Chapter 28
BUTCH
“You look like shit man.” Owen stands in the door of my hospital room, looking me over.
“That sounds about right, because I feel pretty fucking shitty.” Physically at least. Every inch of me hurts. My face is swollen to the point I can barely see. My ribs are so bruised I can barely breathe. One of my shoulders was dislocated and still aches from having to be put back in place.
And my lacerated spleen had to be removed during an emergency surgery.
But Becca found her sister. Along with six other girls who’ve been missing. That means tonight, seven families have their daughters back. I know their lives will never be the same. That the daughters we returned are not the same daughters they lost.
But I have to cling to the hope that they will recover. That they will be able to move forward. That one day they’ll feel safe and happy again.
Owen comes to sit in the chair beside my hospital bed. “On the plus side, I heard living without a spleen isn’t that big of a deal.”
“Say that when you have to have yours taken out.” I shift on the bed, groaning at the pain radiating from every cell in my body. “How are the girls doing?”
“It sounds like they’re dehydrated and exhausted, but physically they should be okay.” Owen leans back in his seat, stretching his legs out. He’s quiet for a minute. “Do people who’ve been through what they went through usually recover?”
“I guess that depends on what you mean by recover.” I lift one hand, planning to scratch my face, but stop short because I’d rather itch than deal with the searing pain getting rid of it will cause. “Some will do better than others, but I don’t think they ever get fully over it.”
At least we were able to take out a few of the men involved. Justice was handed out swift and deadly. There will be no waiting for the courts. No hoping a jury sees the truth. No fear money can start making problems and witnesses disappear.
The families will never know it happened, but we do. Hopefully that helps me sleep tonight.
Owen nods silently. It’s quiet for a few minutes before he says, “I saw that little mishap Davies had with his silverware.” He sucks his teeth, shaking his head. “Pretty impressive the way he got them all the way in there like that.”
My face wants to smile at the memory of Becca taking that guy out, but again, I know it’s gonna hurt like fuck. Breathing slowly, I will the expression away before speaking. “It was pretty fucking fantastic to witness.”
“I bet.” Owen sighs. “Maybe one day something that good will happen to me.”
I can only imagine what anyone who might accidentally overhear our conversation would be thinking right now. They’d have no clue Owen isn’t talking about a flatware mishap of his own, but finding someone willing to do whatever it takes for him.
“You can’t fucking have mine.” I try to sound like a dick, but it doesn’t work. I know Owen doesn’t want Becca. I know she doesn’t want him.
And—while I might never admit it—I trust the prick.
“I figured that out pretty early on.” Owen notices me eyeing the cup of ice water on my table and leans forward, picking it up and helping move the straw to my lips.
“Besides, you two are perfect for each other.” When I’m done drinking he puts the cup back.
“I don’t want a woman who's perfect for some other guy. I want one who’s perfect for me. ”
I snort. “Don’t we fucking all.”
Owen lifts his brows. “Got any advice for how to make that happen?”
I wince a little as I start to smile, the expression splitting the crack on my lip that had just sealed back together. “Not a fucking bit.” I rock my head from side to side, checking to see how everything else is feeling. “I guess just cross your fingers and hope she’ll find you.”
It’s not a great plan, but it’s the best I’ve got for him.
My nurse comes in to check my vitals and shoot another dose of pain medication into my IV. It feels fucking amazing, but makes me loopy as hell.
So loopy it takes me a second to register the sound of my cell phone ringing on the table next to me.
Like he did with the cup of water, Owen picks it up and helps me put it on speaker since pressing it to my face will hurt like a bitch.
“Hello?” My tongue feels thick and slow as I try to get the word out.
“Butch? What the fuck is wrong with you?” My sister sounds frantic. “Never mind. I don’t care.”
My brain is a little slow at processing her words, and I blink my eyes like I can reset. “What’s wrong, Miranda?”
“Allie’s gone. I came to get her for dinner and her room is empty.” She sounds like she’s about to cry. “I opened the app I have that sends all her text messages to my phone, and someone claiming to be her missing friend reached out and convinced her to meet them.”
“The fuck?” I attempt to get up. I have to go find Al. But my limbs won’t listen. My eyes roll around in my head as I try to think straight. “Al’s gone?”
The phone moves away and I hear Owen talking as my eyes start to close. “This is Owen. I work with Butch. Tell me what’s going on.”
“He doesn’t look so great, does he?”
I pry my lids up at the sound of feminine voices in my room, managing to roll my head toward the duo staring at me.
“It lives.” Raven grins at me from where she stands next to Becca. “To be fair, you look way better than the other guy I saw.”
I frown, and it hurts like fuck. “What other guy?”
“Turkey neck.” Her head tips. “Though I think we need to come up with a new name for him. Dagger eyes would be perfect if it hadn’t been forks.”
I stare at the black haired woman I’m afraid is about to become Becca’s best friend. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here because I had to bring your lady love food.
She doesn’t deserve to eat the shitty cafeteria offerings in this place.
” Raven lifts up a foam cup. “I also brought you a smoothie, so you’re welcome.
” She hands a bag and the cup to Becca, giving her a warm smile.
“Call me if you need anything else.” She turns to me, pointing a black tipped finger my way.
“You better be on your best behavior, mister. We’ve got a bunch of shit to do, and can’t get started until you’re out of the hospital. ”
Giving Becca another grin and a wink, she spins away and marches out, leaving us alone.
