Miranda
I start to stretch when pain shoots through my body, reminding me of my injuries. I can hear Stone snoring lightly, sound asleep in a reclining chair by my bed. I chuckle, knowing my man is completely exhausted, because that’s the only time he ever snores. I try again to stretch, my body stiff from the position I’ve been in, but it’s no use. Everything aches when I move too much. I sigh, taking advantage of the quiet. I try to remember what happened, but I don’t remember much and it frustrates me. I remember my meeting and planning lunch with Katie, but after that, nothing. I woke here yesterday to a panicked look on Stone’s face when the doctor and nurses came running in, and even then I wasn’t awake long.
I glance around the room, trying to get an idea on what time it is, but I can’t see the clock. I do notice the sun isn’t fully up yet, so it must be pretty early still. I smile at all the flowers lining my window. They are beautiful. I’ll have to ask Stone to show me all the cards when he wakes up.
A yawn escapes me. I’m still so tired but I can’t get comfortable. Looking down at my body, I note my left arm is in a cast from my forearm to just below my shoulder. I try to move it, but it’s a bad idea, pain shoots through my arm, causing me to wince. I find the remote by my right arm and press the button with a picture of a nurse on it, and then close my eyes, trying to focus on something other than the pain.
“Ah, Ms. Stevens, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“I’m in a little pain,” I whisper, not wanting to wake Stone.
“I’m sure you are. You’re due for some medication. You relax and I’ll be right back with it.” I nod my head. I’m not sure why, but that’s the moment I remember that I am or was pregnant. I’m afraid to ask. A tear escapes me as my mind starts to whirl with the thought of losing our baby. “Ms. Stevens, are you okay?”
“Tell me,” I demand, my voice just above a whisper.
“Tell you what?” She has a look of confusion on her face.
“Did I lose it?” She’s puzzled, but I can’t bring myself to ask. I want to know but I don’t. I’m scared. I continue to stare at her like she can read the question I’m trying to ask just from the look on my face. She picks up my chart and begins to read it over. Her expression changes. She places the clipboard back at the foot of my bad.
A smile spreads across her face as she comes to my side. “No, dear. You haven’t lost the baby.” I smile. “I have to tell you that you’re not out of the woods yet, but every day that the baby hangs on, your chances improve.”
“Thank you.” I begin to cry. “Thank you so much,” I repeat, closing my eyes and saying a silent prayer that our baby stays healthy and strong. The nurse comes back a few moments later with my medication, and it’s enough to settle me and put me back to sleep.
“What do you want from me?” I scream at him. He’s standing there staring at me, but won’t talk to me. He’s panting and sweating, it makes my stomach turn. “What did you do to him?” I question and he just laughs at me.
“I told him you would be mine and now you are. All I had to do was take him out of the picture. It really wasn’t hard. After I got to you, his defenses were down. He got messy and stopped paying attention to his own safety.”
“You bastard,” I scream, tears running down my face. My hands instantly go to my belly, as I think about our baby. Our wonderful baby who survived my injuries but will now grow up without his father.
“Don’t worry. I know all about the baby and I’m fine adopting him and taking care of him like he’s mine.”
“Fuck you! I won’t allow you to be anything to my baby.”
He steps closer and that’s when I notice the blood on his hands. I instantly take a step back for every step he takes toward me, but I bump into the wall. He slips his bloody hand into my hair and leans in close. “You’ll change your mind or I’ll kill you and your precious baby.”
My eyes fly open as I flinch from the pain radiating through my body as I try to sit up in bed.
“What is it, baby?” Stone’s voice is laced with concern.
He gently presses his hand to my cheek and forces me to look at him. “Nightmare,” I pant, trying to slow my breathing.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, but I can’t bring myself to talk about it. I quickly shake my head no.
“Please be careful and take security with you.” I look at him, hoping he can see the fear in my eyes.
“I take it your nightmare was about losing me?” I nod my head. He leans in and kisses me on the forehead. “I know you’re scared, but I promise you I’m not going anywhere.”
“Please just promise me,” I beg him.
He gives me a tight smile. “I promise, now tell me, how are you feeling? You have quite a few people who want to visit you today.”
“Good. I noticed all my flowers. Apparently, I have a lot of people to thank.”
“You do. There are some from Tanya, Katie and Shane, Sky, Lila, and Kara sent you a bear.” He nods toward the window where he has lined them all up for me.
There’s a knock at the door, and when we look over, Cooper steps in. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Come on in.” I try to plaster a smile on my face, but I’m nervous to see him since I can’t really remember much.
“How are you feeling?” he asks, placing two coffees on my sliding table…one for me and one for Stone.
“Thank you. I’m tired and sore.” I give him a tight smile.
“You’re welcome. Can we talk?” His voice is calm and gentle. I’ve known Mr. Cooper for a few years now. He’s my best friend’s father, and he’s always welcomed me into his home. He’s staring at me, his eyes full of sympathy, and although I haven’t responded, he encourages me. “Start with telling me about your morning. I want to go through your entire day. It may help you remember something.”
