Chapter 29 Nash
nash
I was just outside of Denver when I received Beau’s text.
My heart raced when I read those words because something was terribly wrong for him to finally admit he wanted help.
The moment his location came through, I knew something was wrong, just like I knew when I spoke to him earlier.
I broke every law I could to get to his apartment fast, but as soon as I got downtown, I was stuck going as fast as the traffic.
Every minute felt slower than the last. I almost left my car to run to his apartment, thinking it would be faster than having to deal with all the lights. As I waited, I called him and Iris, but they didn’t answer their phones, only adding to my anxiety.
The signs were confusing and I missed my turn twice having to make U-turns and recalculate my route a few times. Even though I had been to Denver a few times, their downtown always made me nervous any big city’s downtown made me nervous. This is why I enjoyed small-town life.
I was ready to punch something when I finally pulled up to the corner of Beau’s building and my stomach sank when I saw flashing lights.
Please let it be for a traffic stop.
It wasn’t. Three cop cars and one ambulance were out front, and I froze.
No, no, no.
This was for something else, this couldn’t be for them.
They weren’t answering because they were asleep.
I pulled over into a no-parking zone and jumped out of my truck.
I heard someone honking as I ran to the ambulance.
They could tow my truck for all I cared, I just needed to know if they were ok. That’s all that mattered.
“Sir!”
I ignored them and looked around for either of them. The doors to the ambulance were opened, but I couldn’t see anyone inside.
“Sir!” A police officer stood in front of me, stopping me abruptly. “I need you to go back to your truck.”
“No, my—”
“Go back to your truck—”
I saw Iris in the ambulance, wrapped in a blanket with something covering her head.
“No, that’s my wife,” I growled, pointing to the ambulance.
“Sir, I need you to go back to your vehicle,” he said, not listening to me.
“I told you that’s my wife,” I snapped. “Her name is Iris Malone.”
“I don’t care. I’m not letting you through,” he said, pushing me back.
“Iris!” I yelled as he pushed me back again. “She’s my wife and she was with Beau in their apartment, that was just—”
“Nash!” I heard her yell.
“Please let me see my wife,” I pleaded, trying to figure out what else to do that didn’t end up with me in jail.
“Dude, just get back to your—”
“Nash Yarbrough?” Another officer came up to me.
“Yes, please, that’s my wife,” I said, wondering if getting on my knees and begging would work.
“Let him through,” he said.
I pushed my way past them, running to Iris, who was arguing with the paramedics.
“Petal,” I said, finally reaching her as she ran into my arms.
“Nash,” she cried, as I held her.
“He’s still up there, but they aren’t telling me anything,” she cried into my chest, mumbling more things I couldn’t understand.
“Sir, we still need to check on your wife,” a paramedic came close to us. “She was hit pretty hard on the head and—”
I nodded.
“Hey, Petal,” I said, pulling away inspecting the piece of gauze she held to her head. “Let them finish checking you out.”
“No, I want to know what’s going on,” she cried. “I don’t need to be checked out.”
“The doorman found her unconscious with her hands tied behind her back in a storage room,” the paramedic said.
“What?! Iris.”
“Don’t Iris me,” she snapped, wincing. “Beau is still inside with that psycho.”
“What psycho?”
“He has a stalker, Nash,” she cried. “The entire time he was in Sterling Ridge he was running away from a stalker.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” My stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster.
“No, the person who broke into his apartment was his stalker,” she growled. “He told me about it on the way up and I knew we should have left right away, but he said he had to see. I’m an idiot for not dragging him out of there.”
A few tears fell down her cheeks as we stared at each other.
“It’s not your fault, Iris,” I said, hugging her again, trying to be gentler. “Will you let them check on you while I find out some information?”
Iris cried, holding onto me tightly while I sent a thanks to whoever was looking out for her. I wouldn’t feel better until I found out about Beau.
“Please, let them help you,” I said, cupping her face.
“Fine, but if you don’t find out anything, I swear I will go in there and—”
“Ok, noted,” I said, not doubting her threat.
I kissed her nose again, leading her to the paramedics. They continued their assessment of her as I watched for a moment before leaving to find someone who could tell me something about Beau. There was a group of policemen that looked to be my best bet.
“Excuse me,” I said, catching their attention. “Do we know anything about the situation?”
“Who the hell are you?” one of them snapped.
“My wife is friends with the tenant that had his apartment broken into,” I said calmly. “She said he mentioned he had a stalker.”
“We don’t know anything about no stalker, we—”
“How long has he had the stalker?” Another officer interrupted the asshole officer.
“I’m assuming before he moved to Sterling Ridge a few months ago,” I said, ignoring the other officer.
“I was the officer who came after they reported the break-in,” he said, pulling out a pad. “I’m Officer Brolin. Can you tell me anything about the stalker? Does your wife know anything?”
“I just found out about the stalker, but is he up there?” I asked, looking up at the building wondering which one was Beau’s. “What’s going on?”
“We need paramedics on the twelfth floor!” A voice came through the radio.
