue, she said, “You know the shelter isn’t in a great area, and well, she was . . .”

  “She was what?” My heart thundered in my chest.

  “Attacked.”

  “What? Who?” Fear mixed with fury took hold of me.

  The police officer guided me into the waiting room and Rose followed. “We caught them.”

  “Them?” I’ll kill those motherfuckers.

  “Yes, from what we can tell it was a mugging gone horribly bad. We recovered her personal belongings, but they’re at the station as evidence.”

  “I don’t give a shit about that. What did they do to her?”

  My father stepped into the waiting room and gripped my shoulder. “Son, I just spoke to one of the attending doctors who was here when they brought her in.”

  Thank God for my family. Just having my dad here with me, especially since he was a doctor, eased some of my panic.

  Grabbing his arm, I asked, “Did you get any information?”

  Dad’s face paled. “From what the doctor told me, she suffered a good many blows, breaking two of her ribs, and she was also stabbed. The blade wasn’t long, but it punctured her liver.”

  Holy shit. Horror struck me as I thought of what else might have happened. I needed to ask, but the thought of saying the words made my stomach roll. My mouth opened and closed a few times before I could form the words.

  Taking in a shaky breath, I asked, “Was she raped?” It came out as a whisper, but I knew Dad heard me.

  “According to her doctor, no, she wasn’t.”

  Relief consumed me, but I was still terrified. I clutched at my hair, staring at the floor as I tried to make sense of it all.

  The cop broke in, trying to fill in the blanks. “When we got to her, she was bloody and swollen. It looks as if she tried to fight them off. There was a can of mace next to her, which she definitely used on one of her assailants. His eyes were red and swollen when we picked him up.”

  Of course she fought them.

  I turned to the cop. “I want those fuckers behind bars. Do you hear me?”

  “Dane?”

  Lucy’s voice was barely above a whisper. I hadn’t even noticed the rest of my family standing outside in the hallway until then.

  She released Drake’s hand and ran into my arms, sobbing against my chest. “We were going to go together to see you play in the tournament. I should have gone with her, but I stayed back to finish work.” Her breath hitched, her back trembling beneath my hand, and I tightened my arms around her. “I’m so sorry. Maybe if I was there.”

  “Let’s not think that way,” I mumbled into her hair. “God forbid you were hurt too.”

  She stepped back and wiped away tears. “Where is she?”

  “She’s in surgery.” I looked over her head to my brother, so damn glad Drake was here now too.

  Lucy choked back a sob. “She’s going to be okay, right?”

  Was she? The rest of my family gathered around me in the waiting room, staring at me with wide eyes, some of the red-rimmed. Mom hugged me, then told me she was going to go pray in the chapel. Rose walked up to us, and I apologized for snapping at her. She gave me a hug, and then asked my mother if she could join her. They looked at me with sadness in their eyes before they walked away.

  The police officer excused himself, and then Jack and Dad left to see if there were any more updates. Gretchen and Lucy were holding hands while Josh and Drake huddled around me.

  I turned to Drake. “Can someone call her parents?” I handed him my phone. “Her father’s number is in my contact list. His name is Ben Whitfield.”

  After what felt like hours, but was probably only thirty minutes, Dad and Jack were back.

  I jumped to my feet. “Did they say anything?”

  “The surgeon should be out soon,” Dad said as I stared blankly at him. “She made it through the surgery. I’m going to go to your mother.”
r />   Bleary-eyed, I nodded. Jack walked over to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

  Finally, a doctor wearing green scrubs came into the room. “Family of Beverly Whitfield?”

  “That’s me.” I walked up to him with my family behind me. Fear gripped every part of my soul.

  “I’m Dr. Wells. We were able to repair the tear to her liver. It wasn’t as severe as we had thought, so although there was considerable blood loss, we were able to stop it. She has two broken ribs, which don’t seem to have harmed her lung. She also sustained multiple contusions, but right now we’re concerned with the swelling in her brain. It looks like she was either struck with a blunt object or her head hit the pavement.”

  My hands began to shake at that news. After hearing my dad’s hospital stories all my life, I knew how serious brain swelling could be.

