Chapter Twenty-Three
The Day of Reckoning
Nash
The hospital was less than receptive to our arrival. Once Blane disclosed who we were and explained my relationship to the patient, they bent over backwards to accommodate us. Not only did they help keep the press at bay, but they also helped shield Rowan from police interrogation before she was emotionally ready. Dr. Wheatley wanted her to have at least one full day of rest before having to answer any questions.
After Rowan’s breakdown, she slept for fourteen hours straight. Grant, Mallory, and Evan rented a suite at the Waldorf, while our security team took turns alternating between guarding Rowan’s hospital door and catching up on sleep in the suite. When Ro’s doctor realized that I wasn’t leaving her side, she sent the nurses in with a cot. I’d managed to catch a few winks, but mostly I watched Rowan. My girl was broken. I’d broken her when I left, but Conor had finished her off. The fucker had left a trail of destruction from one end of her body to the other. Dr. Wheatley assured me she hadn’t been violated, but until I heard it from Rowan’s lips, I didn’t believe it. “I’m so sorry,” she’d sobbed. The anguish behind those two words had gutted me. If anyone had something to apologize for, it was me. I’d left her there for that fucker to find…to hurt. Too bad he was dead, because I would have thoroughly enjoyed hunting him down and killing him. As I watched Rowan sleep, my mind kept wandering back to the same question.
What happened in that apartment?
Garrett’s attempts to fill in the blanks only left me with more questions. I ran my finger over Rowan’s necklace. Ever since Garrett had given it back to me, it had been burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted it back on her neck, only this time she would know exactly what it meant.
This morning I’d awakened with a lightness of heart I hadn’t felt in months. Rowan was here. Conor was dead. We were finally going to be together. My phone pinged with a text message, and I checked to see who it was from. Garrett wanted to meet with me in the cafeteria. I stared at Rowan’s sleeping face, and wondered if I should leave her. I was contemplating what to do when Mallory walked in.
“Can you watch her for a minute? Garrett wants me to meet him in the cafeteria. I won’t be long.”
“Go ahead. Grant’s already there. I’ve got Rowan,” she assured me.
“Have I told you how awesome you are?” Her eyes lit up with surprise.
“No, but I’ll take it.” As I passed by, I dropped a kiss of thanks on her cheek. She grabbed my arm, and I paused. “Grant feels horrible about everything, Nash. He didn’t know how serious things had gotten between you and Rowan.” Grant and I were going to have a talk, but now wasn’t the time. We may have been dicks to each other along the way, but one thing never changed. We always had each other’s backs.
“Grant’s lucky to have you,” I told her, and walked out of the room.
The moment I entered the cafeteria and saw Garrett, Grant, Hank, Bobby, and Adam sitting at the table, I knew this wasn’t going to be a quick and easy conversation.
“What is it?” I asked, once I’d joined them.
“How’s Rowan?” Garrett asked.
“Better,” I answered, “Now, what’s up with the pow-wow?”
“The police refuse to hold out any longer. Rowan is a key piece in a murder investigation. The sooner she talks, the faster she’ll be exonerated,” Garrett explained.
“There’s no way she could have had anything to do with it. She was locked in a damn room,” Grant angrily stated.
“Yes, but we need to follow protocol. Rowan has to be questioned,” Garrett reiterated.
“What else?” Hank asked. Garrett’s eyes darted to Bobby, and warning bells went off in my head.
“What?” I asked.
Garrett’s lip curled in disgust. “It appears that Conor had quite an obsession with Gillian.”
“Clearly,” I dryly stated. Bobby shook his head as if I’d misread Garrett’s intent, and a spear of uneasiness jolted through me.
Leaning his forearms on the table, Garrett lowered his voice, and explained, “You don’t understand. We just got back from his house in Pennsylvania.” He paused for a moment as if gathering his thoughts, and I braced. “Gillian Gallagher’s things were all over that house.”
“What?” I barked.
“The fuck?” Grant hissed.
“We’re talking clothes, pictures, knick-knacks. If I didn’t know any better, Conor O’Brien and Gillian Gallagher were living together.” Garrett’s words absolutely floored me. “That’s not the only thing. When we were trying to find a connection between Gillian and Conor, we discovered that her father was a business associate of Conor’s.”
“Was?” Hank asked.
“It appears he was murdered nine months ago when his store was robbed. The case is still open, but so far the police have nothing.”
“Do you think it was Conor?” Grant asked.
“That’s just it, we don’t know. Rowan has been with you for how long?” Garrett asked me.
“She’s been with us for over a year now.”
“Do you think they were living together?” Grant asked. I jerked my eyes to him and scowled. His brows flew to his hairline. “Don’t get upset. I’m just asking.”
“There’s one more thing,” Garrett said, “and you both need to brace for this one. Bobby found another connection. It appears that Conor was also doing business with Kirkland Hamilton.”
“Blane’s dad?” I asked.
“Motherfucker!” Grant harshly exclaimed. I had no words. None. I was completely dumfounded. The deeper we dug, the more shit we unsurfaced.
Garrett glanced down at his phone, and said, “The detectives are on their way now.”
I told them I wanted a minute with Rowan before they brought them in, and he told me to hurry.
Grant and I started back to Rowan’s room. “I know this means shit coming from me right now, but before you judge, make sure you let her explain,” he advised.
“I can’t help but feel as if I’m missing something.”
“Like the entire bus?” he joked.
“What are you going to do about Blane?” I asked.
“The hell if I know.”
“If he had anything to do with this…” I was so angry that I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
We paused outside of Rowan’s room. “If Blane had anything to do with this, I will make sure he goes down once and for all,” Grant confirmed, before waving Mallory out into the hallway. I thanked them both and told Grant I would call as soon as the police interrogation was over.
I found Rowan still asleep. My eyes wandered down her sleeping form, and I thought, who are you?
As if sensing me watching her, Rowan’s eyes sprang open. The swelling on her left eye had gone down and I could finally see both of her pupils. Gorgeous green eyes blinked sleepily at me as her lips melted into a smile. My chest ached with love, but my head swam with confusion. I was furious, yet relieved, sad but also happy, full of contradictions and a mess of emotions. I lowered my gaze to the tubes coming out of Rowan’s arm, and contemplated what to say. Rowan needed gentle right now, but I needed answers. I slowly lifted my gaze, and a look of concern appeared on her face.
“What’s wrong?” she rasped. Emotions that I’d never felt before warred within me. I wanted to wrap her in my arms and never let her go. At the same time, I wanted to stand up and walk right out the door, because I knew…I knew that I was never going to get over this. I needed answers, yet I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear them. I wanted Rowan, but I wasn’t sure I could ever have her. She was never yours whispered through my head.
“The police want to talk to you,” I told her. Fear flittered across her face, and I reached for her hand and laced our fingers together. “Hey, it will be okay. You just need to tell them the truth, that’s all.”
“Where’s Garrett?” Right as she asked the question Garrett, Bobby, and Adam walked in, followed by two police officers.
“Good morning, I’m detective Bezos and this is my partner detective Gains. Are you Gillian Ann Gallagher?”
“What?” Rowan’s panic filled eyes shot to mine.
“Is your name Gillian Ann Gallagher?” the detective repeated.
“I can explain,” she rasped.
I stared at her beautiful, beaten face, and waited…