Hospitals sucked.
I’d spent enough time in them to last me the rest of my life.
Yet here I was. Again.
The second we rolled into the ER, we were given a room. I guess there were some benefits to being town royalty and an Olympic medalist.
An Olympic medalist who was washed up… one who probably wouldn’t see the slopes again.
I tried not to focus on the blizzard forming inside my brain. Instead, I focused outward on my girl and making sure she got the same level of treatment I would.
Every nurse or doctor who walked into the room got introduced to my girlfriend, something that was starting to irritate me each time I said it.
She wasn’t just my girlfriend.
She was my life.
How did I make that clear to people? How did I articulate exactly what I would do if they didn’t take care of her as though she was the ruler of my world?
I took comfort in the fact that the word girlfriend seemed to work. We were put in the same room, but they pulled us apart for X-rays and shit. Something I really didn’t like.
In addition to Bells calling her FBI contact (who I already hated because he seemed to upset her), I called the local cops. There was a party going out to look for the bodies of the men who tried to kill us, and there were also a few sticking around on our floor to make sure no one else tried anything stupid.
Aside from the general questions, we hadn’t had time to answer much else because the first priority was our injuries.
I knew the questions would come, though. A lot of them. Hard ones. I wasn’t ready yet, but I was going to have to be.
I wasn’t ready for the results of the MRI I just had either.
I was saved from the depths of my own head when the door opened and Alex strode in. I glanced behind him, expecting Bellamy to appear. When she didn’t instantly, I glanced to him.
“She’s coming. Nurse wouldn’t let me push her down the hallway.”
“Because he’s a terrible driver,” Bellamy announced as she came around the corner.
“Am not,” Alex protested.
“Are, too,” the nurse countered.
Bellamy snickered. It did my heart good to see her. She was like the sun on a stormy day. Even with the sling anchoring her arm to her side.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“Separated, like you said,” Bellamy replied.
The nurse parked the chair beside Bellamy’s bed, but she got up and came to mine instead. The nurse started to say something, but I caught her eye and winked.
She didn’t say anything else.
My knee was propped up, an ice pack covering it. Bellamy carefully avoided it but scooted toward me between my legs.
“The doctor will be in shortly,” the nurse said, then left.
“I’m exhausted.” Alex yawned and went over to Bellamy’s bed and stretched out across it.
“Make yourself comfortable,” she said, watching him.
“Thanks, I will.” He yawned again and closed his eyes. “I was up all night, worrying about you two.”
“Thanks for staying with Bells,” I told him.
His eyes reopened, the full weight of their icy color settling on me. “How’s the knee?”
“Waiting,” I clipped.
Bellamy glanced over her shoulder, peeking around the curtain of hair falling over her face. “How bad is it?”
“It’ll be fine.”
I felt Alex’s stare, and I returned it. He made a sour face, and I gave him the finger.
“You two need to stop it.”
We both looked at Bellamy.
“Stop what?” I asked.
“Having conversations I can’t hear.”
Alex cackled.
“We don’t do that, sweetheart,” I said, giving him another hard look.
Her eyes levelled on my face. “You’re doing it right now.”
“I like you, girl who got away. I like you a lot,” Alex mused.
“I didn’t get away. I came back,” Bells retorted.
I put an arm around her waist and rested my chin on her uninjured shoulder. “Thank God you came back,” I murmured.
A little shiver worked its way up her back. I felt it move through her. Then she turned her head and kissed me softly.
The door opened again, and I glanced up at my doctor. My body went rigid. Drawing up to my full height, I nodded. “Dr. Brackner.”
“Liam,” he said, glancing over at Alex lying on the bed.
“Hey, doc.” Alex waved but made no move to sit up.
He inclined his head. “Alex.”
Doc knew Alex because he’d been here for a lot of my previous recovery. The staff here was used to seeing us together, so no one batted an eye when Alex made himself at home.
Dr. Brackner was a lot more curious, though, when it came to the girl sitting between my legs. I’d already introduced them, but just like the rest of the staff, everyone was curious. It was the first time I’d ever introduced a woman around as a girlfriend.
