I COULDN’T BELIEVE WE didn’t see anything all night. Sam, Sean, and I had combed all through this shithole area. I didn’t see any sign of that asshole, his truck, or Stephanie. Motherfucker! Where the hell was she? My heart ached when I briefly wondered if that piece of shit may have already killed her. No! No fucking way! I would have fucking known. I would have felt the loss, I just knew it. She was my angel. She had kept me going through situations I didn’t think I would live through. I couldn’t imagine that I wouldn’t feel if she was gone.
Sam and Sean headed back to Stephanie’s apartment to recoup and try to call the cops again. I had zero faith in the fucking cops. Those bastards didn’t give a fucking rat’s ass about her. They had pretty much hinted that maybe she had run off with a guy. Are you fucking kidding me? Really? Stupid fucks.
I knew she was still alive, and she was here somewhere. She would never run off and leave Remi behind. I sat on the ground in an alley, leaning against a brick building listening to the rats scurrying behind the dumpster and boxes next to me. Running my hands roughly along my face, I tried to focus. Fuck, I should have gone with them and tried to get some sleep, but it didn’t seem fair to sleep when my angel was out there. I had dozed off briefly against this wall after the guys left in the wee hours of the fucking morning. Damn, I was fucking stiff. I stood and took a piss over by the dumpster.
After climbing on my bike, I flipped the switch and prepared to ride around the area again. That’s when I heard a vehicle coming. I wasn’t sure if it was the guys coming back, so I rolled my bike toward the edge of the alley. An old, rusted Chevy truck in the most disgusting shade of mustard yellow was coming up the road. Shit, that wasn’t either of their fucking trucks. I was on the verge of starting my bike as the truck rolled slowly by. If I had been looking down at my bike to put it in neutral at that time, I would have missed the driver. Fucking A! It was him! I shot off a text to the guys, Hacker, and Hollywood to let them all know I found him and I was going to follow him. I had to be careful and stay back far enough that he wouldn’t see me.
I watched as he turned down a street about three blocks up and slowly crept out into the road, keeping my eye on the street he turned on. When I got to the street, it was just in time to see him turning again. I continued to follow and saw him enter into a fenced construction site. I got as close as I could and parked my bike in the nearest alley. After making sure he wasn’t coming back out, I crept over to the fence, noting he had chained the gate. There were several construction-type trailers parked in the fenced area, and I assumed it must be a storage site for one of the construction companies. I knew it wasn’t the one he worked for because Hacker had found every site they were working and owned. We had already checked all that shit out when we couldn’t find anything around here last night. Then we returned here to look again before the guys headed back to the apartment. We had driven by this area several times but never saw any vehicles or signs of life and had written it off. Fuck, he must have left by the time we came by here.
I was able to pull back a section of the fence in the corner where the attachments had broken. It looked like someone had hit it with a car. Lucky for me anyway. I crawled and slid through the opening, tearing my shirt where the rough edges of the fence caught it, looking for where the shitty truck went. Leaning against one trailer to carefully look around the corner before stepping from behind it, I slowly made my way through the lot. The truck was parked toward the middle up against one of the trailers.
Motherfucker, I have you, now.
Leaning carefully against the trailer so I didn’t make noise, I placed my ear to the side of it to see if I could hear anything inside. At first, I didn’t hear anything. Then I heard a muffled male voice talking. I didn’t hear another voice, so it didn’t seem like he had any accomplices with him, but I listened a little longer to be sure. Nothing. On the other hand, I didn’t hear any female voices, either. Shit.
That was when I heard a scream.
Okay, fuck the stealth shit. I needed to get in there now. I only saw the one window as I made my way around the trailer, and it was boarded up. There was a shitty-ass set of metal stairs going up to the beat-up door. Of course, the fucking door opened to the outside. Fuck. So much for kicking it in and having the element of surprise. I prayed it wasn’t locked. There was an open hasp with a lock hanging from one side, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t locked the fucking handle. I pulled out my pistol from the holster at the back of my pants, ensuring I had a bullet chambered. I wasn’t as comfortable with my pistol as I was with my sniper rifle, but I was a fucking good shot just the same.
Grabbing the handle slowly, so it didn’t fucking rattle, I stood to the opening side and slung it open as I launched up the stairs and in the door. The sight that greeted me made my blood run cold.
