CHAPTER 18 ALEX
I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t really care. Mina’s in trouble, and I’m going to get to her. I check the pinned location and realize it’s less than ten minutes from my place. At this hour, with this rain, there should be minimal traffic.
The thoughts flood my mind as I drive, each one as terrifying as the last. Is she hurt? Is she in danger? Is she dying? I grimace and increase my speed, racing toward her. I round the corner onto Akron Avenue and have to slam on my brakes. She’s there, in the middle of the street, running like her life depends on it. She stops abruptly, managing to jump sideways out of the road as my car comes to a stop.
She’s alive. I roll down my window and issue a single command, every nerve in my body on fire and coursing with adrenaline. “Get in.”
I can see the relief flood her as she realizes it’s me. She wordlessly clambers into my car, clutching her phone to her ear.
“I’m safe, my boyfriend is here,” she tells the person on the other side of the phone. A gunshot rings out behind us, and she looks at me, her eyes wide. “Drive, please. Drive.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as I throw the car in gear and whip around, but she doesn’t answer, instead answering the person on the phone.
“What do you mean, don’t leave the scene? That maniac is trying to kill me, I’m getting as far away as I can.” She pauses for a minute then replies again. “Do you need my boyfriend’s address, so they police can follow up with me there?”
I glance over at her and notice the front of her shirt is stained with blood, which is still dripping from a wound on her temple. Without thinking, I snatch the phone from her. She protests feebly but doesn’t fight for long.
I address the person on the phone. “Look, I’m assuming this is emergency services?”
“Yes, it is. Who is this?”
“My name is Alex Guirero. I’m her boyfriend. She’s bleeding from her head so I’m taking her to the hospital. If your cops are quick, they can meet us there. After that, I’m taking her back to my place. Do you want my address in case they miss us at the hospital?”
“Yes, please. And I need your girlfriend’s name and information. I wasn’t able to get that information from her earlier.”
“Yeah, probably because she was trying not to die,” I growl. I give the operator the information she needs, then end the call. I turn to look at Mina, who is now slumped in my front seat, a glassy look in her eye. The fear and adrenaline which had been keeping her moving has obviously faded.
“Mina, hey! Mina, babe, stay awake. Stay with me. We’re almost at the hospital.”
She looks at me and blinks, then looks out the window. “The hospital? Is it time for work already?”
Concern rises in my gut. Christ, she’s out of it . “No, babe. You’ve been hurt. You’re in shock.”
“Oh.”
I whip into the ambulance bay and fling open my car door, screaming for help. I run around and open Mina’s door, pulling her out of the car and into my arms. I start to carry her toward the entrance, still yelling for help.
Medical staff rushes out of the building and helps me to the awning, where they place Mina on a gurney and rush her inside. I watch them disappear through the double doors and as much as I want to follow, my legs stop cooperating. I drop to my knees, the reality of what happened finally sinking in. If I hadn’t gone, who knows what could have happened to her. I still have her phone, and it’s unlocked. I scroll through her contacts, looking for her mom. I dread making the call but know someone has to tell her family. Before I get there though, another name stands out. Katie.
I glance over at Mina as I drive carefully from the hospital to my place. The events of the last few hours have been a whirlwind: Mina being taken into the ER, the doctors rushing to examine her, the police coming and taking my statement and hers, Katie flying into the emergency room like a bat out of hell looking for Mina, some asshole doctor giving me the stink eye and trying to interrogate me as though the whole ordeal was my fault… It was a lot.
Thankfully, Katie was able to corral the staff and keep everyone focused on the problem, rather than wasting time on unnecessary questions.
“That’s what the cops are for,” she had sternly reminded everyone.
My conversation with her family had been brief, thankfully. I re-introduced myself and told them Mina had been in an accident in the rideshare on the way home. I said emergency services brought her in and the hospital would release her as soon as possible. Her mother tried to insist on coming to the emergency room, but I promised her that Mina was in good hands, and given the hour, I told them visiting time was over and they’d just be sitting around in the waiting room. They might as well wait for news from home. They reluctantly agreed, thank fuck, because I know the last thing Mina needs right now is pressure from her family while she tries to heal and process what happened.
Mina has her seat reclined, and her eyes are closed. Poor thing is totally exhausted from the ordeal. I’m going to take her home and get her tucked into bed, and I plan to stand watch all night if I have to, to make sure she’s ok. She has already been cleared for a few days off by her residency director, and I’ll call and make my own arrangements once I get her settled.
The doctors said she had a mild concussion, and she needed a few stitches for the cut on her head. Given what the police said about the man who tried to hurt her, and the severity of the wreck, it’s a miracle she wasn’t hurt worse.
The car behind us at the light backfires, and Mina bolts upright in her seat, her eyes wide.
“He’s back, he’s coming,” she cries out, reaching for my arm. “Get us out of here, he’s coming!”
“Babe, babe, it’s ok. It was just a car.” I pat her leg with my hand and give her thigh a gentle squeeze. “The police got him, remember?”
“Are you sure?”
She’s still looking around, her eyes darting from window to window, peering out into the inky blackness of the pre-dawn sky. She’s terrified .
“I’m sure. You’re safe. You’re here, with me, and nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”
She slowly sinks back in her chair, weaving her fingers into mine and closing her eyes. “Ok.”
“Nothing’s going to get you, Mina. I swear it.” I grit my teeth and shake my head. “Not on my watch.”