“My morning was normal. Security followed me to work, and then went back home to be there for Stone if he needed them, and they were going to come back for me at the end of the day.” I stop to think about my morning. “We had a meeting.” I rub my fingers into my hair and narrow my eyes, trying to come up with all the details.
He takes notes on every little word I say. “What happened after your meeting?”
“I went to lunch with Katie, but we had to take separate cars because she had a meeting after. There was a black car behind me. I remember trying to decide if he was following me.” I take a slow calming breath. “Couldn’t Katie tell you what happened?” I ask, frustrated.
“She could only tell us so much. What happened after you noticed the black car?” he encourages.
I’m starting to get frustrated and Stone senses it. He comes to my side and takes my hand. “Take your time, baby. Cooper is here until you’re done.”
A smile spreads across my face because I remember. “One of the cars came up on the side of me and pinned me against another one. I somehow got away, but they continued to follow me. I somehow got hit again, and then slid until I was pinned against something and could no longer move.”
“That’s great, Miranda. Do you remember anything else? Did you see anything after your car stopped moving? Did anyone approach your car?”
“I don’t remember.” A tear runs down my cheek. “Were there any witnesses?”
“We’re working on figuring that out,” he explains as Katie and Tanya come walking into the room.
“Hey Daddy. Do you have any news?”
“All we know is that the cars were stolen from a car service company, which is why they were both similar makes and both black. The company has cameras, but the thieves wore hooded sweatshirts so we weren’t able to get anything from the film. We’ve been to Vixen to question Higgins and ask if he knows anything, but he fed us some crap that he’s been busy getting the club ready for his big New Year’s Eve party.” Cooper turns back to me. “Get some rest and I’ll let you know if we come up with anything.” He gives me a tight smile.
Katie hugs her father goodbye and walks him to the door as Tanya asks, “How are you?”
“I’m doing okay. I’m a bit tired and I ache, but I’m going to be okay.”
“If there’s anything we can do, please let us know,” she says with sympathy.
“I will. Has anyone been in touch with my clients?”
“You’re lying in a hospital bed with a broken arm, bruised ribs, and a concussion, and you’re worried about your clients?” Katie questions agitated.
“Yes,” I state flatly, raising my brows at her. How am I not supposed to be concerned over my clients? I couldn’t give a shit about Higgins, but he wasn’t my only client.
I’m holding my stare, waiting for her response. She shakes her head at me. “Lila and I have been in touch with your clients. Higgins is the only one who didn’t return our call.”
“Actually, I emailed him too, and he hasn’t responded to that either.” Tanya looks at me with curiosity in her eyes.
“Really.” Stone looks at Tanya with his brows furrowed.
“I wonder if it has something to do with Cooper questioning his sorry ass.” I grab my water and take a sip. My throat is so dry from the tube that was down it.
“Well, wherever he is, I’m glad you have security outside your door. Do you know how long you’ll be here?” Tanya points to the two guys standing at my door.
I shake my head at her. “I haven’t even really spoken to the doctor yet. He was here briefly last night, but I fell back to sleep from the medication he gave me.” Her mention of security makes me realize that my normal security is gone. “Hey, where are Slade and Cole?” I look at Stone with my brows furrowed.
He gives me a smile. “They’ll be back, baby. They have to sleep at some point, but they are due back any time now.”
“Yeah, I guess they do, but I trust them.” They took care of Katie and they have been taking care of me since this all started. Slade comes walking in the door. “Were your ears ringing?”
He gives me a funny look. “No, why?”
“I was just asking about you.”
He gives me a warm smile. “I’m glad to see you’re awake to be talking about me. I was getting some sleep, but I got some news on the way here, and I thought you guys would like to know.”
“What’s up?” Stone walks over to shake his hand.
“Well, someone tried to screw with the club last night. They started to graffiti the door and they cracked a window, but security started to roll through, scaring them off. When they bolted, they dropped a can of spray paint. Cooper has it and is running it for prints.” Slade looks happy that we finally have a lead.
“Problem is that vandalism isn’t going to do much to get them off the street. We need proof that they tried to murder Miranda.” Stone runs his hands through his hair in frustration.
“The police are still looking for the two stolen cars. Hopefully, they will find them soon.” Slade points to the door. “I have to get out there so the other two guys can get some rest. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.” He walks out to relieve the other two men at the door.
“Listen, we have to get back to the office, but we wanted to stop by and visit with you for a little bit. Keep us posted on how you’re doing and I’ll try to get back in to see you.” Tanya rubs my good arm.
“Okay, thank you both for the flowers. They are beautiful.” I wish I wasn’t choosing now to get emotional, but it’s hard when you realize you have so many great friends around to support you and help you through a tough time.
“I’ll see you a little later with Shane.” Katie squeezes my hand and walks out the door with Tanya.
“I’m hungry, Stone. Can you find out what I’m allowed to eat?”
“Sure.” He presses the button on my remote to call for the nurse.
“What can we do for you, Ms. Stevens?”
“I’m hungry,” I complain, since they never delivered me breakfast today and it’s probably because I didn’t wake until late last night.
