Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Parker
After dinner, my brothers and I went into the living room.
“Look at this.” I pulled out my phone, brought up last night's camera footage, and showed it to my brothers.
“Holy shit!” Julian exclaimed.
“What the fuck?” Roman said.
“I’ve come to realize that if she hadn’t been there last night, I’d be dead right now,” I said.
“Don’t talk like that.” Roman placed his hand on my shoulder. “I can’t even imagine such a thing.”
“Me either, bro,” Julian said. “You need Paige right now. We all need her to keep you safe.”
“He’s right, Parker. It doesn’t matter who Paige is or where she came from. She’s protecting you from Elias and his crew, and right now, we need her,” Roman said.
Roman’s phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket, his brows furrowed. “It’s Love.” He answered the call and put it on speaker.
“Hello, Love.”
“Roman, oh my God!” She sobbed.
“Love, what’s wrong?” Julian asked.
“Your father was shot. I just got a call from Cedars-Sinai. I’m on my way there now.”
The three of us stared at each other.
“We’re on our way, Love,” Roman said.
“What is going on?” Calista asked as the women walked into the living room.
“Love just called. Dad’s been shot. We’re leaving for the hospital now,” Roman said.
“What?” Katherine exclaimed. “How is he?”
“We don’t know any details. We’ll keep you updated. Paige, let’s go,” I said.
“Give me the keys. I’m driving.” Paige held out her hand.
We raced to my car. Julian and Roman climbed into the back, while I climbed in on the passenger’s side.
Paige’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel, swerving between lanes, exceeding eighty. She blew through two red lights, ignoring the blaring horns, while I braced against the dashboard, my seatbelt cutting into my shoulder with each violent turn toward the hospital.
“Who the hell would want to shoot Dad?” Julian asked.
“I can think of a lot of people,” Roman said.
“Paige?” Julian asked. “Do you think it could—”
“Probably.” She interrupted him. “Elias is sending a message.”
The four of us ran into the hospital and over to the desk.
“Can I help you?” the nurse asked, looking at her computer.
“Our father, Harrison Hamilton, was brought in with a gunshot wound.”
She typed away at the keyboard. “He just went into surgery.”
“Who is the surgeon?” I asked.
“Dr. Grayson Kind.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Take the elevator to the second floor. Make a left, and the surgical waiting room will be on your right. The doctor will talk to you there once he finishes the surgery,” the nurse said.
We rushed to the elevator. When we stepped inside the waiting room, Love looked up at us.
“Love.” We rushed over to her.
“How is he?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall. “Who would do this to him?”
“Where did it happen?” Paige asked.
“Who are you?” Love stared at her.
“Love, this is Paige. She’s a friend, and she’s here to help.”
“He was leaving the bar to come home. One of the workers went to throw some trash out and saw him lying on the ground,” she said.
“Roman. Julian. Parker.”
Turning around, Simon walked into the room.
“I’m sorry. Any word on your dad?”
“Not yet,” Roman said.
“Are you working this case?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m going to find out who did this to him. And believe me, they will pay.”
“Then you’d better meet Paige. Detective Simon Kind, this is Paige—” I glanced at her.
“Just Paige.” I shook his hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Paige.”
“Some guy named Elias is trying to kill Parker,” Julian blurted out. “And now she thinks whoever shot our dad is sending a message. Paige is protecting Parker until she catches him.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Simon’s brows furrowed. “You’re not talking about Elias Dimitri, are you?”
“Yeah. That’s him,” I said, glancing at Paige, who stood there, narrowing her eyes at Julian.
“What do you have to do with all of this?” Simon asked Paige.
“Nothing,” she said.
“If there’s anyone in this world you can trust, it’s Simon,” I told her.
“You need to tell me everything you know, Paige,” Simon said.
“I don’t talk to cops, and I work alone,” she said. “It’s in your best interest to stay out of this, detective.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. Who exactly are you?” Simon’s eye narrowed.
“Good luck. She won’t tell you,” Julian said.
“One of Elias’s men was found dead in his home earlier today. Gunshot to the head. He was keeping a woman chained to his bed, where he repeatedly drugged and assaulted her. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” His brow arched.
Paige stared at him and didn’t say a word.
“The woman told me that she was able to escape after he left the house. But her story isn’t adding up.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, detective. I don’t know anything about her or the dead guy,” Paige said.
“She said a nice woman drove her to the hospital. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Nope.” She shook her head.
I looked over and saw Grayson walk into the room.
“Grayson, how is he?” my brothers and I asked.
“The bullet missed his heart by centimeters. I repaired the damage, and he’s stable. Recovery will be somewhat difficult, but he’ll be okay.”
“When can I see him?” Love asked.
“In a couple of hours,” Grayson said. “I’m really sorry this happened to him. Do you have any leads yet?” Grayson asked Simon.
“Nah. Not yet. But we’ll get the son-of-a-bitch who did this,” Simon said. “Won’t we, Paige?”