“How is the shoulder, Miss Lane?” he asked. It was weird hearing her called that. But she’d checked in using what I thought of as her fake name. She told me it was her actual legal name, but to me, she would never be Bella Lane. She would always be Bellamy Cutler.
“It’s separated,” she replied. “But it will be fine.”
He nodded. “Yes. Rest, keep it mobilized, and then maybe some light physical therapy should do the trick. You’ll be good as new in a few weeks.”
Her head bobbed. “That’s what my doctor said.”
“I can help you out with the physical therapy,” I told her.
Her head whipped around, and a pink flush darkened her face. “Liam,” she hissed.
I bit back a laugh. She had a dirty little mind. I fucking loved it. “I know all about physical therapy for a separated shoulder. I’ve had one a few times,” I explained.
Her eyes widened when she realized I was actually talking about physical therapy for her shoulder and not the other kind of physical therapy. Again, I stifled a laugh, but I was pretty sure my eyes were twinkling.
Across the room, Alex was choking, trying not to make some lewd comment.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice a little strained, her cheeks still blooming bright pink. “I might take you up on that.”
I winked.
She blushed even harder.
Dr. Brackner cleared his throat. “I have your results here, Liam.”
I stiffened. Alex sat up on the bed.
“I assume it’s okay to discuss this in the company of your friends?”
“Of course,” I said without missing a beat.
“Friends are just chosen family, Doc,” Alex told him.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“How bad is it?” I asked, my voice harsher than I intended. I didn’t want to know, but now that the moment was here, I didn’t want to beat around the bush.
“Not as bad as I’m sure you’re thinking,” the doctor replied. “It’s not re-torn.”
“Praise Jesus!” Alex exclaimed.
I could feel the confusion in the way Bellamy glanced at me, then back to the doctor.
“But it is stretched.”
I nodded even as the news hit me in the gut like a fist.
“What does that mean?” Bellamy asked, reaching for my hand and closing hers around it. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it.
“Means our boy still has a shot at returning to the slopes!” Alex announced, relief heavy in his voice.
Bellamy turned to me with wide eyes. “You planned to return to snowboarding?”
I cut a harsh glare to Alex, and he looked like he’d swallowed a canary. “My bad.”
I made a face, and he winced. “Sorry, man. I thought you talked to your girl.”
“I do talk,” I barked. “We’ve just been busy.”
“Should I give you all a moment?” the doctor asked.
“No,” I said, dismissing Alex and giving Bellamy’s hip a gentle squeeze. I’d explain everything to her as soon as I could. “Please, go on.”
“The recovery time on this is a lot less significant than when your ACL was torn. You won’t need surgery again, but I think I will suggest a procedure called thermal shrinkage.”
“What’s that?” Bellamy asked.
I already knew. I learned all about ACL procedures and shit a year ago. “It’s where they heat up the stretched collagen in my knee to tighten it back up.”
“Is that dangerous?” she worried, glancing back at my doctor.
“Not at all. It’s a same-day procedure, so he will be back home with you by the end of the day.” My doctor glanced to me. “As you probably already know, after the procedure, you will likely be able to bear full weight on the knee.”
I nodded.
“We don’t do that here, so I will make some calls to arrange for you to have it done elsewhere as soon as possible.”
I nodded again, my stomach dipping a little. I didn’t want to do this shit again. Even if it wasn’t nearly as bad as before, it still stirred up bad shit. Shit I thought I put away.
“I’ll call my trainer and see if he can make a call to the doctor who did my last surgery. See if I can get in with him.”
“If that’s what you want, then of course. Have them call me, and I will discuss everything with them and send the records.”
“Thanks.”
He inclined his head. “You need to stay off the knee. No boarding. No lessons. Main focus right now is swelling and pain management.”
“Yeah, I know,” I muttered.
“If the swelling doesn’t subside in a day or two, you’re going to need to come back. Don’t wait. I’ll prescribe—”
“No pills,” I snapped.
Bellamy jumped, and I rubbed her back in apology for the outburst.
The doctor paused. “Nothing too heavy or habit forming, but I can give you a prescription for a larger dose of Motrin so you aren’t having to swallow so many pills.”
My voice was gruff when I replied, “Thanks.”
