Chapter 32
Thirty-Two
Mae stood to the side of the punching bag, waving her hand wildly, clearly trying to get Hawk’s attention. He removed the earbud that was pumping music into his head, drowning out all the anxious thoughts, and frowned.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“What are you doing? You need to be heading out to the ranch. The girls and I are leaving in like ten minutes.”
As if they heard Mae talking about them, Lily and Sloane walked in the front door of Montgomery defense, Sloane carrying Sage on her hip as they giggled about something.
“I just needed to get some energy out.”
“Some anxious energy?”
“Yeah.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m good. Just lost track of time.”
“Go cool off. Take a shower. Jessie will throw up if you show up all sweaty and stinky.” Mae waved her hand in front of her face and stuck her tongue out.
“She actually likes me that way…”
“Yeah, okay, Chief,” Lily teased as she stepped beside Mae.
“Ha ha,” he cringed as he took off towards the locker room, leaving the women to laugh over Jessie’s nickname for him.
One good skill Hawk had never forgotten from his time in the Navy was the ability to take a full shower in under five minutes.
So, he wasn’t surprised when he hopped out of the shower, towel wrapped around his hips and his hair still dripping, and the clock said only a few minutes had passed.
Hawk finished drying off, slipping into a fresh pair of gym shorts just before his phone started ringing.
“Colt. Are you guys already at the ranch?”
“Hawk. You need to get over to Lach’s shop. Now.”
He froze the instant he heard the emotion in Colt’s voice. “What’s going on? What happened?” How the fuck hadn’t he heard the sirens in the background of the call until just then?
“Yeah… yeah, I’m coming. No, he’s almost here. Don’t fucking touch her if she doesn’t want to be touched.” Colt’s voice was distant, like he’d moved the phone away from his mouth to talk to someone over his shoulder. “Hawk, I gotta go. Just get here. Jessie needs you.”
Jessie needed him.
He had to get to the shop, because Jessie needed him.
There were fucking sirens in the background and Colt was coordinating some sort of effort and Jessie fucking needed him.
Hawk didn’t think. He just moved. Out from the locker room, he ran as fast as he could.
Mae yelled something after him, but he didn’t stop.
Not as he burst through the door of Montgomery Defense.
Not as he ran down the sidewalk past Dolly’s, and Jake’s clinic.
Not when he turned down Cherry Street and could hear the whirl of a helicopter’s blades in the sky.
What the fuck happened?
Air burned in and out of his chest as he ran onto the road, filled with sheriff’s cars and firetrucks, and two fucking ambulances.
“Jessie!?” he called frantically as shock waves moved through his body. “Jess?!”
For the first time since he got the call, Hawk stopped moving. Well, at least his legs did. His head, however, was busy scanning the scene. Past the deputies, past the firefighters. Until his eyes landed on a beautiful mop of blond hair, and the woman he loved came into focus.
“Oh, thank fuck,” he mumbled as he took off running again, this time across the open garage doors and shop driveway.
As he got closer, Hawk saw a paramedic wrap a blood pressure cuff around Jessie’s arm.
Her hand was pressed against her side, but her eyes were trained on the ground, and she was more fucking pale than he’d ever seen before.
“What happened?” Hawk asked, dropping to his knees in front of where she was seated on the bench. “Jess? Are you okay?”
He scooped up her free hand, squeezing while he waited for her eyes to meet his. But they didn’t move.
“Jess? Hey, beautiful.” God. Where the fuck was she stuck in her mind?
Her face was blank. Not crinkled in pain like she was having contractions or in labor.
And even if she was, no one was really paying attention to her.
Everyone, besides the quiet paramedic now listening to her heart, was focused on something happening inside the garage.
“Jess?” Hawk’s eyes began his own assessment. Aside from her ashen skin, and unfocused eyes, he didn’t see any visible sign of head trauma. His gaze dropped… he watched her chest rise and fall, before his free hand came up and rested on her belly.
And that’s when he saw her arms. He’d been so concerned with the shock written all over her face that Hawk had completely missed the blood on her arms and her hands.
Fuck.
“Where is this blood coming from?” he asked as he held up her arm, trying to locate the source.
“It’s not hers,” the paramedic said.
“Well, whose the fuck is it then?” Hawk growled.
“Lachlan’s,” Jessie whispered.
“Hey, Pretty Girl,” he cooed as she finally looked him in the eyes. “What happened? Where’s Lach?”
“It happened so f-fast.” Her chin quivered, and Hawk stood, wrapping his arms around her as he slid onto the bench. She turned, pressing her face against his chest. “He was h-hurting me. And Lach… I wasn’t paying attention. It happened so fast.”