“How are you feeling?” Becca comes to the side of the bed, setting the bag and drink onto my table. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but your face looks worse than it did when I checked on you earlier.”
“It feels worse than it did when you checked on me earlier.” I fumble around for the remote to my bed, managing to find it before pressing the button to angle my upper half upright. “What time is it?”
“You’ve been asleep for a few hours.” She reaches behind my head, adjusting the pillows there so they support my throbbing skull a little better. “I think it was around five when Owen ran out of here like he was on fire.”
My body goes cold as adrenaline drops into my veins. “Fucking hell.” The call with Miranda rushes back to me and again, I’m trying to figure a way out of this goddamned bed. “Al is missing.” I grab the blankets, trying to fling them off my body. “I need to find her.”
“Allie technically isn’t missing.” Becca tips her head. “Anymore.”
A tiny bit of my panic subsides. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” Becca peeks into the bag of food like nothing’s wrong.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” I go back to trying to figure out a way to escape this fucking bed. “If you don’t know where she is, that means she’s fucking missing.”
“That is not what that means.” Becca turns a glare my way. “And stop trying to get up. You just had surgery and the shit beat out of you.” She shoves the smoothie Raven brought in my face. “It means I don’t know where she is, not that no one knows where she is.”
Since she’s practically shoving the straw down my throat, I take an obligatory swallow, wincing at the pain brought on by suction. As soon as I can move my mouth without hindrance, I ask “who does know where she is?”
“Your sister.”
I wait for her to explain and when she doesn’t I decide it’s time to start making threats. “I swear if you don’t start telling me what I want to know, I’m going to forget all the things you like me to do with my tongue.”
Becca’s eyes widen. “That’s just mean.”
“I’m not a nice guy, B. I feel like I made that pretty clear upfront.” I lean closer to her. “Where is my niece?”
Becca rolls her eyes on a sigh. “I told you, I don’t know.” She pulls a foam container out of the bag. “All I know is she and your sister are safe.”
This is fucking exasperating. “How do you know they’re safe if you don’t know where they are?”
She looks at me like I’m fucking stupid. “Because they’re with Owen.”
“Owen? Why the fuck are they with Owen?” I really wish that nurse hadn’t given me that pain medication. Yes, I would’ve been miserable, but at least I would’ve remembered everything and been able to know what was happening.
“They’re with Owen because he’s the one who talked to your sister about Allie.” Her face scrunches up as she peeks at me from the corner of her eye. “And because he was the one who was there when all hell broke loose.”
I’m going to kill him. Hell. I might kill everyone.
Not Becca, even though she’s really pissing me off right now.
“B, I love the fuck out of you, but if you don’t start explaining, I really genuinely am going to spank your ass.” I point a finger at her. “And since I’m mad at you, I’m not going to let you spank me back.”
“What are they giving you? It’s making you grumpy.” Becca collects her dinner, along with a plastic fork then climbs in beside me. “Move over.”
Somehow, I manage to get my aching body onto one side of the bed so she can have the other. As soon as she’s on the mattress, I hook an arm around her, biting back a grunt at the stab of pain it causes as I pull her into my side.
Once she’s in place, Becca reaches for my smoothie, bringing the straw in front of my mouth again. “Drink.”
I swallow down a little more of the admittedly tasty concoction, the coolness of it soothing away a bit of the discomfort in my jaw.
She sets the cup back on the table. “So you love me, huh?”
“Of course I love you. I’d be stupid not to, and I’m not stupid.” I press a kiss to her temple. “I am annoyed though.”
“You’re always annoyed.” She gives me a smile. “It’s part of why I love you back.”
“Never thought someone would find my bad attitude redeeming, let alone lovable.” I lift my hand, stroking my fingers over her cheek. “Owen said your sister is doing as well as can be expected.” I trace the line of her jaw. “But how are you doing?”
Becca’s expression turns sad. “Staying focused on saving her helped me to not think about everything she was going through, but now there’s really no avoiding it.”
“I know. I wish there was something I could do.” I hate feeling fucking helpless, and right now I’m about as helpless as it gets. I couldn’t find Al. I can’t help my new team track down the rest of the bastards who hurt Becca’s sister. And I can’t ease Becca’s suffering.
“You are doing something.” Becca rests her head against my shoulder and I do everything I can not to react when it presses against the ache there. “You make me feel understood and appreciated. You see me and like me just the way that I am.”
I shake my head. “Wrong. I love you just the way you are.”
She rolls her eyes, like my correction is amusing. “And you’re about to build me a brand-new house in Nashville so I never have to live in my old one again.”
My brows would lift if they could. “You want to move to Nashville?”
Becca shrugs. “I think it makes the most sense. There’s really no reason for me to stay here.
I’ll still be close enough I can see my sister whenever I want, but I’ll be more beneficial to Alaskan Security if I’m where everyone else is.
” She wrinkles her nose. “I’ve worked remote for a long time though, so it will be weird being around people again. ”
“I know Nashville isn’t super far away, but I help my sister out a lot with my niece. I don’t know how easy it’s going to be for me to move.” I want to be with Becca. But I can’t leave Al. Especially not now that—
“I think your sister’s probably going to need to move after this is all said and done too.” Becca blows out a loud breath. “She’ll for sure have to find a new house, all things considered.”
All things considered? “What the fuck happened to her old house?”
Becca grabs my smoothie again. “You should probably drink some of this and try to relax before I tell you.” She pats my chest. “Because if your blood pressure starts to skyrocket, everybody’s gonna run in here freaking out.”