Kara
We’re all sitting around Slade’s room, talking and catching up. Slade is giving Cole a list of things that he needs from home that we didn’t think about when we left in a hurry. He’s going to check on the place, get our mail, and get everything before making his way back here for dinner tonight.
“Well, we should get Charlotte home. I’m pretty tired.” Miranda stands from her chair, taking hold of Stone’s arm.
“Thanks for stopping in. We’ll come by as soon as I’m out of this place.” Slade hugs Miranda and shakes hands with Stone. “Congrats, guys,” Slade tells them as they grab the carrier with the baby sleeping in it.
“I’ll walk you guys out,” Cole says to them. “I’ll see you guys in a little bit.” Cole tucks the list into his pocket and follows them out.
“I have to get going soon too.” My father looks at his watch. “I have a bunch of guys busting their ass to find Higgins. I should probably get an update.”
“What will happen to his club?”
“Eventually, it will become property of the state and they’ll auction it off. Why?”
“I may buy it.” Logan laughs. “Not only would it piss Higgins off, but it’ll give Mikey and I the club we’ve wanted to open together.”
Sky shakes her head. “Yeah, because you don’t have your hands full with the two you’re running right now?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I’ll train Kelly to run Thrive and I’ll move Shane to Heat. He and Stone can run Heat together, and when Slade gets his lazy ass out of the hospital, he can help us update the security system there.” Everyone starts laughing. Of course they know Slade is far from lazy, but Logan has fucking jokes today.
“Hey, stop rushing him. It’s bad enough once he’s released he’ll be itching to get back to work. This man can’t sit still.” I give Logan shit for picking on Slade.
The doctor walks back into the room. “You won’t have to worry about that for a bit. He’s not going home just yet.” Slade growls. “You can growl all you want, young man. I’m used to it. You’ll go home when your orthopedist and I agree you’re ready. For now, I’ve removed your food restrictions, since you’ve kept everything down without an issue. I’ve ordered them to deliver you a dinner with more substance. If your family delivers you food, you’re welcome to it.”
“Thank fuck for that.” Slade rolls his eyes.
I slap him on the arm. “Watch your mouth.” I turn to the doctor. “He’s a bit cranky today.”
“I can see that. Don’t you worry, I’m used to it, and trust me, I’ve seen far worse.” I laugh when Slade jokingly sticks out his tongue. “All I have to do is threaten more green Jell-O and suddenly they behave themselves.” The doctor chuckles.
I laugh harder, Slade made a big deal of hating green Jell-O. “I’m sorry. Please just keep the green Jell-O away. That stuff’s so gross.”
“Now I know what to get you next Christmas,” Logan teases.
“Dude, you have some serious jokes today.” Slade chuckles but quickly stops when he feels pain shooting through his ribs.
Sky slaps Logan for messing with him. “You two are too much today. Behave,” she scolds, causing the doctor to laugh.
“Listen, you’re making great progress, but we have to monitor you for a few more days before we can let you go home. Your swelling is all going down and your ribs will start to feel less tender each day, but you need to rest.” The doctor shrugs. “If you overdo it, then it’s only going to take longer for you to heal.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Slade says.
“My pleasure. Relax a bit, and I’ll be back tomorrow to check in on you after I meet with your orthopedist. He should be in to check on you as well.” Slade nods and the doctor leaves the room.
My father stands from his chair. “I’ll come back later with your mom. I need to go check on the investigation.” He gives me a hug. “You listen to the doctors so you can get the hell out of here.” My father shakes hands with Slade.
“I will.” Slade nods at my father as a nurse comes in carrying a brown box.
“You’ve received a package.” She places it on the table in front of him and exits the room.
My father has a leery look on his face. He pulls a knife from his back pocket and slits the box open. Slade opens the flaps to find a handwritten letter.
Slade,
Congrats on living to see another day, you piece of shit. I should have fucking killed you myself. Thanks to you, most of my guys have been arrested and the cops are busy building their case on me, but they still have to find me. You see, I have a plan, and I won’t stop until I see it come to fruition. I’m coming for Miranda, and once I have her and the baby, we will be gone and no one will know where we are. We’ll all have new identities and a new life. I’ve been stalking the house, and now know the baby has been born. That means the time is right. She will become mine as her mother once was. I have to get back to my plans, but I want you to do me a favor. Let Stone know that I plan on taking good care of Miranda and the baby.