Hawk’s heart stumbled in his chest. “Who, Jess? Who the fuck was hurting you?”
Her head shook back and forth, but didn’t say anything.
“Ma’am.” The paramedic addressed Jessie. “You mentioned hitting your belly?”
Hawk sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes dropped to where her hand was pressed against her side.
Jessie nodded, bunching up the fabric of her shirt in her hand and Hawk’s blood boiled when he saw the bruise starting to form right next to where their baby was. The paramedic pressed gently around the edge of the bruise, his face not giving away anything.
“Any contractions? Any pain at all?”
“Nothing more than usual. I felt a few twinges when I was helping my brother.”
The paramedic nodded while Hawk looked at Jessie in horror. He still had no idea what happened.
“Well, both you and your baby have strong, steady heartbeats, but your blood pressure is a bit elevated. With the contusion and just the general stress of what you’ve been through, I recommend we get you into one of the ambulances and transport you to St. Clare’s so an OB can monitor you and the baby, just to make sure everything stabilizes. ”
“No, I-I can’t. My brother—”
“We’re going.” Hawk stood, nodding at the paramedic. “Get the gurney over here. Or I’ll carry her. Whichever is easier.”
Jessie’s eyes dropped to his chest, the faintest hint of pink dusting her cheeks.
“You’re not wearing a shirt.” She frowned. “Or shoes. Did you run here barefoot? What were you doing?”
“Shit, yeah.” He hadn’t even realized he wasn’t fully dressed. “I was in the locker room at work. Colt called me and didn’t give me any details. Just said you needed me.”
Her eyes went wide and glassy. “So you just ran here? Without a shirt or shoes?”
“You needed me, Jess. That’s all that mattered.”
She shook her head, her eyes focusing back on his face.
“I need you to hear me now, then. Okay? I’m not going to the hospital.
I feel… I feel shaky, but I’m fine. Bee is fine.
Here.” Jessie grabbed Hawk’s hand and held it to her belly, just below her ribs.
The baby pressed her bum out against his palm, and just a little bit of the ache in his chest went away. “But Lachlan. Hawk. It’s really bad…”
He was hurt.
“How bad?”
“His leg. It’s crushed. I don’t–” Her choked-back sob spurred him into action.
“You’re sure you’re okay? That Bee’s okay?”
She nodded and Hawk turned to the paramedic. “Can you find out what hospital they’re taking him to? We’ll sign off on not riding in with you, and I’ll take her to the one her brother is going to instead.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” He turned and started walking back toward his rig. Hawk pulled his phone out from his pocket.
“What are you going to do?” Jessie asked, reaching her hand out to him. Hawk threaded his fingers through hers, his thumb rubbing against the back of her hand.
“I’m going to call Mae. Ask her to get us both a change of clothes and tell her what’s going on. I’m sure she won’t mind grabbing Stone and they can drive down with us to the hospital.”
“Hawk, we don’t need—”
“No, Pretty Girl.” He cupped her cheek. “We do. I know you said you feel fine, but I’m not taking any chances with you and the baby. It’ll be good to have Stone in the car with us.”
“Okay.”
The paramedic returned with a clipboard and handed it to Jessie.
“There are just a few documents here that I’ll need you to sign.”
She took the papers and pen with her free hand, squeezing him gently. “You can call Mae while I’m doing this. I really just want to get back in there and check on my brother.”
He nodded, hating to drop her hand, but knowing it was necessary. It killed him to walk away, but he didn’t want Jessie to hear how much he was freaking out. And the second he got on the phone with Mae, he knew it would be obvious.
“Why the hell did you run out of here like that? And then not answer your phone the four-hundred-and-fifty times I called.” His sister was pissed.
“I need your help.”
Mae paused for a moment, silence filling the line. “Is it Jessie? Is she okay?”
“She’s okay. There was an…” Accident? Issue?
Attack? Fuck, he didn’t know what the hell had really happened.
“Something happened at Lach’s place. Jessie’s saying she’s okay, but Lachlan’s not.
We’re trying to figure out where they’re going to take him.
Can you run up to my place and throw a change of clothes into a bag for me? ”
“Of course.”
“Something comfortable for Jess. I don’t give a shit if it’s pajamas or what. Just something cozy. She’s in shock and we need to check on the baby once we get to wherever the fuck they’re taking her brother.”
“Yeah. I got it. Do you want me to take your truck over there?”
“Yep.”
“Anything else?”