He was holding her panties in one hand and a fucking Ka-Bar knife in the other. I barely registered all the blood covering her body. I didn’t even have time to check her before he looked up at me. His eyes were glassy and had a crazed look. I had seen that look in the eyes of people who had snapped in combat and knew there was little hope of reasoning with him, which was fine by me because I would be happy to put a bullet between his eyes.
“Get away from her. Back the fuck up now, you piece of shit.” My voice came out low and gravely. I stuffed my fear and worry for Stephanie to the back of my mind, falling into the detached and trained killer that still lurked within me. I knew he wasn’t leaving here alive, but I needed to get him away from Stephanie. What happened next occurred in the blink of an eye. Training and instinctive reaction was all I had when I watched him smile at me in an evil, sadistic way.
“You’re too late to be her hero. She is damaged goods now. You’re just too late. Much too fucking late.” I watched him in what seemed like slow motion as he raised the knife above her lifeless-looking body. As he started the downward plunge, I pulled my trigger smoothly, watching as a shocked expression interrupted his maniacal cackle and blood seeped out of the hole that was now in the middle of his forehead. He toppled forward, and I watched in sick horror as the knife continued its descent into Stephanie’s abdomen. She screamed as the knife entering her body shook her from her pain-and-trauma-induced haze.
Kicking his lifeless body to the side, I knelt to her side and pulled out my phone, dialing 911. Shit, I was thankful I had taken my cut off last night. That was publicity the club did not need. I explained to the operator what had happened, where we were, and that they needed to hurry. I left my phone on speaker and dropped it to the floor as I focused my attention to my baby, trying not to lose my shit when I saw the knife sticking out of her side and all the bruising and blood covering her body. The smell of the blood nearly made me lose my guts as it brought back another time where I was helpless to save someone who counted on me. I didn’t dare take the knife out since I didn’t know what it had hit or what I may let loose by pulling it out.
“Stephanie, baby, can you hear me? I’m here. You’re going to be okay, baby. I’ll take care of you. God, I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t get here sooner.” Her eyes stared at me but were so glazed with pain, I wasn’t sure if she heard or recognized me. I pulled my own knife out and cut through the ropes tying her arms and legs to the sides of the filthy cot she lay on. My hands shook as I took off my long-sleeve denim shirt and laid it over her nude body to provide her a semblance of modesty. I gently brushed her matted hair back from her face. What was once bright and golden, like pure spun gold in the sunlight, now barely resembled straw. Her eyes were swollen and the usual bright blue, what was visible anyway, was dull and glazed. My lips gently brushed across her parched and cracked lips.
“Colton?” Her voice was a dry whisper. She looked confused and unable to focus. Then she closed her eyes halfway, and she was gone. I couldn’t see her breathing. Oh Fuck. No! Fucking God, Jesus, no.
“Nooooooooooooo!” The voice screaming in agony and denial barely registered as my own as I realized there were sirens outside and someone was trying to pull me away from the only woman I had ever loved….
When you die, your soul doesn’t understand or believe you’ve died. I know this now.
I stood calmly beside Colton as he clung to the bloody and beaten young woman in front of him. I didn’t understand what was going on. What had happened to her? Why was he so heartbroken? Did he love her? I had no hope with him if that was the case. His exclamation of love to me the one time must have just been in the heat of the moment. He had the look of someone who was consumed with grief over her state.
When the paramedics rushed into the trailer, I stepped back to get out of their way. He was gently but deftly moved back from the body by paramedics as they were assessing the male body on the floor as well. I heard them say the man was gone and the female wasn’t breathing, but she may have an irregular and faint heartbeat. I watched as they worked on her. I knelt by Colton and kissed his head as he held his face in his hands and sobbed on his knees. He was so upset, he didn’t even register I was there.
I watched as they loaded the woman on a stretcher, trying to keep her covered. The poor thing wasn’t even dressed. And there was so much blood. They called into the handsets of their radios to the hospital to tell them they were on their way and that she would need the surgeon. That’s when one of them yelled they were losing her as they rushed to load her in the ambulance.
A policeman was talking to Colton outside now, but he still wouldn’t talk to me. I heard him sob my name. It started getting so bright out, I could barely see him anymore. When I yelled to him, he didn’t even look at me. I tried to get one of the policeman’s attention, but no one would listen to me.
“Someone listen to me! What is going on?” I screamed.
The light was so bright, it swallowed me. Everywhere around me was light. Then I heard murmuring and a wave of calm and comfort swept over me. The disjointed voices said it wasn’t my time and I “still have things to do.”