Watch your ass,
Randall Higgins
Slade hands the letter to my father and looks in the box. Underneath the letter is a sign that Slade had made for Miranda and Stone for Christmas last year. “Fuck, they’ve been in their apartment,” he growls.
“How do you know?” My father’s brows furrow.
“I had this made for them. They had it on the wall in the living room.” He picks up the sign that says “Alexander Family.”
My father pulls his phone from the clip to warn Stone and Miranda, but he’s too late. His phone begins to ring. I can hear Stone yelling through the phone. “Motherfucker was in our apartment.”
“How the hell did he get in?” my father growls.
“I don’t fucking know,” Stone yells, sounding defeated.
“I’m on my way.” My father cuts the call. “Where’s Stephan?” My father looks at Logan.
“With the nanny.” He picks up his phone and barks orders to get a protective detail on Logan’s house and cuts the call. “I don’t think he has any intentions of going near you, but just in case.” He looks at all of us. “None of you leave this room without protection. I’ll be in touch.” He scoops up the box and runs from the room. Logan picks up the phone to call the nanny to inform her of the security.
“Do you think he’ll come for us?” Sky asks Logan, her voice a bit shaken.
“I don’t. I think Cooper’s right that it’s a necessary precaution, and to be honest, I think it’s a good one. I’ve pissed him off over opening our club, and God only knows what’s going through his head right now. He could show up there looking for Miranda.” She nods and sits back in her seat. There are two guards at our door, so we’re safe, and there are two following Miranda and Stone, but it’s too bad there wasn’t one stationed at their house while they were gone. This shit may be over right now instead of everyone being on high alert.
The room gets quiet. It’s been an hour since my father left, and the mood in the room is a somber one. Everyone is trying to pass time while we wait to hear from my father. This entire situation has gotten out of hand and it needs to end. Cole comes running into the room. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine, but we’re going crazy waiting to hear from my father.” I look up at him, praying he has info for us.
“I’m sorry, Kara. All I know is I was supposed to hurry back here in case Sky and Logan wanted to go home. Your father was at the house with Miranda and Stone.” He gives me a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry, Kara, but I think I need to be with Stephan.” Sky stands from her seat. “Are you ready?” She looks at Logan.
“Of course.” Logan stands with her, taking her hand.
“Mitch will take you, and I’ll stand watch outside the door.”
“Thanks, Cole.” Sky gives him a hug and then she turns to us and does the same.
When they’re gone, I begin to pace the room, concerned. We don’t know where Higgins is or how bad Miranda and Stone’s place is. Thank God at least Noah is in jail. My father promised he has enough on him to keep him there, but really Higgins is the powerful one, he’s the guy we have to worry about. How the hell is my father going to find him?
“Come here, baby.” Slade’s voice is soft and sexual. When I turn to face him he has a dirty grin on his face and it makes me smile.
I stroll back over to his bed and climb in, careful not to hurt him. I kiss the top of his head and snuggle against him. I wrap my leg over his good leg. I can feel his cock is semi-hard. “I’m glad to see they didn’t hurt him.” I gently rub my leg over it.
“Oh, I can assure you he’s working fine. You keep walking around here in those damn shorts and that tight t-shirt.” He kisses the top of my head. “And he keeps reminding me that he’s still there and working fine.”
I giggle. “How are you feeling? Are you in pain?”
“I’m sore, but nothing I can’t handle.” The swelling in his lip and eyes is almost gone but he’s still bruised. I snuggle into the crook of his neck and inhale his masculine scent. It’s my favorite place to be. He makes me feel safe.
***
Slade
My girl fell asleep in a matter of minutes. She’s been in my arms passed out cold for almost an hour now, but I can’t seem to sleep. I doze off here and there thanks to the pain meds, but every time I do I see that fat fucker messing with my friends. Cooper should be here shortly with Mrs. Cooper to give us an update and bring us food. I’m starving and can’t wait to eat.