  Finishing up, Dr. Wells said, “She was unconscious when she was brought in. We brought her out of the anesthesia, but I don’t know when she’ll wake up. We kept her in recovery for a while, but now she’s back in her room.”

  “But she will wake up, right?” My heart was in my throat as I quietly begged for him to say, yes of course, but he didn’t.

  “We’ll do all we can, but it’s up to her right now. Her body has been through a lot, but she’s young, so that’s in her favor.”

  “Can I see her?”

  He motioned for a nurse. “Please take him to Ms. Whitfield’s room.”

  The nurse pushed the door open. Before she let me in, she turned to me. “Be prepared. She’s hooked to monitors. Her eyes are closed, but talk to her anyway. She’d probably like to hear your voice. If you need anything, press the red call button.”

  When I walked in, my world halted. There she was, my Beverly, all broken and bruised. Slow beeps came from the machines that were pulled close to her bed. Thankfully, she was breathing on her own, but her cheeks were various shades of purple, and her right eye was swollen.

  I pulled the visitor’s chair across the floor to sit down next to her bed. Very carefully, I picked up her hand and held it in mine, kissing it ever so lightly.

  “Beverly, honey, can you hear me? Sweetheart? Can you open your eyes?”

  My heart felt as if it could explode right out of my chest. I studied her bruised face, seeming so lifeless as the machines beeped, the only sounds in the room. How could this have happened? Why did this happen? My girl was lying in a hospital bed, and there wasn’t anything I could do to help her.

  I leaned over and placed my mouth on hers, never wanting to break the connection. My salty tears pooled where our lips met. Silent prayers flowed through me as I begged God or whoever was listening to please bring her back to me. I’d never needed anyone like I needed her. If anything happened to Beverly, I’d never be whole again, nor would I want to be.

  Sitting next to her wasn’t enough. She should be in my arms; I wanted to hold her. Even though I was right next to her, I didn’t want her to feel alone. Maybe it was selfish on my part, but I needed to feel her heartbeat against mine. I yearned to hear her laugh, to hear her voice, to be able to tell her that I love her over and over again until she got sick of it.

  The nurse came in. “I need to check her vitals.”

  “Go ahead, but I’m not leaving.”

  The older woman smiled before doing her job. She pressed her stethoscope to Beverly’s chest, then pulled a pen from behind her ear and jotted notes on her clipboard.

  Jack walked in with a bottle of water for me. “Her parents are on their way here. I sent my corporate jet to pick them up.”

  “Thank you for handling that.” I looked back at Beverly. “I can’t lose her.” A sob burst from me, and my chest bucked and heaved as my brother leaned over and embraced me.

  Jack pulled back but remained next to me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You won’t lose her. She’s a fighter.”

  He was right; I needed to get my shit together. Beverly needed me to be strong, and for her I would be, even though I was scared out of my mind.

  “There was a woman here, I think she said her name was Rose,” Jack said, and I nodded. “She wanted me to tell you that Katie was placed in a temporary foster home.”

  Never taking my eyes off Beverly, I said, “Okay.”

  “Who’s Katie?”

  “She’s a little girl that Beverly knew from the shelter. I met her too; she’s a sweet little thing. That’s why she was at the shelter today. Katie’s grandmother died, and the little girl asked to see Beverly. They’ve bonded, and from what I saw, she truly loved Beverly.” Not that I could blame Katie; Beverly was easy to love.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, and a horrible thought struck me. “God, Jack, what am I going to do if she doesn’t wake up?”

  “She will,” Jack said confidently, and squeezed my shoulder.

  Drake walked in. He took in the scene and in a low voice asked, “How is she?”

  Jack shook his head and answered for me. “Still nothing.”

  Leaning forward, I kissed her hand again. “Please, sweetheart, please open those pretty green eyes.”

  No matter how many times I begged her, Beverly’s eyes remained closed. Determined, I stayed rooted in my spot next to her bed, holding her hand and pleading with her to come back to me . . . to us.

  CHAPTER 34

  ~ Beverly ~

  Darkness. Pain. Voices talking around me.