“I know this type of injury is upsetting for an athlete such as yourself. I also know you have been doing everything right in the last year. This could be a lot worse. It’s going to heal.”
“What about the pros?” I asked, feeling Bellamy’s stare again. I avoided it.
“Time will tell.”
Time is my enemy right now.
“What about his head?” Bellamy cut through the level of finality in the doctor’s words and the way I was reeling from them.
“You do show signs of a mild concussion, and normally, we would keep you overnight for observation. But since this happened several hours ago, I think we will probably be able to release you later on this evening, baring no complications.”
“And he doesn’t need stitches?” She pressed.
“They already said I didn’t, sweetheart,” I told her gently.
“I still worry,” she told me, and I smiled.
“No stitches. Just keep it clean. Any complications or pain, come back in.”
Bells glanced over her shoulder. “That’s what they said about my face.”
I kissed her on the temple.
“The nurse will be in periodically to check on you and make sure you have everything you need. The police are already waiting to speak with you, but I’ve kept them out until the results of your tests came back.”
I nodded, grateful.
“I’ll be back in later this afternoon, as I’m sure the doctor attending to you will be, Miss Lane. Then, barring no complications or trouble, we’ll have you both discharged later this evening to get you home for some rest.
“Can we go to sleep?” Bellamy asked, hopeful.
The doctor chuckled. “After you’ve been awake for twenty-four hours, which I believe you will hit before we discharge you.”
She sighed. “I was hoping you’d say something different than my doctor.”
Dr. Brackner chuckled. “I’m afraid not.”
“Alex can keep us awake,” she said and looked over toward my best friend.
He was back to lying on the bed. Snoring.
“Maybe not.” She amended.
I laughed.
“Any other questions?”
“No,” I said and held out my hand. “Thank you for not making me wait.”
He nodded once. “Of course. I imagine you have both endured a very trying time the past several hours. If it’s any consolation, you two are very lucky, considering the avalanche. It could have been much, much worse.”
Bellamy leaned into me, and I hugged her.
When the doctor was gone, she turned to me, her eyes wide and sincere. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I wasn’t about to insult her intelligence by pretending not to know what she meant or even evading the question.
I leaned down so my forehead rested on hers. “‘Cause I was too busy trying to get you to tell me what was going on with you.”
“I’m not any more important that you are, Liam.”
“To me you are.”
“Well, I feel the same about you.”
“I never meant to make you feel like I was keeping it from you. Your stuff is just a little more time sensitive.”
“I feel guilty.”
I rested my hand against her cheek and sighed. “Don’t.”
“It’s not that simple.”
I half smiled. “It is that simple.”
She shook her head once. “I crashed into your life and brought down so much drama. You’re a target for the mob now, Liam. If Agent Frost knows who you are, then so does Crone.”
I started to say something, but she kept on going, rolling right over my words.
“Clearly, you have a lot going on yourself, and I didn’t even think of that. I just showed up and”—she gestured between us—“this happened.” Then in a softer, almost whisper, she said, “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“How long have you been completely alone, Bellamy?”
She pulled her forehead from mine and sighed. “Even if I went back into witness protection, you’d still be in danger now.”
“How long?” I pressed.
Her shoulders slumped. “Almost two years.”
It hurt to hear. It hurt to know. Both of us had suffered in the past couple years, but unlike her, I had family. She had no one.
Slipping my arm around her waist, I flattened my palm on her lower back. “You aren’t alone anymore. You won’t ever be again. You aren’t going back into witness protection, and we’re going to work this out. Together.”
We were so close I heard her swallow. Felt her intake of breath. “You shouldn’t drag the people you love into horrible situations.”
“You aren’t dragging me. I’m walking into the situation willingly. Hell, I’m running.”
The way the sapphire of her gaze reached deep into me and squeezed my heart made the hand against her back spasm. “I should have marched over to the car that day, yanked Kelsey by her ponytail, and made my claim.”
I laughed low. “A cat fight in my honor?” I wagged my eyebrows at her. “Behave.”
Her lips curled up in the most delicious smile, and I closed the distance, kissing her, claiming that smile and tucking it deep inside me.
“I love you,” I murmured against her lips.
“I love you, too, Liam. So much.”