Kara stirs in her sleep. She’s probably having another nightmare. She’s had a few since we’ve been here and it kills me that this is messing her up so bad. Every night she lays in the cot next to my bed and I listen to her groan in her sleep. I can’t exactly wake her because I can’t get out of this damn bed and it makes me feel helpless. I tried to call out to her last night but it was no use. She was in such a deep sleep she never heard me.
She starts to run her hand down my chest and her leg is gliding over my now fully erect cock. This girl is killing me. I try to move her leg, but she slips it back up. “Someone’s happy to see me.” She giggles against my chest.
“You have no idea. I’m going to end up with fucking blue balls if this keeps up.”
She giggles against my chest. “We’ll figure something out.”
Her mom and dad appear at the door and that’s enough to make any man’s dick go limp. She carefully climbs off of me to greet her parents. Her mom is carrying an insulated bag and her father has another bag in his hand. The nurse walks in right behind them. “Mr. Ryan, would you like to try and get out of bed this evening? You can sit in the chair for a bit.”
“First, please call me Slade. You’re all killing me with the Mr. Ryan stuff.” He says it with a smile and the nurse blushes. “Second, I’d love to get out of this bed.” She pulls the chart from the end of my bed, makes a note, and closes the curtain around my bed.
“I have to remove your catheter.”
Oh, this is going to be great. My girlfriend and her parents are on the other side of this curtain and this nurse wants to touch my dick, which thankfully is no longer hard as fucking stone. I sigh and close my eyes, thinking about anything but the fact this woman is handling my cock. Thankfully it only takes her a minute and she announces she’s done. The curtain opens and there’s my girl giving the nurse a dirty look. The nurse gives her a warm smile and says, “I get it, but trust me, I’ve seen more of them than you can imagine in my years as a nurse.” Kara blushes, embarrassed by her jealousy. The nurse rubs her arm, and walks out of the room. She’s back a minute later with a large guy who helps me get out of bed and into the chair. “Motherfucker, my leg is throbbing.”
“Try to relax. You need to get up and moving again or we can’t send you home. You’ll be on crutches for a bit, and we need to see you moving around on them first.”
I take a few deep breaths, trying to relax, but fuck, it hurts. “Okay. I’m okay now.” I rest my leg on the floor and the nurse wheels over my table, lowering it so I can eat the food the Coopers brought me. Now that I’m settled, her mother begins unpacking the bag of food she brought. Of course everything is homemade, because her mom is a chef. She pulls out three containers of food and begins opening them while Cooper pulls out some disposable plates and utensils. “I wanted you to have a hearty, healthy dinner, so we have chicken, baked mac and cheese, steamed veggies, and this…” She hands me a thermos. “It’s full of homemade chicken orzo soup. In case you get hungry again later.” She winks at me.
“You are the best. Thank you so much.” I take the thermos. Reaching behind me, I place it on the table next to my bed. Mrs. Cooper places a plate on my table and then makes one for Kara, who sits on my bed with her legs crossed to eat.
“Daddy, what happened at Miranda’s house?”
He shakes his head. “The guy somehow managed to get upstairs. He picked the lock and left them a note and a gift for the baby. He left the remainder of the house untouched.”
“What a whack job.” Kara makes a disgusted face.
“Pretty much.”
“Do you guys have any idea where he is?” Mrs. Cooper asks him.
“Yeah, we have guys keeping an eye on a few places he likes to hang out and they’re following up on some leads.”
“You need to catch this asshole,” Kara growls angrily.
“Kara, don’t you think I know this? I have guys working around the clock trying to find him. We know he’s still local because he’s made it clear he won’t be leaving the area until he has Miranda and the baby. Let my guys do their job.” I’ve never seen her father freak out on her like that.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m tired, and this has been going on for far too long.”
He gets up from his chair and pulls her in for a hug. “I know, baby girl. I promise you this will all be over soon, okay?” She nods as she sniffles into his shirt. “Now eat up. Your mother and I have to get home so I can some rest and continue looking for this prick in the morning.” She nods again and does as he asks, yawning between bites because she’s so tired.