by Hazel Parker
I left a message and went back to the garage. Steve was still there, and he got to talking to me once I was back. Something niggled at the back of my head, and it wasn’t until a few minutes in that I realized what it was.
I used to take it for granted before, but now it was the biggest alarm there was. Kate always replied almost immediately to any of my messages, as being prompt was part of her nature.
But now it was twenty minutes since my voice message.
Unable to stand still, I called her again. Then, again. I kept getting redirected, and the alarm inside me rang louder and grew red. I knew I should stop over-worrying and focus on the upcoming race, as was proper.
But my instincts were telling me that something was wrong. Really wrong.
I called Paul again.
“Has Kate ever been late in responding to your messages or calls?”
There was a very heavy pause on the other line. “Never.”
I cursed. Paul didn’t, but his next words might as well have been. “He’s there.”
“I’ll check on her.”
“But your race—”
“My damn race doesn’t matter,” I snapped. I hung up on him immediately and started removing my outfit, but decided against it as it was going to just waste my time. I made a move to go back to the building and exit, but a hand on my wrist suddenly stopped me.
“Did I just hear that right?”
I turned and looked at Steve, who was gripping me tight and frowning at me. His brows were furrowed, and I realized that he must have heard my part of the conversation. I nodded.
“Kate’s in trouble. I need to get to her.”
Steve’s mouth flattened. “You don’t need to. You need to stay in here and win me that cup.”
I didn’t like his tone—in fact, I thought he was pretty much dropping the façade as he started showing me his true colors. I shook my head.
“What’s going on?” Mark asked, approaching us.
“Kate’s in trouble,” I said flatly. “Her ex is in town. I need to go.”
Mark’s brows furrowed with worry, and he opened his mouth. He was already taking out his phone. “Okay, I’ll call the polic—”
The hand on my wrist tightened further. “No one’s doing anything,” Steve growled. “You’re getting in that car and winning this thing, or else I’m going to kick you out for good.”
Anger surged inside me. Before I knew it, I was placing my other hand on top of his and yanking his hand off. Steve glared at me and began to call me names, and I took a step backward, even though all I wanted to do was punch him.
“Be on standby, Mark,” I said.
“I will.”
“Now just wait a damn minute,” Steve practically roared.
“I quit,” I snapped at Steve as he got in my face. I pushed him off, ignoring the eyes staring at us in the garage.
Then I was out of there, walking as fast as I could.
*****
The car ride back to the hotel was the tensest one in my life as thoughts of Kate and where the hell she could be filled my mind. I kept calling her on the phone, but she still wasn’t picking up. It only confirmed the fear that something was wrong, and I was pretty sure I passed by so many speed limits on my race back there. I didn’t care.
I put the car in emergency parking and was practically flying towards the hotel. The elevator was full, so I used the stairs and ran up, ignoring the way my legs burned as the suite was located at the very top—the tenth floor.
The first thing I noticed was that the door was open, though inside was eerily quiet.
I slipped in. I took a quick look around, expecting to see nothing—but my heart jumped in my throat and my blood froze at the sight of Chuck lying limp on the floor. I leaned down to check his pulse and found a faint one. I dialed Mark and asked him to call the police, giving him the address and room number. I could have called myself, but I didn’t have time to be put on hold and answer questions right now.
There was only one place here that wasn’t open, and that was the bathroom. I turned the knob and found it locked. I knocked. There was silence at first—but then I heard the commotion, and my fear escalated when I heard a male voice telling her to shut up.
And I heard her cry of pain.
Rage flew in me, hot and vicious. I was pounding on the door, then forcing my body against it. It was heavy, and I realized belatedly that I wouldn’t be able to break it down with my strength alone. I took a chair and started using that to pound. Then I ran to the door and grabbed the fire extinguisher.
When the door finally gave way, I found Kate in the bathtub, her eyes closed. There were bruises on her face, and she was semi-unconscious. A hand came out to throw a punch at me, but I evaded it and watched as a man charged at me with a knife.
“You fucked my girl!” he screamed. “You’re going to die!”
I punched him in the belly. He swiped at my arm and drew blood, but I ignored it and kept punching. We struggled in the bathroom, with Kyle managing to get a few swipes in before I finally slammed his wrist on the sink and got the knife from him. It clattered on the floor, and we were fighting hand to hand, and he almost got the best of me as he managed to roll me down and straddle me, where he proceeded to punch me repeatedly. He threw out words about how Kate was his and I had no right, and how he was going to fuck her brains out until she was screaming for him.
I saw red.
I pushed at him. I kicked. I managed to get him off and instantly straddled him. This time, it was me punching him in the face, and the red roared inside me as I hurt this man as much as he hurt Kate, ignoring his grunts and struggle. Dimly, I felt him go still below me, but I kept on, my frustration and fury melding into one and urging me to kill him.
I managed to pull myself back before I could deal the last few blows that would end him. The haze cleared slowly, and when I stared down at him, I found his face bloodied and his eyes closed. He was still breathing, but he was unconscious.