“That was seriously the most touching thing I’ve ever heard in all my life, and my mom and sister watch some hella sappy shit.”
Bellamy jumped and probably would have fallen off the bed backward if I wasn’t holding her. I just turned my head. I really wasn’t surprised. Alex was an eavesdropping asshole.
“Seriously, dude?”
“I thought you were sleeping!” Bellamy exclaimed, her cheeks pink. She was fucking adorable.
Minus the cuts, bruises, and swelling on her face. That shit just pissed me off.
I didn’t care this was courtesy of the most notorious modern crime boss. That guy could suck a dick after I punched him in his jaw. I wasn’t going to back down from him. Not when he was threatening Bellamy.
A threat to her was a direct threat to me. To my entire life.
This bastard was in for the fight of his life.
“How am I supposed to get any sleep while you two are over there chatting away like we’re on Dr. Phil?”
“You shouldn’t have listened!” Bellamy declared.
Alex yawned and sat up. “I needed to know what I was getting involved with.” He shook his head. “Perry Crone, huh? I don’t know how you managed to piss off that guy, Bells, but damn. I don’t know if I should be worried or impressed.”
“I told you not to call her Bells,” I growled.
Bellamy looked incredulous. “That’s all you have to say to him!”
I shrugged. “I was going to tell him anyway.”
“You aren’t involved.” Bells warned Alex.
We both laughed.
Her eyes narrowed.
I stopped laughing and took her hand. “Now, sweetheart. Alex and I are a package deal. You know that.”
She shook her head. “This is dangerous.”
“I’m a dangerous guy.” He hopped down off the bed.
“This goes way beyond bad driving,” she intoned.
He made a rude sound, his body language shifted, and the shield of smooth swagger he wore lowered to reveal a much more private side that Alex didn’t show unless he had to. Crossing the room almost like a panther, he kept his piercing eyes on Bellamy. Her fingers curled around mine a little tighter.
I almost told him to knock it the fuck off, but I held my tongue.
Bellamy was in our lives now, and though the threat to her was most important, it was time she learned about me and Alex and who we were now versus eight years ago.
Deep down, I worried it would change the way she felt about me.
The way she loved me.
Maybe that’s why you weren’t in such a hurry to tell her about your own life.
Alex dropped down, squatting so he was eye level with my girl. I gave him a warning look, which I know he saw even though his eyes remained on her.
“Trust me when I tell you I haven’t just been sitting on a mountain for the past eight years, just riding some skis and chasing bunnies.”
Her eyes never left his. Her voice was slightly hesitant. “What were you doing?”
He stood, the look in his eyes going flat. “Learning how to deal with dangerous people, some worse than the ones you’re running from.”
Bellamy shivered a little, and I slapped Alex on the arm. “You made your point. How about some coffee?”
Alex blinked, and the shield came back up. He smiled. “Coffee sounds good. Cream and sugar, Bellamy?”
“Yes, please.”
When he was gone, she looked at me with wide eyes. “What was that?”
“Alex spent some time in the army. You can trust him. He has what it takes to keep you safe.”
Her eyes strayed back to the door where he’d gone.
I took her chin and pulled her face around. “Make no mistake, though, sweetheart. Alex has some skill and experience I don’t, but I’m just as capable of handling this situation. There is no one else on this earth as motivated to keeping you safe as me.”
“I don’t want someone to save me.”
I knew that, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to protect her anyway. “How you feeling?” I murmured caressing her swollen cheek.
“They gave me some pain meds.”
I caressed her lip close to where it was split. “Come home with me tonight.”
“What?”
“No more room at the resort. No more not waking up together. It’s time to come home, Bells.”
She seemed surprised. “You want me to move in with you?”
“I want you to come home.”
“Don’t you think it’s too soon?” she asked, concern darkening her eyes.
My stomach flipped, and that little voice in the back of my head warned me that this was a bad idea. That once she knew all of me, she’d leave.
I told it to shut the fuck up.
Even silenced, though, doubt was still there. So was fear.
“No,” I said, pushing on. Reaching for what I wanted. Reaching for her. “I mean, it’s kinda backwards I guess, considering we need to get to know each other better as adults. But we can do that at home. Together. I love you, and that’s not gonna change.”
Please say it won’t change for you.
