Chapter 31
KNIGHT
After getting back to the station from a call, the boys and I collapse on the benches in the locker room. It was a rough one, and while we always come out with a successful job, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t push us to our limits.
We’re all fucking wrecked, but this right here is exactly why we do the job. The challenge keeps us going, the adrenaline, and the knowledge that what we do saves lives.
Diesel sits forward, his elbows braced on his knees as Ace leans back against his locker.
They were talking about heading out after this, but from the look on their faces, they clearly just want to go home and crash.
Hell, so do I. But knowing that Harper is waiting for me in my bed sends fire blasting through my veins.
Things are changing, but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous.
A part of me wonders if she’s clinging to me because I can offer her a safety net against her stalker.
I love that she feels safe with me, that it’s my home she runs to when her world is going up in flames.
I just need to know that her feelings for me are genuine, and that after this stalker bullshit is done and dusted, she’s still going to feel the same.
After finding just a shred of energy, I go to get up from the bench when an incoming call draws all of my attention, and I let out a heavy groan, too fucking tired to be dealing with some other bullshit.
Digging into my locker, I find my phone, and a stupid smile pulls at my lips when I see Harper’s name across the screen.
I haven’t had a chance to check over my surveillance camera yet, but as far as I know, she’s still at my place.
Though I guess I can’t assume she hasn’t gone out.
She’s used to the night shift, so there’s a good chance she’s just starting to plan what her evening will look like.
If she is still in my bed, she probably wants to know that I’ll be on my way home to her soon—unless this is another call to say that she’s been tied up and fucked raw by another man in my bed.
Fuck. That one made my heart sink.
Accepting the call, I lift it to my ear, waiting to hear her soft tone coming down the line, only it’s not hers I hear; it’s a man. “Hey, is this Knight?”
“Uhh, yeah? Who the fuck is this? Where’s Harper?”
Unease rips through me, and I’m immediately on edge. Why the hell does some random guy have her phone?
“I’m uhhh, I’m a friend,” he says, trying to rush through his response as though it’s somehow not important. “Look, Harper’s in the hospital. She—”
“What?” I demand, my hand already launching back into my locker and grabbing my shit.
“Yeah. I’m with her now. They’re taking her into emergency surgery, and while she’s worked with all the people here for years and knows them well, I figured it was you she’d want here when she wakes up.”
How the fuck does this guy know what the hell my girl would want?
I shake my head. This bastard has skipped right over seasons three, four, and five, and skipped right to the end, not giving me a single detail.
“Why the fuck is she in the hospital?” I spit, hurrying out of the locker room.
Both Diesel and Ace jump to their feet, looking at me as though they’re waiting for a threat. “What happened?”
My heart pounds with fear in a way that I’ve never felt before, not even while on the job, and fuck, I feel sick.
“I can’t be too sure,” he tells me, still not having explained who the fuck he is to Harper and why he has her phone.
“From the type of injuries she had, I can only assume that she was jumped. I got a call from some guy telling me she’d been hurt and was left in an alley.
I went and got her and she didn’t look good.
She’d been hurt badly. I got her in the car and brought her straight here, but .
. . fuck. I don’t know. She was saying some weird shit. ”
“What weird shit?” I question, finally reaching my truck, diving through the door, and turning over my engine in the very next second.
I start backing out as the guy mutters something, and suddenly, all the background noise disappears as though he had walked into a private room, wanting to keep this conversation quiet.
“It was weird. I’ve never heard her talk like this in all the time I’ve known her,” he says.
“She was coming in and out, talking about killing someone and just kept repeating the phrase get her. I was trying to ask her questions to figure out who the fuck hurt her and what she was talking about, but I don’t know.
It was fucked up. I’ve never seen her like that.
She asked me to fucking kill someone for her. ”
The fuck?
A part of me can’t help but wonder if this is a trap being laid by her stalker—if that’s who I’m talking to right now. But I can’t take the chance. If he’s got her phone, that means he’s also got her, and no matter what, I’m showing up for my girl.
