Chapter 30 Tierney
When I woke up again, Cammie was by my side. I don’t remember if we spoke because I fell into unconsciousness soon after. The beeping from the machines roused me the next morning.
I turned my head on the pillow, instinctively searching for Ramsay, but there was no one there.
He wasn’t there.
Fear crawled over me as I lay in the hospital bed, remembering how easily that masked stranger had gotten to me. Had hurt me.
I wanted my mom and dad.
The sob burst out of me before I could stop it.
My parents would have been the first people at my side.
Would have parted oceans and chartered a goddamn F-15 fighter jet to get them here as fast as possible.
I was twenty-seven years old, and I realized that I could have been fifty when they died, and I still would have felt like a lost little kid without them.
I sucked in a breath, pulling my tears back in because the ache in my gut was making itself known.
I was lucky, I reminded myself.
I was lucky to feel this kind of pain from their loss.
Not everyone had parents like mine.
It was a privilege to have been loved like that for so long.
So now I had to deal with it and face this world without them.
I could do it.
They’d made me strong enough to do it.
It didn’t mean I didn’t feel relief wash over me when the door opened and Cammie stood there.
She appeared rumpled and tired as she moved across the room with a coffee cup in hand. “I wanted to get back before you woke up.” Cammie’s expression fell. “Have you been crying?”
My lips trembled as I attempted to keep the emotion in check. “No.”
Cammie slid into the chair next to me, placing her coffee aside so she could take my hand in hers. She tenderly brushed the hair off my face. “Liar,” she whispered. “Are you in pain?”
“A little.”
In response, she hit a button above my head that I assumed was for the nurse.
“I only went out to wash up and grab a coffee.”
“Have you been here all night?”
She nodded, squeezing my hand. “Of course. Where else would I be?”
Just like that, I started to cry again. This time in gratitude.
The nurse, Janet, arrived not long later, muttering under her breath at two shadowed figures outside my door. I shot Cammie a questioning look.
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” she whispered.
“Everything all right?” Janet said as she rounded the bed.
“I’m a little sore,” I murmured, wincing as a sharp throb echoed across my torso.
“Aye, it’s time for another dose of pain relief.
” Janet moved a switch on the IV that was hooked into my hand, and I realized the top of my hand where it pierced a vein hurt too.
“That shouldn’t take too long to work. Now, can I get you some breakfast?
It’s continental. A wee bit of toast, that sort of thing. ”
I nodded, not really hungry but knowing I needed to keep up my strength.
“You’re on fluid restrictions. Only water today, all right? But we’ll see if we can get you a wee tea or coffee tomorrow.” Janet winked at me with a smile and disappeared out of the room.
“God, I’d give anything for a coffee.” I eyed Cammie’s cup with envy as she took a sip.
She winced. “Don’t be jealous, babe. It’s vile, but I need the caffeine.”
I chuckled and then groaned as pain sliced through my gut. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“Not your fault.” We shared a small smile and then mine fell. “Where is he?”
Her brow furrowed. “Ramsay left yesterday. Put Quinn in charge of Akiva. Put private security outside your hospital door.”
My eyebrows shot up my forehead. “What? How?”
“No idea. But they’re the real deal.”
“How can he afford private security?”
Cammie huffed. “Oh, I have my suspicions Ramsay McRae is absolutely rollin’ in it. I have no idea how he made the money, but he’s rollin’ in it.”
He’d chosen not to stay by my side but he made sure I was protected? “Did he talk to the police before he left?”
“No, but the police haven’t shown up yet. I thought they’d be here by now for a statement. Maybe they’ll turn up today.”
“Where is he, then?”
Cammie’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. But Quinn is being cagey about it. To no one’s surprise, I was vocally pissed off that Ramsay left and didn’t come back. Quinn … well, he alluded to the idea that Ramsay is going after whoever did this to you.”
My mind raced. My first thought was fear for him. What if he was throwing himself into this mess with Halston Cole?
My second was … Who was Ramsay McRae?
What exactly did he do in the Royal Marines?
“He didn’t leave you alone.” Cammie’s tone was reassuring. “Quinn says he’s never seen Ramsay so cold, so focused. He’s … Christ, I’m worried he’ll kill the bastard who did it if he finds him.”
I flinched thinking about Halston.
Maybe it wasn’t Ramsay I needed to be worried about.
Cammie left midmorning to get something to eat in the cafeteria after I insisted.
Once she was gone, I had nothing to do but stare at a blank wall and worry about what Ramsay was up to.
They’d taken my belongings, so I didn’t have my phone.
Cammie had thoughtfully reached out to London because I’d given her London’s number in case of an emergency.
She said London’s boyfriend, Nick, picked up, and she’d informed him about my attack. He’d promised to let London know.
“He was kind of a rude prick,” Cammie huffed.
Yeah, that sounded like Nick.
I just hoped he didn’t send London into a panicked tailspin.
Cammie had only been gone around ten minutes when Janet appeared to let me know two police officers had arrived to talk to me. I assured her I was up to it.
The detective inspector was an older man who looked to be in his midfifties. Tall, broad of shoulder, and a little soft around the middle. His partner, a detective constable, was a younger woman. Maybe late thirties, early forties.
They introduced themselves as DI Peter Bishop and DC Louise Branford. Everything seemed normal at first. They took a statement from me about what happened.
But then DI Bishop said, “We have the suspect in custody.”
Shocked, I stared at them. The guy was masked and he got away by boat. I hadn’t expected them to find him. At least not this soon.
“A tourist took a photo of the boat and through that we found a registration. It led us to the suspect and the weapon. It had your DNA on it.”
I reeled with shock. “Th-that’s amazing.”
The officers shared a look, and the man offered a frown of his own. “It really is. It’s astonishing how quickly he was found. You must have friends in very high places, Ms. Silver.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we were provided with information that leads us to believe an American, Mr. Halston Cole, hired the suspect to attack you. Are you familiar with Mr. Cole?”
What the actual fuck?
I gaped at the officers. “Uh, yeah, he’s, um, the CEO of my family’s hotel business.”
“We’re working in coordination with the FBI and yesterday they arrested Mr. Cole. Do you know why Mr. Cole would attack you?”
Deciding it didn’t matter now because the article went to press next week, I quietly explained the situation.
The officers exchanged looks as they noted everything down. “Well …” DI Bishop seemed stumped on what to say. “Corporate manslaughter is a new one for us. But, uh, thank you for the statement. We’ll be in touch once we have more information.”
They departed bemused and left me wondering what the hell they’d meant by the statement “friends in very high places.”
Somehow, I knew without really knowing that this was all Ramsay.
Somehow, he’d not only found the man who did this to me, but he’d found evidence that led back to Halston Cole.
That raised the question: Where was Ramsay now?