“You’ll tell me about your knee? About the pros?”
“About everything.” Damn the way my voice went hoarse.
“About Alex?”
“If you want. But maybe you should let him do that.”
A beautiful smile lit up her face. “Home is where my heart is.”
“Is that a yes?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
I lunged at her, scooping her into my chest. She winced at the sudden jostling of her arm, and I pulled back, leaned down, and kissed the bare part of her shoulder.
“How’s your knee?” she asked, glancing down at the ice pack.
“Time will tell,” I muttered darkly, repeating the words the doc had said.
Questions swirled in her eyes, and I braced for them. I wasn’t really ready to talk about this. Not here. Not now.
But I would.
If she asked, I would.
I was saved when the door opened and Alex appeared, carrying three paper cups with lids. “Yo, look who I found,” he announced.
Bellamy and I both looked up.
My mom and dad rushed into the room.
“Oh my God, Liam! What on earth happened?” Mom fretted, rushing across the room to my bedside. Her eyes went to Bellamy and widened. “Oh, you poor thing.” Her hand hovered toward her swollen cheek. “What’s happened to you?”
“Mom, this is Bellamy. Bellamy, this is my mom, Holly.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Mattison.”
Mom made a sound. “Call me Holly. And yes, I’ve been anxious to meet you. Everyone at the resort is all a twitter with the news of Liam’s new lady.”
“All a twitter,” Alex echoed.
I suppressed a smile.
Mom gasped. “Liam! Your knee! Oh, what’s happened?”
“Mom, what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?” Jesus, did the staff call them? That was a damn violation of patient rights or something, wasn’t it?
The last thing I wanted was to freak my parents out, and I’d been trying to avoid the whole meeting my girlfriend right after a near-death experience thing.
I glanced at Alex, wanting some kind of explanation.
He shrugged. “Found them wandering around in the hall.” An odd expression rolled over his face, and his eyes cut toward my father who was standing off to the side, letting my mother hover.
I sat up and looked around her.
My brows wrinkled when I saw him standing there. “Dad?”
Our eyes locked and this… look passed between us. He was wearing a hospital gown.
“We weren’t wandering.” Mom hushed Alex. “We were looking for you. Imagine our surprise when we heard all the nurses giggling and going on about the local Olympic medalist being admitted.”
“Imagine,” I said, looking back at Dad. “Why are you dressed in a hospital gown, Dad? What the hell’s going on?”
Mom stopped fretting over me and went quiet, turning to glance at Dad.
He came forward. “It’s nothing to be concerned about, son. I just had a checkup with my doctor this morning, and I was having some tests done. You know how they are in this place. They think everyone needs to wear one of these damn gowns.”
“They’re very drafty.” Bellamy agreed.
Dad chuckled and turned his attention toward my girlfriend. “That they are. So nice to meet you, Bellamy.” He held out his hand. “Liam speaks very highly of you.”
“Of you as well,” Bellamy replied, looking a little shy. She glanced back at my mom. “Both of you.”
Mom came forward again. “Tell us what happened.”
I groaned. “It’s a long story, Mom.”
Alex handed Bellamy a coffee, and she tucked her hands around it and sighed. I noted the goose bumps coating her arms and frowned. Snatching my zippered hoodie she’d worn on the way here off the bedside table nearby, I leaned up and draped it around her shoulders.
She smiled as I tugged the neckline closer around her. “Shoulder okay?” I asked low.
Her head bobbed. “Thanks.”
“Liam?” Mom asked, trying to get me to spill.
Fuck, I was tired. I just wanted to grab up Bellamy and shut ourselves inside the cabin for a few days.
I knew I couldn’t.
“What kind of routine tests?”
“What?” Mom asked.
“What kind of routine tests are you having done, Dad?”
Alex shifted, and Bellamy took a sip of the coffee.
The door opened again. This time, a man in a suit walked in, followed by a woman dressed in a pencil skirt and dress shirt. Behind the pair was the police chief of Caribou.
“Frank!” Mom exclaimed upon seeing him. Her hand flew to her neck. “Is this a police matter?”
“I’m afraid so.” Frank agreed.