“I’ll get you something to eat.”
A short time later the nurse delivers me some broth, crackers, jello, and tea. “Please go slow with it so you don’t get sick.” I nod my agreement. While I eat, Stone has a conversation with her about my food limitations, and I’m really happy when she tells him that I don’t have any. Once she knows I keep this food down, I can have whatever I want. This makes me quite happy, since the food she gave me was fine, but I’m still hungry.
“Sky, Sadie, and Katie are bringing dinner later. Is there something special you want?”
“No. Whatever they bring is fine, babe.” He smiles at me and then grabs his phone to respond to a text. A yawn escapes me. Who would’ve thought doing something simple like talking with Cooper and some friends would make me feel tired?
***
Stone
“How is she?” Sky walks into the room with Katie and Sadie.
“She’s been sleeping for a few hours now, but she’s doing okay.” I stand up to help them with the bags they’re carrying.
Katie hands me her bag. “We stopped at the deli and picked up a variety of sandwiches and grabbed some soup for Miranda.”
“Good, I’m starving.” Miranda chuckles from her bed. “Stone, can you help me adjust the pillows behind me?”
“Sure, baby.” Rushing to her side, I wrap my arm around her, and try to lift her without hurting her, but she winces from the pain. I manage to adjust the pillows, getting her into a better position, and then press the button to call for the nurse.
I open her soup and set it down on the table in front of her with the crackers that the girls brought for her. “Mmm, this is so good.”
“Look at you eating some soup. It smells really good.” With a warm smile, the nurse picks up my chart. “What can I get you?” She’s made some notes and put it back at the foot of my bed.
“Is she due for some pain meds?” I ask, since Miranda’s mouth is full of soup.
“Are you in a lot of pain?” The nurse looks at me with a look of concern.
“Not a lot. It was really painful to get into this position, but now that I’m settled, it’s not so bad.”
“Okay, good. It’s almost time. I’ll be back with it shortly. For now, try to relax and enjoy that yummy soup.” The nurse leaves us to our dinner.
“Did you guys hear about the can of spray paint?” I feel bad because I’m about to bust Sky’s bubble because we already know.
“Yeah, Slade told us, but what we really need is for them to find the cars and hope there’s evidence of who stole them.”
Sky nods her agreement. “Yeah, but remember whoever left the paint can be questioned about the cars, because they threatened you.”
“That’s right.” Sadie gets excited.
“Well, they would have to be able to link the can to the same paint that was used to threaten Stone, and even then it’s probably your run of the mill spray paint. Anyone could have bought it.” Leave it to Katie, a detective’s daughter, to find reasonable doubt.
Everyone is really quiet as we all enjoy the food that the girls brought. I don’t know about them, but I know my mind is swirling with thoughts of how we’re going to find out who did this. “That was really good.” Miranda puts the cover on the Styrofoam container and tosses it in the bag that the girls brought it in.
“Did you have enough? I have a sandwich for Kara, who was actually supposed to be here by now, but I brought some extras in case you were really hungry or someone else was here.” Katie lifts the bag to show me what she has.
“I’ve had enough.” Miranda pats her belly.
The nurse walks back in a minute later with a fresh bouquet of flowers. It’s the biggest bouquet yet. It’s so big we all look a bit shocked as the nurse places it on the table by her side. She plucks the card from its holder and opens it. I can see her eyes scanning the words and her jaw drops. She hands me the card.
Sweetheart,
I’m so sorry to hear of your accident. I want you to know that I never wanted anything bad to happen to you, but your man has to learn he can’t get in my way. All I wanted was some alone time with you so we could see where things went between us, and he’s preventing that from happening. I had to teach him a lesson. He has to know who he’s fucking with and that no one, I mean no one, gets in my way. Unfortunately, you were my only means of getting to him. Since you survived your injuries, I wish you a speedy recovery.
I’ll see you soon.
Xoxo
“Hey, everyone.” Kara comes in walking straight to her sister. She hugs her Katie, and then gently hugs Miranda.
“How are you feeling?” Her words trail off when she realizes she’s just walked in on something big. “What’s going on?”
“I’m doing okay.” Miranda’s words are barely above a whisper as she adjusts her blanket and rests her arm on a piece of square foam they gave her.
Grabbing my phone from its clip, I call Cooper and the girls get the update as I fill him in on the flower delivery and the note. “Cooper is on his way.” I clip the phone back to my belt and the room goes quiet.
“Here.” Katie hands Kara a sandwich. “You’re late.” She teases her sister, trying to break the tension in the room.
“I know. I met up with Noah before coming here.” Kara opens her sandwich and starts eating.
“How is he doing?” Katie rolls her eyes.
There is way too much hormone in here for me. I take a seat on the other side of the room to give the girls some space.
“He’s good. I just wish he weren’t working so many hours.” Kara shoves her sandwich into her mouth. They continue having girl talk for about the next thirty minutes and that’s when Miranda finally starts to yawn again. It’s not all that late, but Miranda needs her rest, and I need a shower, so I kick them all out and tell them they can come back tomorrow.