Chapter 9
HONOVI
Straight truth, I had fallen for Xavier Rhodes. Hard.
But I’d been burned before, and I was reluctant to give this man the power to hurt me the way my ex had only two short years ago.
Slow and steady wins the race, right? That was all I was doing. Going slowly.
Did I like him? Yes. Did I want to spend every waking moment with him? Also yes. Did I want him to come to my house? Actually, no. Because I loved his house and wanted to move into it with him so we could have some all-American domestic dream life together.
Which was exactly why I was trying to stay cool.
My ability to stay cool ended the moment I walked through the office door and saw Gracie’s pale, shocked face.
“You need to get to the hospital right away!”
“What happened? Who’s hurt?”
I thought of my parents, who lived in Florida and wouldn’t be in the Hobie hospital. “Is it Xavier? Dr. Rhodes?” I asked weakly.
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I hadn’t told anyone I’d been seeing him.
“Well, yes, but it’s because of Mr. Miller.
He had a bad fall and was in the emergency room.
The doctors said he needed surgery, but his son insisted he had medical power of attorney and a DNR.
He refused consent. Dr. Miller is freaking out.
She called me, but before calling you, I made sure to send copies of everything to the hospital admin and legal team. ”
I blew out a breath and tried to calm down. “Good. You did good. That’s all they need. I’ll head over there to be with Janet.” I turned to head back out when Gracie’s words stopped me and stole my breath.
“No, you don’t understand. Joey Miller is in the ER with a gun. He’s taken the surgeon hostage inside a patient room.”
“Xavier?” I asked, feeling all the blood drain out of my face and fingers.
“Yes.”
I didn’t wait for any more information. I yelled over my shoulder for her to call Judge Ricks before I raced out to my car and threw it into reverse.
It took me only minutes to get to the hospital.
There were already police vehicles with flashing lights outside, so I found an alternate entrance on the other side and snuck in past several people racing out the door.
I could hear yelling. Several uniformed officers were blocking off the hallway to the emergency room, and others seemed to be talking through a closed door to the person yelling inside.
The officers wouldn’t let me past, even when I told them I was the attorney for one of the victims. It wasn’t until Dr. Miller saw me from the waiting room that she cried out and ran to me. I took her in my arms and held her tightly. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“Joey’s in some kind of rage. I don’t know what’s going on. It’s like he’s on something. He’s not acting like himself at all, and that poor doctor in there—” She let out a sob that nearly did me in.
“Has anyone been hurt?” I asked with my heart in my throat.
Janet’s good friend Petra came up and patted Janet’s back. “She called me to join her when she realized Joey was here. Sure enough, he started causing problems right away. I agree he’s on something. We already informed the officers.”
Suddenly, the sound of a loud pop rang out from the room, silencing the yelling as well as everyone on our side of the door trying to determine how best to de-escalate the situation.
I felt my knees try to buckle and reached for the wall behind me. Please, no. Please. Please.
Tears filled my eyes as I stood there feeling helpless and terrified for Xavier.
Then the door swung open hard enough to hit the wall.
Xavier stood there—shirt half torn, blood on his sleeve, chest heaving. For a heartbeat, no one moved.
His voice came out hoarse but steady. “He’s down. Gunshot wound to the abdomen. I need a crash cart and a trauma team—now.”
Everyone jolted into motion. Everyone but me. I just stared at Xavier, trying to process that he was alive. That the blood on him wasn’t his.
As he turned to go back into the room to take care of the asshole who terrorized him, he caught sight of me. “Baby?” he asked, clearly confused about why I was there.
I let out a cry and lunged at him, crashing into him and holding on for dear life. My entire body trembled as I held him as tightly as I could. Sobs came unexpectedly and stole my breath.
I’d been trying to hold back with him, trying to stop myself from getting hurt, and I’d almost missed this.
The warmth in his eyes, the simple endearment that cut straight to the truth of who we’d become to each other.