The man in the suit cleared his throat. Bellamy shrank back against me. “I’m going to need a word with Miss Lane and Mr. Mattison.” He glanced around. “Alone.”
“Now wait a minute. You can’t just waltz in here and take over my jurisdiction.” Frank cut in.
The man flashed his shiny FBI badge. “Actually, we can.”
Ah, so this was Agent Frost. Douchebag.
“The FBI!” Mom exclaimed.
I looked toward the ceiling. This room was becoming a shitstorm of people and underlying conversations that had yet to be had.
“I’m Renshaw Mattison, Liam’s father. What’s this all about?” Dad stepped forward, sounding every bit the powerful businessman he was. The hospital gown he was dressed in seemed even more out of place.
I frowned, and a sick feeling crawled around in my stomach.
A doctor poked his head in the room. It wasn’t my or Bells’s doctor. “Mr. Mattison. I thought I might find you here.”
“Doctor,” my dad replied stiffly.
“I have those results if you wouldn’t mind coming back to your room?”
“What’s going on?” I looked at Mom.
She averted her gaze.
Routine my ass.
Suddenly, the pressure to start training this spring to take over BearPaw made a lot more sense. Realization smacked me in the face so hard I wondered if maybe my concussion didn’t just get worse.
I started to get out of the bed. The ice pack on my knee hit the floor, and the bed scooted a little askew as I tried to get around Bellamy.
“Liam.” She gasped, reaching out to grab me.
“Son.” Dad appeared. “Get back in bed. Keep the ice on your knee.”
“My knee is fine,” I snapped. “I’ll come with you,” I told him, finally managing to stand, most of my weight on my left leg. “I want hear what your doctor has to say.”
“That’s not necessary,” my father replied quickly.
I made a rude sound. I didn’t know why he bothered talking. I was going.
I managed to herd my parents to the door, near the doctor who was standing there waiting patiently.
“We’ll need you to wait outside while we question Miss Lane,” Agent Frost said behind me.
I froze and turned to see him looking at Alex. I glanced between my parents and Bellamy, who was sitting on the bed alone.
Fuuck.
I couldn’t leave her in here with these vultures. I was one hundred percent positive these agents were going to try and scare the shit out of her to get her in the back of their government-issue SUV. She was already confused and scared enough.
I had to be here. I wanted to be.
“Just stay with Bellamy, son. You clearly have a statement to give to the police. Your mother and I are fine. It’s just routine.”
“You can stop saying that,” I retorted, harsher than I intended. “We both know it’s a damn lie.”
My parents fell silent.
“Go, Liam. I’ll be here when you’re finished,” Bellamy said, understanding and patience in her voice.
Turning to Alex, I said, “Can you walk down the hall with Mom and Dad. Make sure they get to their room okay?”
“My pleasure.” He nodded, then handed me the coffee I had yet to even touch. I took it and met his eyes.
The look of understanding in those depths made me feel better. He’d keep an eye on my parents, make sure everything was okay.
“I’ll come get you if I have to,” he said quietly.
“I don’t take too kindly to my son hiring a babysitter,” Dad announced to the room.
“I’m insulted you think so low of me, Ren,” Alex quipped.
Dad made a rude sound. “Come on, then.”
The doctor, Alex, and my parents moved out into the hall.
“Mom,” I said, and she turned back. She’d been moving slower than everyone else because she knew I would call out to her.
“How bad is it?”
“Everything is fine.” She assured me.
I didn’t believe her.
When she was gone, I turned back. Agent Frost was trying to banish Frank.
“He stays,” I announced. My voice was hard and dark. I embraced a little of that darkness I always tried to keep put away. I needed it right now. “If you want any kind of cooperation at all, you will involve the local police chief who I trust implicitly.” I levelled a hard stare on Agent Frost. “Which is more than I can say for you.”
Agent Frost looked as if he’d swallowed an ice cube whole, but he nodded to the woman with him, and she moved to shut the door.
I went back to the bed. Bellamy stood to let me slide on, then replaced the ice pack on my knee and made sure the pillows elevating it were steady. When she was done, I pulled her beside me, anchoring an arm at her waist.
Before submitting to the round of endless questions I was sure were coming, I glanced back at the door my parents had just left through.
They had some explaining to do.