  What’s happening?

  Soft murmurs float around me, but I can’t understand what they’re saying. Something beeps and beeps and beeps, so annoying. Why won’t they turn that off?

  A hand touches mine and I hear Dane’s voice from far away, calling me. I want to answer him, to see him, but there’s nothing but darkness.

  Everything slips away again, and I sleep.

  CHAPTER 35

  ~ Dane ~

  Over the next hours, my family came in and out of the room to check on me, but I was fine. I didn’t want coffee or water; I just wanted to hear Beverly’s voice. When visiting hours were over, the nurses tried to insist I leave, but after the third time I refused to budge, they gave up and brought me a blanket and a pillow. I never left her side.

  Beverly’s parents arrived from New York late that evening, which was the only time I moved away from her bed. Her mother cried at her bedside while her father talked to the doctors about her condition. I stepped out of the way but remained in the room and eavesdropped, but they were using doctor-to-doctor speak that was way above my head. All I could do was stare at my girlfriend’s banged-up body, feeling helpless and useless and very, very angry.

  If I ever see those motherfuckers who did this to her, they’ll wish they were never born.

  Hour after hour passed in much the same way. The sun set and the moon rose, and then they swapped places a few more times. Visitors came and went. It had been four days since I’d heard her voice, seen her emerald eyes, and been able to feel her return my kiss.

  Every morning since I’d been here at the hospital had started the same way. I’d wake up in the chair next to her bed with her hand in mine. After I’d kiss her forehead and brush my lips against hers, I’d say, “Good morning, beautiful. Are you ready to wake up yet?” But I’d be greeted with silence.

  Beverly was wheeled away a few times so scans could be run. The doctors told us that the swelling in her brain had gone down significantly and she should be coming around soon, but they just couldn’t tell us when.

  Her parents also kept vigil, but they’d leave at night to return to their hotel to get some rest. Her mother didn’t want to go, but she listened to her husband. As always, they’d ask if I wanted something to eat, but my answer was always no. My stomach was so knotted, I didn’t think I could digest more than the protein bars and coffee I’d been living on.

  • • •

  On the fifth day, I did my morning ritual, but this time, I didn’t ask if Beverly was ready to come back. No, this time I demanded it. And still, nothing.
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  A few minutes later, the beeps on the machine sped up, and the digital numbers on the monitor increased at an alarming rate.

  What’s happening? Terror took hold and gripped my heart so tightly, I was paralyzed.

  Beverly’s fingers tightened around mine, and I sucked in a shocked gasp.

  “Beverly?”

  When her eyes fluttered open, making my chest swell, I finally exhaled. “Oh, thank God! You’re awake.”

  I leaned over to kiss her hand wrapped in mine, and she blinked.

  “Sweetheart, can you see me?”

  “Dane?” She squinted at me, and her voice was all but a whisper. “What happened?”

  She lifted her head to look down at herself, but her strained voice was followed by a cough that made her wince. So she lay back down and looked at me with pleading eyes.

  I dropped my head for a second, trying to regain some form of composure before I met her eyes. “Beverly, honey, please try not to move. You’re in the hospital, and you’re healing.”

  Closing her eyes, she let out a groan.

  Knowing she was in pain, I felt every bit of it as if it were my own, and wished like hell it was mine and not hers.

  “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t with you,” I whispered. “You’ll be okay; you hear me? You need to be. We have a wonderful life ahead of us. I love you with my entire being—”

  Before I could finish speaking, the monitors went crazy. Her eyes snapped closed and her head craned back as far as the pillow would allow. Then her back arched and quickly dropped to the mattress. Rapid tones on the monitor turned to one long, steady one that scared the shit out of me.

  As if I was in a daze, I stared at the solid green line. “No! Don’t leave me! Stay with me! Baby, please.” All I could do was plead with her. How I wished it were me lying there, helpless. “God, please don’t take her from us!”

  Before I knew it, the room was full of nurses and doctors. After being shoved out of their way, I was forced to retreat to the hallway, where I stood and stared through the open doorway as they injected something in her IV, ripped open her hospital gown, and placed more electrodes on her chest.