“You heard him! Stoltz and Rylin accompany them,” the rude cop said, and they pushed me to the side as everyone was rushing into motion.
“Can anyone tell me what’s going on!?” I yelled.
“We are about to find out!” Officer Brolin yelled. “Stay with your wife and we will have answers soon!”
Officer Brolin and a few others ran into the building as I looked around to see if anyone was watching me before I raced in too.
Everyone was busy, and I took off into the building.
No one was paying me any attention as I grabbed an elevator going up to the twelfth floor.
The moment I opened it there was so much commotion I thought I had made a mistake.
“Fuck you! He’s mine!”
“Hold him down!”
“Get him out of here!”
“He bit me!”
“Beau is mine!”
I quickly left the elevator looking through all the cops for Beau, stopping at the asshole who hurt Iris and Beau immediately. He was thrashing on the floor violently, giving the cops a hard time.
“Get your filthy hands off him. He’s fucking mine!” he yelled, looking into an open apartment.
“Get him out of here,” one officer shouted into the apartment.
“He’s mine!”
Two officers helped Beau out of the apartment, steering clear of the stalker. The moment I saw Beau, I panicked.
“What the hell?!” I rushed up to them noticing Beau’s shirt covered in blood. “Are you ok?”
“Sir, what are you doing here?”
“Nash,” Beau whispered, rushing to me. “Where is Iris? Is she ok? He took her, but he wouldn’t tell me where—
He fell into my arms, squeezing me tightly as I tried to push him away to inspect him.
“She’s downstairs getting checked by paramedics. Are you ok?” I looked him over, touching his arms, looking at the big stain of blood.
“Sir, you can’t be up here,” an officer said, coming up to us.
“He needs medical attention,” I growled.
“It’s not mine, it’s his,” Beau said, pointing behind him. “I’m just banged up. Are you sure she’s ok?”
“Yeah, Kitten. She’s ok,” I said softly.
“Fuck, thank God.” Beau’s legs gave out and I barely had time to catch him.
“Beau,” I yelled, lowering him to the floor.
“He’s crashing,” the officer said, helping me put him on the floor.
“What the hell does that mean?” I snapped.
“It’s the adrenaline leaving his body,” he said, waving over a paramedic. “He’s fine.”
“Sir, move over.” A paramedic pushed me aside.
“You shouldn’t have come up here,” Officer Brolin said, walking to me.
I shrugged keeping my eyes on Beau. “I’m not a patient man.”
“Come on, let’s get you downstairs and—”
“I’m not leaving without him,” I growled.
He cocked his eyebrow.
“Please don’t make me explain our situation. Just know he means as much to me as my wife does downstairs and it’s the same for her too,” I sighed, running my hand through my hair.
I felt one paramedic looking at me, but I ignored it. I didn’t owe anyone an explanation.
“Fine, but once we go downstairs don’t let my boss see you,” he groaned. “The last thing I need is him up my ass for not paying attention to you coming up here.”
“Deal,” I said, looking at Beau as they put him on a stretcher.
“Get away from him!” Beau’s stalker yelled again. “He’s mine!”
I grabbed his hand quickly, squeezing it, hoping he knew someone was with him. I looked over at the man who had terrorized Beau. If there weren’t so many cops here, I would have beat the asshole until he was unconscious.
The paramedics went down first, and I took the second elevator with a few officers who would exit first, then I would sneak out undetected. The lobby was empty except for a few residents who were being nosy.
There was so much commotion I slipped out with a few girls who were yapping about what had happened. I talked to them like I lived here saying what I had heard. They thanked me for the tea as I rushed to the ambulance.
“What’s wrong with him?!” Iris yelled, as they loaded Beau in.
“Hey, he’s crashing from adrenaline, he’s fine,” I said, pulling her back.
“Why is he covered in blood?” she cried. “Did he get shot or stabbed?”
“Petal, he’s ok. It’s not his blood,” I said, holding onto her.
“Ma’am, if you’d like, you can come with us.” The paramedic who had heard me talking to the officer about our relationship said, “You need to get checked out too and it makes no sense taking two ambulances.”
“Thank you,” she said, relieved, climbing into the ambulance.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital, ok,” I called out.
“Wait, can he come with us?” Iris panicked.
“I gotta get my truck, Petal,” I said. “I’ll be right behind you.”
She looked unsure before nodding as the doors closed.
You can follow us, we are heading to Methodist,” he said.
“Great. Thanks, man,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Yeah, no problem,” he said, getting into the ambulance.
I took a deep breath, feeling every minute of the day settling deep in my bones. All the driving I had done in the past two days was catching up to me as I walked to my truck that was thankfully still there.
I yawned as I hopped into my truck, typing in the hospital’s name and pulling out to catch up to the ambulance.
At every stoplight I looked for a hotel for us to stay at.
Something big and comfortable for us to stay at, after they were released.
The closer we got to the hospital, the more I debated on calling Iris’ family, but then I would have to explain why we were here and—I didn’t know if she was ready for that conversation.
After everyone was on the mend, we needed to have a conversation about all of us. I was all in, they were everything to me. I just hoped this was what everyone wanted.