That’s when it hit me that I was the broken and bloody woman. I had died. When that realization dawned, everything started to go black.
“No! Wait! Where am I? What is happening?” No one answered me as the blackness engulfed me.
My eyes opened with so much effort, I felt like my eyelids were weighted. My eyes burned, and when I tried to look around to see where I was, I gasped in pain. I hurt everywhere.
“Shhhhhhhh. It’s okay, Mrs. Quinn. I’m right here. My name is Kristina. I’m your nurse.” She pointed to a small white board that listed her as my nurse for the day. “Your husband will be so happy to see you’re finally awake. I just hate to wake him since he hasn’t slept since they brought you to us after your surgery.” That’s when I noticed a young nurse, with a brunette ponytail hanging down her back, changing out a bag of fluids by my bedside. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she rushed out of the room. She returned quickly with a cup of ice and a spoon.
“What happened? How long have I been here?” My voice croaked and my mouth was so incredibly dry, I felt like I had been eating cotton balls. The nurse turned to me with kind eyes and spooned a few small pieces of ice up and offered it to me.
I allowed the cold chips to melt across my tongue. Nothing had tasted so amazing, and I closed my eyes in momentary bliss.
“I don’t, uhhh… have a husband?” I questioned the nurse as I looked over at the dark head resting on the side of my bed. The man had my hand held in his and his soft breath puffed across our clasped hands as he slept.
“It’s okay, you may have gaps in your memory for a little while. You went through a very traumatic experience. Your husband has been fiercely protective and worried about you. He hasn’t left your side once.” She smiled warmly, and it reached her light hazel eyes. “I can only pray I find such love and devotion one day.” She placed a small box in my hand connected to the bed by a cord, telling me to press the red button if I needed anything and that she was going to let the doctor know I was awake so they could start pain meds I had control over.
Huh?
I reached my right hand over to brush back the long, dark hair that had fallen over the man’s face. Even that little movement made me gasp with the pain and effort. Jesus. Yeah, pain meds would be nice, ’cause whatever they may have given me felt like it must have worn off hours ago.
At my touch, sky blue eyes popped open, momentarily disoriented. He raised his head in surprise, his mouth slightly open. His other hand shot out and touched my face in a tender caress.
“Stephanie? You’re awake! Oh God, baby, you’re fucking awake!”
Colton… it was Colton. Here with me in a hospital. What the hell was going on?
“Colton? What happened? Why are you here? For that matter, why am I here?” I knew I hurt everywhere, but I was so confused. I didn’t understand why I was in the hospital and why he was here. Truth be told, there was no one I would rather have as my first sight in the morning, but I didn’t understand what was going on.
“The nurse said you’re my… husband? Colton. What is going on? What happened? Why are we here?” I needed answers because I was starting to seriously freak out.
“Baby, it’s okay. Don’t get upset. You’re making your heart rate shoot through the fucking ceiling, and you’ll have everyone running in here again.” He pushed his hair back with one hand, refusing to let go of my hand. “I lied. It was the only way they would let me in here with you at first and the only way they would tell me anything. Your parents backed me so they wouldn’t kick me out.”
“My parents are here? And again? What do you mean again?”
“Jesus, baby, you’ve had us so fucking worried. You crashed right after they brought you here after you came out of surgery. They said they were afraid, between the damage done to your body and the shock to it from surgery, you may not make it. They tried to kick me out because I lost my shit then. I told them you were not going to die and leave me.” I watched as his eyes filled with tears before he looked away and tried to wipe them away before they fell. “You’ve been in a medically induced coma for four days, baby. They brought you out of it this morning, but you hadn’t woke up yet. Your parents are here with Remi. They’ve been taking turns with her at your apartment because none of us wanted her to see you like this. Your mom just went down to the cafeteria for some coffee.”
He had stayed with me here for four days? My heart began to flutter in hope. Did he still care about me then? Oh please, God, I loved this man. Please let him feel the same way about me. I didn’t know why I was here, but I needed to tell him how I felt. I couldn’t take a chance that I may die without him ever knowing. But just then, the nurse came in and gave me something in my IV for pain until they could get whatever she said hooked up. I felt so tired and my head was still killing me. My smile was weak as I squeezed his hand.
“Rest, baby. We can talk later.” He kissed my hand clasped in his as my eyelids became too heavy to hold open anymore. I love you, I thought to myself.