I’d been too scared to recognize the gift of him, but now I’d gotten another chance, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
Thankfully, another doctor rushed in, gently nudging us out of the way and telling Xavier he had the situation in hand.
Xavier finally shifted and buried his face in my neck. “I love you. I’m sorry, but I need you to know that,” he said low so only I could hear. “I know it’s too soon and you’re not ready, but I…”
“I love you, too,” I said, not nearly softly enough because my voice was jagged with fear. “When I found out you were… I just… God. I can’t… I don’t want to do this without you anymore. I don’t want to be strong and smart anymore, taking it slow out of fear and caution. I just want to be with you.”
He kissed me fiercely before leaning his forehead against mine.
“When I thought I might not see you again to tell you… I couldn’t stand the idea of something happening and you not knowing how deeply you were…
are… loved. I know it’s fast, Hon. But this…
us… it’s different than with anyone I’ve been with before. ”
“Me too.”
We kissed again, not caring who might see, and when we finally broke apart for air, he kept me wrapped up tight in his arms. I was pretty sure my suit was covered in blood, but I couldn’t have cared less.
“Is Mr. Miller okay?” I finally asked.
Just then, a medical team wheeled Joey out on a gurney and took him toward one of the operating rooms. Janet raced inside the treatment room to find her husband and check on him.
Xavier nodded. “He’s fine. He’d already been sedated, so I’m fairly sure he won’t remember what happened. I suspect his son is on something. The team will do a tox screen to see what it is.”
One of the officers approached and began asking Xavier questions. Throughout all of it, he clasped tightly to my hand, never letting me out of his sight. The only time someone insisted they needed to question him on his own, he claimed I was his attorney and needed to be present.
By the time we were done with questions, the elder Mr. Miller came out of surgery. Xavier kissed my cheek, then left to check on him.
Janet came over to give me another hug. “I’m so grateful you were here, but Hon… I didn’t realize you and the surgeon…”
“It’s new,” I said with a smile. “But real.”
Her face was soft with understanding. “You two remind me of me and my Joseph.”
I squeezed her hand. “We’d be lucky to have the kind of relationship you two have.”
“What will happen to Joey?” she asked with concern.
“He’ll be treated and then released into police custody to face the consequences of his actions. Beyond that, it’s too soon to tell.”
Xavier came back dressed in fresh scrubs and let Janet know her husband was doing well and in good hands. “He’s in the recovery room. You can go sit with him now.”
Janet squeezed his arm before leaning in and giving him a quick hug. “Thank you so much, Dr. Rhodes. For everything. I’m very sorry for what happened here today. I’d known Joey was unhappy, but I hadn’t known he was violent, and… well, I don’t even know what to say.”
Xavier hugged her back. “I’ve seen a lot of desperate people in the last few years working this job. I hope he gets the help and support he needs, whatever that may be.”
She murmured her thanks and took off for the recovery room. As Xavier turned to face me, I caught sight of a gaggle of nurses at the nurses’ station, watching our every move.
“I’m afraid my reaction earlier let the cat out of the bag,” I whispered. “We have an audience of your coworkers.”
He glanced at them before looking back at me. And then he stepped in close and wrapped his arms around me. “Damn, Mr. Baptiste. Then I guess we’d better give our audience a show.”
He kissed me so long and so deeply I completely forgot where we were. By the time he finally drew back, my legs were trembling, and my toes had gone numb. He brushed his thumb across my cheek, eyes warm with affection.
“This blush,” he murmured. “It hooked me from the start. I used to tease you in those meetings just to see it bloom.”
The heat in his gaze made me flush even deeper.
Xavier’s mouth curved into a knowing grin. “Turns out there’s a much better way to make you blush.”
For once, I couldn’t find a single argument.
We left the hospital together, stopped by my apartment for a few things, and then drove to his house.
After that night, Xavier Rhodes never spent a single night at my place.
But then again, neither did I.