“Did she say anything else?”
“Something about a janitor. Not sure. Her words were starting to bleed together at that point. She passed out after that.”
“Fuck.”
My head spins, trying to piece everything together, but I’m at a loss, and as I speed down the main road of Blackstone, all that matters is getting to that fucking hospital.
“My thoughts exactly,” he says. “I just . . . How she was acting in the car. It was weird, man. I don’t know if she had a concussion or if she was just hallucinating or something. But it’s as though she thought I was someone else. She didn’t even recognize me.”
My brows furrow. Every word this guy says only makes me want to question him more.
“It doesn’t make any fucking sense why someone would hurt her.
I just don’t . . .” He lets out a heavy sigh, cutting himself off.
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on with her lately.
She’s been . . . odd. I hope to fucking God that this isn’t your influence, but either way, she seems to really like you, so I think it’s important that you be here for her. ”
My fucking influence? Why do I suddenly have the overwhelming need to knock this fucker out? “She’s got some other shit going on.”
“Yeah—oh shit. I gotta go,” he says. “Doctor’s here.”
“Wait. Who the fuck—” he ends the call and I sigh. “Are you?”
I stomp on the gas, racing toward the hospital as I white knuckle the steering wheel.
This isn’t quite how I anticipated spending my night with Harper.
I was going to go home, cook her something nice, maybe have a glass of wine, and then spend every waking second buried inside of her.
But apparently the world had other plans for us.
I reach the hospital in no time and get increasingly frustrated as I struggle to find a parking space. This hospital is at the top of their game, but when it comes to the whole parking situation, they really dropped the ball.
After parking crooked in a too small space, I rush inside the hospital, reaching reception and demanding to know where the fuck she is. “I’m looking for Harper-Rayn Madden. She’s supposed to be in surgery.”
The receptionist takes way too long, searching the details. “Ahh, yes. She was just brought in a little while ago. What relation are you?”
“Family,” I say with a cringe. “Uncle.”
“Of course,” she says with a nod. “Feel free to take a seat in the waiting area. She’s only just gone into surgery so it could be a little wait.”
“What about her condition? Do you know what happened? How’s she doing?”
She gives me a tight smile. “I’m unsure,” she says. “I can only offer the details here in front of me. However, you should prepare yourself. She has suffered some very serious injuries.”
I blow out my cheeks, having the overwhelming need to pace in front of the receptionist, but I keep my shit together and offer her a smile instead. “Thanks,” I mutter.
“I’ll let the surgical team know that you’re here and to give updates as they become available.”
I nod before turning on my heel and stalking toward the waiting area, and as I take my seat, I can’t help but look around, taking in the faces of the people around me.
From the scarce details Harper has given me, none of the people here are suspicious.
There’s no random men just sitting by themselves, nobody lurking in shadows, or watching me like I’m some kind of threat, which makes me wonder where the fuck is the asshole who I spoke to on the phone?
The minutes tick by painfully as I sit in the uncomfortable chair, my elbows braced on my knees. Diesel and Ace both call to check in, but I can’t deal with it now and give them the slightest run down, knowing that at some point, I’m going to have to discuss this with them.
Twenty minutes eventually drags into two hours when a doctor comes through the internal hospital doors. “Harper-Rayn Madden?” he calls out.
I get straight to my feet and meet the doctor in the middle. “You’re Harper’s uncle?” he confirms.
I nod. “Yes, that’s correct. Is she okay?”
“She is stable and out of surgery,” he says. “She’s suffered a lot of injuries, some more concerning than others, but she will be okay.”
I shake my head, still in disbelief. “What’s, uhhh, what kind of injuries are we talking about?”
“Harper suffered a great deal of internal bleeding. There was significant trauma to the liver and spleen, however they have both been taken care of. Externally, her injuries are consistent with being beaten. She will have significant bruising and swelling that will develop over the coming days and has received multiple stitches to the face. She’s in the clear, but it will be a rough road to recovery. ”
“Beaten?” I ask, unable to believe how anyone could do this to her.