Chapter Thirty-Six
Garrick brought us up the exclusive elevator. More men with guns joined us. They were all new faces, but I didn’t have the energy to care at that point.
“No one is to get near us. Understand?” Garrick instructed.
“Yes, sir.”
Three guys remained outside the elevator. Two more joined us with Joe inside.
Carrie was gone. Forever. I was still processing this fact.
I don’t want to die, Knoah. I want to live. I want to see my baby girl grow up.
None of those things would happen for Carrie now. All those days in the café, I’d been with my sister. She cared for me too…taking a bullet for me had been the ultimate sacrifice.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Knoah?”
I glanced up to Garrick. “She jumped in front of the bullet.”
“I know.” For the first time, I saw how scared Garrick was. I had never seen him like this before. “I will forever be grateful to her.”
I bit my lip to stifle the cries that wanted to come out.
“Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know.” Everything was coming at me from all directions. My body ached, but I wasn’t sure what it was from.
The elevator doors opened. “Joe, get the doctor. No one else is to know.”
“Yes, sir.”
More men dressed in black stood in the hall. “Who are these men?”
“Mercenaries Hastings and I hired.”
Mercenaries? Guns for hire? I didn’t recognize any of the faces. So many questions bounced around in my head. What can I talk about in front of them? I wasn’t sure, so I stayed to a safe topic. “Where are the men you had?”
“I didn’t trust anyone after I found out you were gone. We hired outside help.”
Garrick brought me to the bathroom, where he effectively stripped me down. There was so much blood—Carrie’s blood.
I was overwhelmed with memories of the last time I had blood on me. This was my sister’s blood. Someone who’d saved me. Inside I felt sick. I turned my hands over. “Carrie stopped the bullet meant for me.”
It was my fault. Her blood was on my hands. If I’d realized who she was at the café, we might have been able to save her.
Garrick turned the water on, grabbed my hands, and brought me into the shower with him. Warm water washed away the blood.
“This is not your fault, Knoah.”
I lifted my eyes to his face.
“It’s not your fault,” he repeated.
More of the blood disappeared down the drain. But still the guilt of her death lay heavy on me. “We have to get her daughter. She’s at a neighbor’s house across the street from where she lived.”
Garrick stepped out of the shower to use the phone. “Hastings? Carrie has a daughter named Kimberly. She was staying at the neighbor’s. We need to make sure she’s safe. Yes. No, we need to get a game plan first. Yes. He’s on the way. It’s done. Good. Agreed. We’ll be here.”
Garrick came back in and squirted some of the vanilla bath gel into a washcloth. “Hastings is handling it. He’s almost done at the house.” I understood what he meant. The bodies would be dealt with.
“We have to protect Kimberly.”
“And we will.”
This helped. “Is Hastings coming back here?”
“Yes. Once he sees to Kimberly.” At least I would be able to talk to him and determine the next step. “Knoah, I need to get you clean. See if you’re hurt anywhere else.”
I moved back under the water, ready to be rid of the constant reminder. We’ll keep your daughter safe. I promise.
Carefully, he cleaned every part of my body. I watched him, detached, as the events of the night replayed in my head.
Navarro was dead. The person who started this was…gone. “Is it…is it over?”
“I think so.”
I would be free again. Tossing my head back, I let the water run down my face. “I can’t believe it’s over.”
Some things still had to be figured out, but the constant threat had been eliminated.
“It is.” He kissed me softly before bringing me to him. “I thought I lost you tonight. I love you, Knoah. More than life itself.”
We still had so much to talk about, but this love we shared was a constant. “I love you, too. So much.”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“The doctor is here.”
“Five minutes. Escort him to the study,” Garrick called out.
“Yes, sir.”
He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around me. The numbness was wearing off and emotions were running rampant through me, nearly drowning me as what happened began to sink in. The first tear fell. Then the second. “You came for me.”
Garrick kneeled in front of me. “I will always come for you. Wherever you are, I will be there.”
I rubbed my thumb against his hand. A slight bruise had formed on his skin. “I was so scared.”
“Did he hurt you? Touch you?” Garrick tensed as he waited for my answer.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Thank God.” Garrick exhaled a relieved breath, emotion coloring his words. “I would never forgive myself if I was too late.”
My throat grew tight. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Protecting you is my responsibility.”
Kneeling on the floor, I threw my arms around his neck. For the last few hours, I’d only dreamed of holding him again. And I had Garrick. I was alive. I would forever be grateful for the sacrifice Carrie had made.
“I want the doctor to check you out. Make sure we aren’t missing anything.”
“I think that sounds like a good idea.”
Though it seemed like Navarro had been telling the truth about what he’d given me, he was a psychopath. I’d rather be certain there would be no lasting effects of the drugs.
In the bedroom, Garrick brought me one of his T-shirts and a pair of lounge pants. The shirt smelled like him. “This is my favorite.”
“I know. I love you in my shirts.”
Garrick quickly changed and tucked his gun underneath his shirt.
“You have a gun?”
In all our talks, I didn’t remember him ever mentioning owning a gun.
“Yes. Just in case.”
“Did you have it before?”
“No.”
I shuddered at the thought. This was the life I’d wanted to avoid, but Navarro had forced it on me. I hated him. “I don’t want you in trouble. I can’t lose you. Will the police find out about tonight?” The hysteria bubbled up again. I was tired—beyond exhausted.
Garrick sank to his knees to meet my gaze. “The authorities won’t find out about tonight. We’ve covered all our tracks. There’s no way I would do anything to take me away from you.”
With a nod, I searched his eyes. Garrick’s hands soothed my arms, and I began to relax. “Okay. I’m sorry. I’m all over the place.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. I cannot imagine what you went through. Let’s have the doctor check you out. Then you can rest or we can talk.”