CHAPTER 48

LEXIE

The Kovolskis drove her straight to Saint Lawrence Hospital, to the E.R.

They admitted her and the doctors began asking questions. Lucian and Crow were so worried about her that they didn’t care about calling so much attention to themselves.

“But what if they ask questions?” She whispered to them when they went in.

“Tell the truth,” said Lucian, “don’t worry about anything.”

But she did. They needed to prepare a story. Something for the police, in case they asked.

“Whatever happens,” said Crow, “it’s not your fault.”

The nurse cleaned her and checked her signs.

“You’ll be fine,” she said, “your nose isn’t broken.”

He eyed the couple of guys who brought her in.

“You know we have to call the cops, right?”

She didn’t say anything, she didn’t want to have anything to do with the police.

“Are you safe?” The nurse asked, Lexie didn’t understand what she meant. Then it dawned on her. She thought they beat her up.

“I’m safe. Safer than I’ve ever been.”

“Okay,” the nurse said bringing a wheelchair and taking her to a small room, where a doctor looked at a computer screen.

“You’re going to stay for a night or two, see how you—”

“No, Doctor, I’m fine, I—”

“The police are going to want to ask some questions,” he interrupted her, “It’s standard procedure.”

She was so nervous. What would she tell them?

“I can’t stay, I can’t afford it—”

The doctor raised his hand, “it’s already paid for. You will have to talk to the police, anyway. Now, please, raise your arms…”

He checked her more thoroughly. And after a while, he sighed.

“You’re fine, your bruises are going to heal. My advice is don’t get beaten up. I’d hate to see you here again, I’ve seen women—”

“The guys didn’t beat me.”

The doctor looked at her, and found in her eyes she was telling the truth.

“Then thank God they found you. I’m sorry I implied otherwise. Bianca will take you to your room.”

“But I don’t—”

“Lady,” he said, his voice firmer, “please, we can’t make you stay here against your will, but please, consider staying, at least for the night. It will make everyone feel better. Including the people who brought you in.”

She nodded, not knowing how to answer that. She felt like a kid again.

“This will help.”

He gave her some pills and called the nurse. She wheeled her out of there and got in the elevator, she went up five floors. The doors opened to a big lounge, sofas around, floor to ceiling windows lit the place. It looked peaceful and orderly. It looked expensive.

Crow sat on a sofa on the far edge of the waiting room. He saw her and his eyes widened, he was unable to hide his smile. He nodded at her, she raised her hand to wave at him but then noticed Lucian a few feet from him.

Two men wearing ties were talking to him, writing down what he said in a notepad. NYPD was quicker to act than she thought, apparently. Or the fucking hospital called them.

Flowers and balloons already waited for her in her room. She would have smiled if she wasn’t so nervous. The nurse left after helping her change to the hospital robe. Told her she would come back again in an hour.

Then she was alone, the silence in the room her only companion.

Her heart raced, the police were already there.

Someone knocked on the door. She crossed her fingers, praying that it was one of the boys.

“May we come in?” said a man with a thick voice. It was one of the cops interrogating Lucian.

Her eyes welled up, but she pressed her lips and held her tears back.

The detectives walked in before she replied.

“I’m detective Nash, he’s my partner, detective Jones, we’re here to ask you some questions.”

She swallowed.

They began with the easy ones, her name, where did she live, where she came from, just easing her into what really mattered.

“So, tell us what happened,” detective Nash asked, matter of factly.

She turned to the door. The guys weren’t coming. She was on her own. She couldn’t tell them. She couldn’t say Oscar was embezzling money that belonged to them. They owned dozens of illegal gambling casinos and underground sex clubs, she couldn’t just—

“Well?” Detective Jones asked. This was it. What was she going to say?

Tell the truth, Crow said. The truth. She smiled. He was right. She couldn’t lie to the cops, she didn’t need to.

She told the detectives about how the guys saved her from being mugged, and possibly killed. She told them about learning about their business, small hotels on the East Coast, some franchises out west. She told them about the laundromats, the parking lots, the houses they owned.

All of that was in the books. Yeah, the information might be fake, but they didn’t know about that.

She told them about Oscar, about her finding out some errors that could lead them to recover some money from the IRS.

The detectives smiled, they hated the Service as much as anyone else did.

“So, this man, Oscar, cooked the books, showed one thing to Lucian and Curtis Kovolski, then reported the corrections to the IRS, taking the money for himself, am I right?”

“Right.”

“When he learned about you, he kidnapped you, beat you up and tried to kill you.”

She nodded, with a smile. Crow was right. All of that had happened, to the letter.

“These men are heroes,” Nash told Jones, “I would’ve called the cops.”

“You wouldn’t,” Jones replied, “you wouldn’t have wasted a minute.”

Nash thought about it, “you might be right, Charlie, you might be right—”

“Where’s Lucian and Crow?” She interrupted them.

They stared at her.

“Outside, they’ll have to come with us to the station, to corroborate your story.”

“They won’t be there for long, though,” said Jones, “they have a good lawyer.”

“I think we’re done here. Tell them they can come in.”

Jones sighed, “yeah, sure.”

***

“We’ll be right outside,” Nash said, “don’t take too long.”

Lexie’s heart thundered in her chest, she couldn’t wait to see them.

Lucian was the first to walk in.

She almost fell down the bed, going forward to embrace him. His touch was as soothing as ever.

She was crying, raised her eyes and saw Crow, who joined them.

“I love you,” he said, “I love you.”

“I love you,” she said to both of them, with tears stopping rolling down her face. She was happy and sad and they just came out like a dam breaking.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” said Lucian, his voice breaking for a split second, “I love you, honey.”

They were safe. That’s the only thing that mattered. Being in their arms was all that she needed.

“I told the cops—”

“Don’t worry about that,” Lucian said.

“No, but, I told them the truth. The books and Oscar and he—”

Her voice broke.

“It’s fine,” Crow said, “it doesn’t matter.”

Detective Nash knocked on the door, “come on guys, time to go.”