My body ached, and I slipped back and gritted my teeth against the pain. Then I was crawling towards Kate, panic gripping me like a vice as the first thought that came was that she was dead.
I took her wrist and felt around, and the panic increased when I couldn’t feel anything. I checked her neck, and the relief that flowed through me was so intense when I finally felt a very faint pulse.
Still ignoring my own pain and the blood flowing from my arm, I took her as gently as I could and carried her to the bed. I took Chuck too, put him in bed, and then checked to make sure that Kyle was still unconscious.
Carefully, I gathered Kate in my arms, feeling some dislocated bones and not wanting to damage it further. I inwardly wept at how much she suffered before I came. Dimly, I heard footsteps and heard Mark’s voice as he came in, along with what had to be police.
I closed my eyes as I realized it was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KATE
Waking up in a hospital was the last thing I expected to experience the moment consciousness returned, particularly the stark white walls and ceilings. I didn’t know why hospital rooms were often that way when they could have added some vibrant color to make the patient at least a little enthusiastic to be there—but then again, maybe they deliberately made it as drab as possible to make the patient strive for recovery sooner and get out as soon as they could.
I didn’t know why I was in the hospital until a few minutes in. Then, as suddenly as I lost my memory, it came rushing back to me, bombarding me with image after image that had me choking out a cry as I remembered Kyle’s painful fists all over again. I sat up quickly and tried to get out of bed, but the curtains were suddenly yanked back.
Paul’s familiar face had me staring.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, his voice intentionally low and soft. Soothing. “It’s me. You’re safe.”
And just like that, I slumped back in bed and kept staring at him.
Belatedly, I realized that there were
bandages all over me and my body ached. The ache, of course, had a lot to do with me moving right away—something that Paul gently admonished me about as he told me to rest. I was still pretty out of it, but two questions came foremost.
“Chuck,” I bit out.
To my relief, Paul nodded. “He’s okay. He’s alive and taken care of. We got him the best vet to monitor his condition.”
I nodded back, glad of that bit of good news. The next question came out more hesitant. “Kyle?”
Paul’s mouth flattened at the mention of the name. His eyes flared. “That bastard is rotting in jail. He’ll get a hearing, but with all the evidence against him, he’s guaranteed to a sentence for what he did.”
I could feel my relief.
“He was pretty bloodied when the police got to him.”
I shot him a puzzled look. “Bloodied?”
“Gray came for you. He rescued you from that bastard.”
I listened in shock as Paul began to explain how Gray found me all bruised up in the bathtub, with the bathroom door locked and Kyle inside with me. All I could remember was hitting my head on the ground when he tried to drag me down, followed by me trying to fight back by hitting him on the head. That had angered Kyle, so he hit me over and over on the head before he kicked me hard in the stomach and that’s the last I remember. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would have happened to me had Gray not gone there, especially when Paul mentioned that Kyle had a knife with him.
Paul said that I’d dislocated my shoulders due to Kyle’s beating and had a crack on my rib, but the doctors fixed the shoulder, and my rib was healing quite nicely. It was a wonder that I even managed to sit up earlier, and I asked how many days I was here.
“You’ve been here for just short 48 hours. You’ve been really out of it with all the pain meds.”
I stared at him, stunned. Two days? Oh, my God. Kyle must have done some major damage. Anger flowed inside me, but I held it in because there was no point anymore.
It took a while, but eventually, I remembered Gray’s race and asked about that. Dread filled me when Paul’s face grew serious. “He forfeited. He ran back to the hotel after I called him minutes before the race could start. He got to you in time.”
The questions peppered out of me, and Paul patiently answered each and every one of them. Because Gray forfeited the major race and lost his chance to win, his car owner dropped him—or rather, he dropped the owner after they almost got in a huge fight in the race track garage. It was all over the news, but they did try their best to keep my situation out of the story. My heart ached at the thought of Gray not participating, because I knew he wanted to win. It must have been such a huge sacrifice for him, and I frowned at the prospect that he longer had a car sponsor. I tried to ask Paul more questions about it, but his suddenly morose expression had me stopping.
“What?” I asked.
Paul looked at me for a long time. Then he sighed and leaned his elbows on the edge of the bed, putting his forehead on his palms in a troubling manner.
“I should have been there for you,” he said. “I should never have let that bastard out of my sight.”
I shook my head, but he was still speaking. “If I’d done all that, none of this would have happened to you.”
I could feel the guilt emanating off him and finally realized he was blaming himself. This time, I reached out a hand and pried his hands off his forehead. I waited as he looked down at the sheets, then finally looked up at me. When he did, I shook my head.
“It was nobody’s fault but Kyle’s,” I said firmly. “No one needs to blame themselves. He’s going to be locked up now, and that’s the important thing. He can’t hurt anyone else.”
Paul just stared at me, then at the hand I laid on top of his. He took it and wrapped his fingers around it, then leaned down to kiss me on the forehead.
“You’re too nice for your own good,” he muttered.
I smiled. Then Gray crossed my mind again, and I couldn’t help asking.
“Where is Gray right now? Is he hurt?” Treading lightly as she is not sure what Paul knows about their situation.
“Gray’s fine,” he said. He hesitated for a little bit before adding, “He’s got some things to take care of. And don’t think too much about the race thing. It’s done and over with, and he has no regrets. You should be thinking pleasant thoughts right now. You need it to recuperate.”
I reluctantly nodded my head. Paul had always been good at reading me. “How long will I be here?”
“Depends. Let me call the doctor to do a checkup since you’re awake now.”
The doctor came and prodded me, then asked me questions to check my memory of the events. He told me I could be out of the hospital in about a day or two as long as I was progressing well. I tried to think positive, especially when Paul said our parents would be cutting their vacation short to come. That brightened me up, but I still desperately needed to see Gray.
“Have you seen my cell phone Paul?”
“No. I was never recovered from the hotel room as far as I know. Or maybe it’s in evidence. I will look into it. Why what do you need?”
To get a hold of the love of my life and find out where the eff he is for starters!!!
“Well, uh I need to contact work and fill them in.”
“I will call the precinct. In the meantime who is your employer? I will phone them.”
*****
I was bored out of my mind and frankly starting to get pissed that Gray was nowhere to be found. I got out of the hospital two days ago and still nothing.
My rib still needed a lot of rest. I insisted that I was fine, but realized eventually that my stubbornness was just going to get me in trouble and I needed to rest. Overall I was healing nicely despite the struggle sometimes when I had nightmares about Kyle. I tried to remind myself over and over that he was gone, and I could breathe easier now.
But of course, it was easier said than done.
The bright side was that my parents did come to visit. They fussed over me, and my mom baked me that chocolate pie that Paul and I were obsessed with. They also nagged Paul about having no girlfriend yet and being practically married to his job, something that highly amused me and had me teasing him as well. Our parents took turns staying with me, with Paul taking a leave from work but still getting a last conference in somewhere nearby.
I did my best to focus on my recovery, but a niggling question kept coming back in my mind 100 times a day.
Where was Gray? Why hadn’t he visited me?
I asked Paul about it, but he evaded the questions as smoothly as a trained cop would. It made me puzzled at first until I began to put two and two together and realized what Paul wasn’t trying to say.
Gray was upset about the race and couldn’t really face me now.
On the eighth day, I finally managed to convince Paul to hand me his phone, where I proceeded to text Gray and thank him for saving my life. I then wrote a quick apology about him missing the race, to which he replied quite promptly.
You’re welcome. Get some rest in. I want you to get better.
No mention of him visiting. My heart fell. He was treating me as a friend would—a not-so-close friend - when we were beyond that. It only emphasized that fact that I was so in love with him, and there was no going back.
But maybe it was one-sided.
I could have sworn I felt him reciprocating it, but I could have been mistaken. I tried my best not to think about it, knowing it was just going to hurt my heart in the long run.
Finally, on the tenth day, I got the all clear at my check up with the discharging doc. There were still some aches all over my body, but my rib was fine, and so were my arms. My parents were back in our hometown, but Paul was there to assist me. I insisted I was fine walking without assistance, rolling my eyes as he hovered over me like some mama bear ready to take charge if anything happened.
Cop brothers were the worst in that aspect, but also the best.
/> We rode a taxi back to the hotel we booked, where he firmly said we would be staying until we could book a flight home. I honestly didn’t want to go home yet, considering how much I loved Florida already and wanted to stay here for a little bit. I could rent out a place for myself now that I was earning regularly, and when I was ready, I could apply for bigger jobs like a newspaper or a magazine. I still didn’t plan it thoroughly and would need to do so, plus decide where I really wanted to stay.
Of course, I also had to confront Gray eventually and get my stuff from his place. The thought alone had my heart constricting.
We finally arrived back at the hotel, where we rode the elevator in silence before walking in the hallway. I was facing Paul and talking a mile a minute, and he was nodding along with me. But then he stopped, and I shot him a confused look.
“What? Don’t tell me you actually have a hidden girlfriend I’m not aware of? If you do, you’d better spill, because I’m going to get it out of you soon enough,” I teased.
I expected him to laugh. But Paul wasn’t even looking in my direction anymore. I turned to look at where he was looking.
I froze.
Gray was standing by our hotel door, and he was holding a bouquet of flowers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
GRAY
The sight of Kate looking shocked and vulnerable at the same time had my feelings torn between guilt at not visiting her sooner and joy at finally seeing her. I was planning to visit her today, already driving on my way until Paul texted and said that they got the all clear and headed back to the hotel. Since I was near the hotel, I decided to head straight there and wait for them at the room number Paul mentioned.
We were pretty much staring at each other for the first few seconds, with me simply taking her in. She was wearing a simple gray dress, one that was loose on her. She was lovely, though there were dark circles under her eyes that indicated how tired she was.
Someone cleared their throat, and the spell was broken. I glanced at Paul, who was frowning at me. I ignored the look and stepped forward until I was a few inches away from them. I stood in front of Kate, absorbing her again.